Was it the dying wish of a lifelong Blue Jays fan, or somebody looking to hex the team in morbid fashion?

The motive remains unclear after a fan dumped what is believed to be cremated remains onto field level, near the Jays’ dugout, in the ninth inning of the team’s heartbreaking 5-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers Friday night.

Toronto Fire Capt. Adrian Ratushniak confirmed a hazardous materials team was called to the Rogers Centre around 10 p.m. to deal with the situation. That would have been right around the time the Jays blew a two-run lead in the ninth inning after closer Casey Janssen allowed back-to-back home runs.

The Star was unable to determine whether the ashes were dumped before or after the fateful dingers.

Ratushniak said initial indications suggested the ashes were human remains, but the substance was never tested.

“I wouldn’t doubt it in this place,” centre fielder Colby Rasmus said Saturday morning before the Jays’ rematch against the Tigers. “Strange people. But he or she is gonna be with us (Saturday) and we gonna be rockin’.”

Well, not so much. The ashes were collected by a Hazmat unit Friday night, soon after the game was over. Beyond that, there’s the fact that the Jays play on artificial turf, laid atop a concrete floor; if the deceased hoped to become one with the field where the team plays, there was never any hope of it.

“It’s a great sentiment for whoever the person may be that they wanted their ashes on the field,” said reliever Chad Jenkins. “And whoever was responsible for the ashes, I think that was awesome that they tried everything they could do to make that come true. Unfortunately, we play on turf — it’s not going down. It’s going to sit there until somebody cleans it up.”

A spokesman for the Blue Jays said the man who dumped the ashes was not ejected; he left on his own after speaking with security following the incident. The spokesman said the team has received — and denied — ash-scattering requests in the past, but couldn’t recall anyone ever attempting such a brazen attempt in the middle of a game.

While rare in Toronto, scattering a loved one’s ashes at ballparks and stadiums isn’t unheard of. The practice generally isn’t condoned by teams, but for years ashes have reportedly been clandestinely sprinkled at historic ballparks, such as Wrigley Field and old Yankee Stadium. The Boston Red Sox actually used to honour formal requests to scatter ashes on the field at Fenway Park, but changed their policy about a decade ago.

Typically, those who claim to have succeeded in laying to rest a loved one at the home of their favourite team have done so on the sly, sneaking in after hours, conspiring with grounds crew or inconspicuously sprinkling a little at a time at a familiar spot in the stands or around the edges of the field. The Jays fan who apparently tried it Friday night was less discreet, dumping the entire contents in one ill-fated attempt.

Jenkins, for one, appreciates the spirit of the idea but wonders if it wasn’t entirely thought through.

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“It’s like, you wanted your ashes on the field? I respect that. It’s your body, that’s what you wanted done. I’m OK with that. But maybe do it on grass next time, because turf’s going to be cleaned and then I don’t know where you’re going to end up.

“But for those 30 minutes or so you were where you wanted to be, so good for whoever that was. God bless their soul and the Hazmat unit that vacuumed it up.”