FOR THE FIRST time in 32 years, the Toronto Blue Jays won the American League pennant.

They also came up just short of snapping their World Series title drought, dropping a memorable, tense, 11-inning Game 7 to the Los Angeles Dodgers at a rollicking Rogers Centre on Saturday.

To push the defending champs as far as they could be pushed, Toronto leaned on a diverse, balanced offense that ranked among MLB's best all season (fourth in runs per game) and somehow got better in the playoffs despite the unforgiving crucible created by October-style pitching staffs.

All of this from a team that just a year ago finished last in the AL East and ranked 23rd in scoring. All this from a team that, after some disappointing free agent pursuits over the past couple of years, entered the playoffs

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