At the same time, George Springer — the eventual leadoff hitter — was batting sixth and playing centre field, where the Jays didn’t want him playing at all. So the best-laid plans of mice, men, Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins resulted in this incredible, almost breathtaking, accidental Blue Jays season. And not necessarily because of the way Shapiro and Atkins drew it up. Shapiro and Atkins didn’t seem to be anybody’s idea of the perfect front office. The Jays best hitter, Springer, was believed to be in decline.