The Blue Jays—along with the rest of Toronto—are pumped for the season ahead

Pitcher R.A. Dickey tweeted this photo of his 1986 Little League team (Image: @RADickey43)

Toronto’s baseball fans and sportswriters engage in a ritual burst of optimism about the Blue Jays’ chances every April and, thanks to some mammoth off-season trades and the addition of charming knuckleballer R.A. Dickey to the roster, this season is the most hotly anticipated in years. (According to bookmakers, the odds of the Jays winning the World Series are now about 10-1) Though at least one wise soul warned against getting caught up in the hype, the players—including Dickey, J.P. Arencibia and Jose Reyes—seem as excited as the rest of the city ahead of tonight’s sold-out home opener. Below, some of our favourite pre-game tweets from the men taking to the field tonight.

T minus 2 hours until the jays pull out of Dunedin for the start of a magical year. #specialseason

— R.A. Dickey (@RADickey43) March 28, 2013

"Started from the bottom now we here" Toronto is the city I represent now Blue, Red and White same… http://t.co/BUkmz75JSH

— Jose Reyes (@lamelaza_7) April 1, 2013

Need a zip line to work!! Can't wait to see all the fans today! #MissedYouAlot pic.twitter.com/aT6ttkvfi7

— jp arencibia (@jparencibia9) April 2, 2013

Can't wait to hang with 50,000+ of you! Lets do this!! #OpeningDay #Tdot #fightinjays

— Casey Janssen (@CaseyJanssen) April 2, 2013

Are you ready #Toronto ??? #BoysInBlue are coming home tonight! @lamelaza_7 @Encadwin @Elboni_1 @jparencibia9 @es_esmil #MelkMan

— Jose Bautista (@JoeyBats19) March 30, 2013

“@BlueJays: .@Encadwin banner being hoisted outside @Rogers_Centre #LoveThisTeam @BlueJays pic.twitter.com/p0M4EC2G7n”q bn!#nice#lovethisteam!!

— Edwin Encarnacion (@Encadwin) March 31, 2013