Lauren Ash grew up in a baseball household in Belleville, Ontario, a two-hour drive from Toronto. When the Blue Jays won their first World Series in 1992, a nine-year-old Ash became a lifelong fan. She moved to the city at 18 and sitting in the 500-level at SkyDome with friends became a ritual. Getting the chance to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a game in 2014 was a career highlight.
“For my family, it was like I had won an Oscar,” Ash said, laughing. “When I called my mom to tell her, she said: ‘This is it.