It took going to a hockey game for Marcus Stroman to declare that Toronto is a baseball city.

The Blue Jays' ace pitcher penned a piece in the Players' Tribune, titled "The 6ix," about how Toronto became his favourite city after feeling quite the opposite when the Blue Jays drafted him in 2012.

Stroman describes going to a Maple Leafs game in October of last year, just before the MLB playoffs, when a Blue Jays pre-playoff hype video was shown in the arena, and cameras panned to Stroman and his teammates.

"Then the puck drops, and the whole arena breaks out in a chant," Stroman wrote.

"'Let's go, Blue Jays! 'Let's go, Blue Jays!' I got chills. We had a Blue Jays chant going … in a hockey arena … in Canada."

The starter – who will take the mound for Friday's home opener against Boston – also looked back at what it took to get back on the field after suffering a torn ACL during spring training last season.