The 9 is a monthly list series that will take a look at interesting parts of Blue Jays history, with an attempt to throw in a fun fact or two for every entry. Why nine? Well, there are nine innings and nine players on the field, so it seemed like a proper baseball number. Without further ado, here is this month’s issue.
On Thursday, April 7th, at 1:48 EST, veteran pitcher Bill Singer toed the rubber for the first time at exhibition park, and went into his wind-up to begin the Blue Jays first season. Today, at approximately 4:05 EST, Kevin Pillar will step into the batter’s box, look Chris Archer in the eyes, and prepare to do battle for the first time in 2016. In between these moments exists 39 opening days, and hundreds of memorable performances. For this month’s edition of The 9, we’ve narrowed down the list and present you with the nine greatest opening day performances in Blue Jays history, plus a few fun facts. This list includes stars, role-players, veterans, rookies, long-time Blue Jays and players making their Jays debut. Enjoy reading this, and enjoy watching baseball that actually counts later today.
9. Devon White, 1995
Coming off a strike-shortened season that was preceded by back-to-back championships, hopes were high that the Blue Jays would regain their place among baseball’s elite teams. The team started with their most complete opening day performance in history, winning 13-1. There were lots of things to keep sportswriters busy that game. 1994 Cy Young winner and (then) recent acquisition David Cone went six strong, while rookie shortstop Alex Gonzalez had 2 hits and 4 RBIs. However, it was lead-off hitter Devon White who led the way, both figuratively and literally. White went 3 for 4, finishing a home-run short of the cycle. It was a fantastic way to begin the season, and it’s too bad that they weren’t able to duplicate that success more in 1995. The end of the season spelled the end of an era for Devon White, as he would sign with the Florida Marlins in the offseason.
8. John Mayberry, 1980
This is only entry on this list that comes from a game in which the Blue Jays lost. Hitting in his customary clean-up spot, the senior Mayberry had a monster day at the plate, going 4 for 5 and smacking 2 home-runs in the season debut, a game in which the Blue Jays would lose 8-6. The Jays would be go on to be very bad for most of 1980 (although they won more than 60 games for the first time in franchise history!), but Mayberry was a bright spot all season, hitting 28 more home-runs after his fantastic opening day performance.
Fun Fact: John Mayberry Sr. and John Mayberry Jr. are far from the greatest father/son duos to play in baseball, paling in comparison to the careers of the Bonds and the Griffeys. They do, however, have the dubious distinction of being the only father and son pairing to BOTH be drafted in the first round, senior going 6th in 1967 and junior going 19th in 2005.
7. Dave Stieb, 1983
On April 5, 1983, in Fenway park, Dave Stieb pitched six strong innings, allowing only 3 hits and one run as the Blue Jays moved to above .500 on a season for the first time since their very first game, six seasons prior. Coming off a 4th place finish in Cy Young voting the previous season, Stieb would pitch masterfully, as he had done before, and would continue to do for many more seasons. Stieb’s performance was magnified even more by the fact the Jays tagged future Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley for seven runs in four innings en route to winning 7-1. This game was very significant for the Blue Jays. They would win 89 games in 1983 and be called contenders for the first time in their history, a status they would hold for over a decade more.
Fun Fact: Dave Stieb started four opening days for the Blue Jays, which is the 2nd most in history for the team. Given how long he was on the team, you probably would have expected more. His 1983 opening day start was his first. It was also his only win, and he would go on to take the loss on opening day in 1985, 1986 and 1991.
6. J.P. Arencibia, 2011
Hopes were high for Mr. Arencibia entering the 2011 season. After a brief call-up the previous season, JP, highly regarded as the catcher of the future, was handed the starting catching position despite hitting .140 with zero home-runs in spring training. He was ready to go for opening day though, stealing the show at the Rogers Centre. Hitting 9th in the order that day, he mashed 2 home runs and added a triple as the Jays routed the Twins 13-3. He also held his own behind the plate, working well with battery-mate Ricky Romero to allow only one earned run over 6 2/3 innings. On the day, he finished 3 for 4, with 5 RBIs, and would go on to hit 23 home runs and have his best season, to date.
Fun Fact: Debuts seemed to be Arencibia’s specialty. The previous season, in 2010, he had a home-run in his very first major league at bat. The following season, on opening day 2012, (spoiler alert: this game appears later on this list) JP hit a game winning 3-run homerun in the top of the 16th inning against the Indians. We’ll pretend his 2013 opening day failed attempt at catching the knuckleball (3 passed balls) never happened, and skip ahead to 2014 in which he scored two runs debuting for the Texas Rangers.
5. Luis Perez, 2012
This game was the longest opening day the Blue Jays ever played, lasting 16 innings. In a game of this length, there’s bound to be noteworthy performances. In this particular game, those performances included Arencibia’s game winning homer, Omar Vizquel playing both left-field and first base, and Jose Bautista going 3-4 with a homer of his own. Even still, the player-of-the game was middle reliever Luis Perez. Coming in the game with the bases loaded and only one out in the bottom of the 12th inning, Perez induced an inning ending double play to send the game into the 13th. He would go on to pitch another two scoreless innings before making way for Sergio Santos in the 16th. Over four innings in total Perez allowed zero hits (and zero runs) while throwing 62 pitches to get the improbable win.
Fun Fact: In May of 2012, Perez was forced to leave the game for wearing an illegal undershirt (yes, this is possible…apparently the piping on the sleeves weren’t regulation), but ended up having a decent season for the team. He seemed destined for more in the future, but got hurt in 2013 and missed almost two entire years of baseball. Funnily enough, he actually re-signed with the Blue Jays last year to absolutely no fanfare, but spent the entire team off the 40-man. This season, he’s playing in Japan.
4. Jack Morris, 1992
The Blue Jays first world championship season started on a high note and ended (obviously) on an even higher one. After signing five time all-star Jack Morris in the offseason, they named him the opening starter. He didn’t disappoint, becoming the only Blue Jay to pitch an opening day complete game. He carried a three hitter into the 9th inning, but gave up two solo home-runs to rob him of a shut-out. It was Morris’ 2nd complete game in a row, following his incredible 10 inning shut-out performance in Game 7 of the World Series the previous October. He finished the game allowing five hits, three walks, and striking out seven. He would then go on to win 21 games over the season, in large part due to an insane 5.66 runs per game in support. He would also pitch both Game 1 and Game 5 of the World Series, the only two games the Jays lost. Still, his opening day performance, and season as a whole, was pretty noteworthy.
Fun Fact: Morris started 14 opening day games in a row, for three different teams, including both 1992 and 1993 for the Blue Jays. This is a record that seems like it will be hard to break. On top of this, Morris pitched in three World Series, for three different teams, and pitched Game 1 in all three of them.
3. George Bell, 1988
George Bell won the MVP award in 1987 hitting .308 with 47 HR and 134 RBIs. He entered the 1988 season feuding with manager Jimy Williams, who believed that Bell would help the team more at designated hitter instead of left-field. Bell would go on to have a much poorer season than he had had in 1987, losing more than 200 points off his OPS. However, on opening day, as the designated hitter, Bell was on top of the world. Against long time rival Kansas City Royals, Bell hit three home-runs off former (and future) Cy Young award winner Bret Saberhagen to lead the Blue Jays to a 5-3 victory. It was the first three home-run opening day in history, a feat that Tuffy Rhodes and Dmitri Young have since duplicated.
Fun Fact: George Bell had a pretty bad season in 1988, but he absolutely won the battle with his manager over what position he’d play. Despite starting the season as the opening day designated hitter, Bell would only DH 6 other times throughout the season, instead starting 149 games in left.
2. Doug Ault, 1977
Doug Ault wasn’t really famous for much throughout his career, but he was famous for this: on April 7, 1977, in the first Blue Jay game ever, Ault was 3-4 with 2 home runs in a victory over the White Sox. Hitting 3rd in the order, the rookie launched the first home-run of his career, and the first for the Blue Jays, in the first inning. He managed to get a second one in the 3rd. Ault would only hit 13 more home runs over the rest of his career, but for one day, he was king.
Fun Fact: His opening day performance in 1977 was obviously the pinnacle of his career, but Doug Ault actually has another significant place in Blue Jays history, as he won the 1985 Independent League Coach of the Year Award as at the head of the Syracuse Chiefs. The Chiefs were the Blue Jays AAA affiliate at the time, and boasted such players as Fred McGriff, Kelly Gruber and Tom Henke.
1. Tony Batista, 2000
Batista had a great day by any standard, hitting two home-runs on a 3 for 4 day. However, his final home run is what puts him at the top of this list. With the score tied 4-4, and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Batista came to the plate. He stood in that weird perpendicular stance of his, cocked his bat, and launched a ball that would clear the left field wall, winning the game with one swing. The 2000 Blue Jays would score more runs than any other Blue Jays team in history (including the 1993 and 2015 versions of the team) and Batista would tie for the team lead with 41 home-runs that season; none bigger than that first one.
Fun Fact: A slugging third baseman for the last half of his career, Batista actually came up and played his first few seasons as a shortstop. He was acquired by the Blue Jays in 1999 when their shortstop went down with a season ending injury in June. Batista would play 99 games at shortstop that season before shifting over to third in 2000, a position he would remain at for the duration of his career. Most of us remember Batista fondly for his bombs, but not as the light-hitting, slick fielding shortstop he was before he joined the Jays.
There you have it. The 9 greatest opening day performances in Blue Jays history. As much as I enjoyed writing this article, I would be happiest if, after today, there’s a glaring omission as the Jays set out to conquer the Rays. Enjoy the game folks, the season begins now.
Lead Photo: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
I think Luis Perez’s performance in a cold Progressive Field in a some what hostile environment was a HUGE opening day performance is worthy of a higher ranking. Glad you gave JP his do also overall great list!!!