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The 9 Best Blue Jays One Year Wonders

I pretend, at times, to be a musician. Over the years, a staple of my sets for any gig I’ll play has become a tune written and recorded by a band of brothers in 1997. It’s a catchy little ditty that went number one in 27 countries. I’m speaking, of course, of Hanson’s MMMBop. The very definition of a one-hit wonder, Hanson won the attention of music lovers everywhere, for about a minute, and were never really heard from again.

Baseball is full of these types of one-year performances as well, and the Toronto Blue Jays are no exception. Players have come and gone from this franchise, and some were good, or even great, for a only a single season. Of the current Blue Jays, Chris Colabello seems primed to be a candidate for this list in the future, but for right now, these are the nine players who have captured the hearts of Blue Jays fans all over the country, only to leave them wanting more in subsequent years.

9. John Cerutti, 1989

Big things were expected of John Cerutti. Drafted in the first round by the Blue Jays in the 1981 draft, he made his way through the system and joined the Jays for good in 1986. Working three seasons as a swingman, Cerutti didn’t strike-out a lot of batters, and gave up a lot of home-runs, so it took the Jays three seasons to give him a shot in the rotation. When they finally did, in 1989, he shined. Finishing as the team leader in ERA, he helped lead the team to a division win. Cerutti finished the 1989 season with a 3.07 ERA in 205 innings, while limiting opponents to a manageable 19 homeruns. He was back in the rotation in 1990, but after his ERA ballooned to 4.76 he lost his starting rotation spot.

He signed with the Tigers in 1991, failed to make an impact, and was out of baseball by the time the Jays would win their first world series. For one season though, despite some shortcomings Cerutti proved very effective in an important season for the Blue Jays.

Fun Fact: At the end of every season, the Toronto Blue Jays give an award called the “good guy” award to someone in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. After John’s sudden and unexpected passing at the age of 44 in 2004, the Blue Jays renamed the award the “John Cerutti” award, and named him the first recipient. Through the years, names such as Dustin McGowan, John McDonald and Alex Anthopolous have won this award.

8. Eric Hinkse, 2002

When grasping for names on the list of Blue Jays one-hit wonders, many fans likely will think of Hinske. It would make sense to put him higher on the list in most people’s minds, but he makes his way onto this list in the eighth spot because he managed to have a successful and long career, even if he in no way came close to the expectations placed on him following his rookie season. Traded for closer Billy Koch prior to the 2002 season, Hinske would have a great season, hitting .279 with 24 HR and 85 RBIs. He also had 77 walks and 38 doubles that year, and was almost certainly the second best hitter after Carlos Delgado in a Jays line-up that featured Vernon Wells, Raul Mondesi, Shannon Stewart and Jose Cruz Jr.

He was never able to repeat this success. Despite being granted a fairly lucrative five year contract after the season, his stats decreased in each of the following two seasons; he was soon traded to the Red Sox for a player to be named later. He would go on to be a decent bench player for a number of years, but he would never come close to being the player he was in 2002.

Fun Fact: Hinske had a reputation as a bad third baseman. He led all American League 3rd baseman with 22 errors in 2003, but somehow managed to go from worst to first in the category in 2004, rebounding to commit only 7 errors in 2004. His range was below average, and although advanced metrics have him as a below average fielder rather than a horrendous fielder, he was moved off 3rd base. After he left the Jays, he started a total of 11 games at third base for the remainder of his career. He likely wasn’t as bad at the position as he was accused of being, especially in the 2004 season before he was moved to primarily play DH/1B.

7. Greg Myers, 2003

By 2003, Greg Myers was a 15 year MLB veteran. He had spent 5 seasons in Toronto at the beginning of his career, even platooning with Pat Borders in 1990, 1991 and part of 1992. He had been a back-up, and occasional platoon starter for his entire career, and was known as a good fielding, poor hitting catcher. In 2003, the catching poor Blue Jays signed the 37 year old and placed him a platoon with Tom Wilson. Getting the bulk of the at-bats as a left-handed bat, Myers started hot and stayed hot, finishing the season with a .307/.374/.502 line and a career high 15 home-runs. Myers would get hurt the following season and only ever play in 14 games after 2003, but he sure figured out how to finish his career off with a bang.

Fun Fact: Myers was an integral part of the Blue Jay late 80s and early 90s rise to the top of the baseball heap, but never got to experience the pinnacle. He was traded at the trade deadline in 1992 for Mark Eichhorn as the Jays were looking for bullpen help. Myers wouldn’t have a chance to play a game in the playoffs until 1998, and was unfortunately never able to play on a World Series winning team. Although I’m sure he’s grateful for his 1992 World Series ring, I suspect he was disappointed he didn’t get to spend the end of the season celebrating with the team he’d spent eight years with.

6. Jesse Carlson LHP, 2008

In 2008, Jesse Carlson had an improbable season as a solid left-hander out of the bullpen for the Toronto Blue Jays. Drafted in the 15th round in 2002 by the Tigers, Carlson spent time with the Tigers, Astros, Blue Jays, and Rangers, before ending up back in the Blue Jay system at the end of the 2006 season. He spent the entirety of 2007 at the AA level, posting a 4.66 ERA.

Going into the 2008 season, the Blue Jays had four proven left-handed bullpen arms in B.J. Ryan, Scott Downs, Brian Tallet and John Parrish. Carlson started the year in AAA, and was called up to aid an ailing staff after a week, making his major league debut on April 10th. He would spend the rest of the season with the big league club, leading the pitching staff in appearances and finishing the season with a 2.25 ERA, 8.4 K/9, and 1.03 WHIP. It was a surprise performance to say the least, and one he was not able to replicate, as his ERA ballooned to 4.66 the following season. He spent most of 2010 in the minors, was hurt for all of 2011, and out of baseball after making one appearance for the Red Sox AA affiliate in 2012.

Fun Fact: Yankees fans hate Jesse Carlson. In a game on the 15th of September in 2009, Carlson retaliated for an Aaron Hill beaning by throwing behind Jorge Posada. Posada would get on base, come around to score, and proceed to punch Carlson in the head, leaving a gash on his forehead, and his name in infamy in the minds of Yankee fans.

5. Doug Ault, 1977

Doug Ault isn’t really a one year wonder…he’s really more of a one-game wonder, but what a game it was. A rookie who had been taken in the 32nd round of the expansion draft, Ault hit a home-run in the first inning of the first game ever at Exhibition Park. He followed it up with another home-run in the 3rd. The Jays would win that game, and Ault would forever become a hero for the Jays. Ault would play as a starter for the rest of 1977, since the Jays really had no one else to play 1B, but would spend 1978 on the bench, 1979 in the minors, and retired after playing a bit in 1980. He would hit 17 home-runs for his career, meaning that 12 percent of his career home-runs came in that one game.

Fun Fact: Doug Ault was actually drafted three different times, by three different teams (the Pirates in the 32nd round, followed by the Padres in the 2nd and the Indians in the 4th, all in subsequent drafts) He choose not to sign with ANY of those times, choosing instead to stay in school. When he finally graduated, he wasn’t drafted, and instead signed as an amateur free agent with the Rangers, his hometown team. He would finally make the majors, and live out his dream, a few years later.

4. Gustavo Chacin, 2005

A familiar name for many Blue Jays, this popular player followed up a very successful minor league season in 2004 by making the rotation out of Spring Training in 2005. He didn’t disappoint throughout the season, going 13-9 with a 3.72 ERA in 203 innings, winning Rookie of the Month honors in April and July, and finishing fifth in Rookie of the Year voting at season’s end. He was never able to follow up this success. He was ineffective and injured throughout 2006 and 2007, went all the way down to Single A in 2008. He made it back to the bigs in 2010, spending the majority of the season as a LOOGY in the Astros pen, but wasn’t very good and was out of major league baseball before he turned 30.

Fun Fact: Most of us will remember this, but it still bears repeating. After a couple radio guys joked that Chacin’s name sounded like it should be a cologne, it was made into one. On a giveaway day on June 27 2006, the first 10,000 fans were treated to a bottle of Chacin’s cologne. Gustavo was on the disabled list at the time and would only start another seven games at the major league level thereafter.

3. Josh Towers, 2005

The 2005 Blue Jays were in need of a pitching boost after Roy Halladay went down with an injury, and they got it from two unlikely sources. The first was from aforementioned rookie Gustavo Chacin, and the second from from fifth starter Josh Towers. He had pitched parts of four seasons with the Orioles and Jays to that point, to very limited success, but pitched like the team’s ace the rest of the way in 2005. He got stronger as the season wore on, and finished with 13 wins and a 3.71 ERA in 208 innings while boasting a very good SO/BB ratio of 3.86. Towers never came close to those totals again.

He signed a two year contract after the season, but was sent down in June 2006 when he had an ERA over 8.00. He somehow managed to win the fifth starter role for the 2007 season, but was ineffective, eventually losing it and being moved to the bullpen. He never pitched for the Jays again after that, and only made it up for a two game stint out of the bullpen in 2008 with the Yankees. He tried for a bit longer, but eventually gave up after having an ERA over 6.00 in the minors and independent leagues in 2011.

Fun Fact: Josh Towers wore the number 7 on the back of his jersey as a member of the Blue Jays. It was the first time in over 60 years that a pitcher wore a single digit number for more than 10 games. Moreover, the last guy to do it wasn’t even a true pitch. It was the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Ben Chapman in 1944, who had been an outfielder before moving to the mound. It’s a strange little fact, but one that likely won’t phase Jays fans, as we are now treated to seeing Marcus Stroman wear No. 6 on his back

2. Jeremy Accardo, 2007

In 2006, the Blue Jays had one of the best (and most expensive) closers in baseball in B.J. Ryan. Going into 2007, they were clearly set at the position, until Ryan went down early with a season-ending injury. Jason Frasor was inserted into the role, and quickly lost it. With a severe lack of options, the Blue Jays turned to Jeremy Accardo, whose only real closer resume was that he happened to throw hard. The experiment worked, however, as Accardo kept the job all year, posting a sparkling 2.14 ERA with a 1.12 WHIP and 30 saves. It was an improbable season for a guy who had done nothing of note to that point in his career, and would do nothing of note going forward. B.J. Ryan returned in 2008, and Accardo was removed from the role. He was hurt for much of the year, and spent the next few seasons shuffling between the majors and the minors, never pitching effectively to stick around anywhere.

Fun Fact: Accardo became a Blue Jay, essentially by accident, in a trade that ended up working out very favorably for the Jays. In mid-2006, former All-Star Shea Hillenbrand famously wrote, “the ship is sinking,” in the locker room, causing the Jays to immediately designate him for assignment. In the few days after, the hard-throwing, cost controlled Accardo proved to be the best trade option for general manager J.P. Riccardi, so he pulled the trigger on a trade he was obviously forced into.

1.Mike Huff 1994

No one better represents a one-year wonder than left-fielder Mike Huff. It’s possible many Jays fans have never heard of him, but he was an amazing offensive player, for one season, and one season only, in 1994. Huff had been a fourth outfielder type for four seasons, but a very bad one, as evidenced by his 1992 and 1993 OPS totals of .526 and .617. He was brought in to be the team’s fourth outfielder, mostly because no-one else on the roster at the time stood a chance of being able to play centre field. Soon after he joined, the Carlos Delgado in left-field experience was deemed a failure, and Huff became the everyday left-fielder. In the abbreviated season, Huff was on par with his all-star teammates, hitting over .300, walking a lot, and ending the season with a .842 OPS. That OPS was amazingly the third best total on a team that featured Joe Carter, Paul Molitor, Devon White, Roberto Alomar and John Olerud.

The 1994 Blue Jays were a huge disappointment, but Huff was amazing. He hadn’t been remotely that player previous to 1994, and would never be it again. The Jays moved Joe Carter to left field to make room for rookie Shawn Green in right at the beginning of the 1995 season, and Huff moved back to his role as a back-up, and went back to his well-below-average hitting ways. He was out of baseball by the end of 1996.

Fun Fact: Look at these slash lines from two players on the 1994 Toronto Blue Jays:

Player A: .306/.386/.452
Player 2: .307/.293/.449

Player A is Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar. Player B is Mike Huff. Baseball is awesome.

Hanson still makes music. It’s actually pretty good. But nothing will ever duplicate the success of an 11 year old Taylor Hanson singing a catchy, nonsensical chorus one can’t help but hum along to. So, too it is with the players on the list. What they had done, and what they did after notwithstanding, there’s a beauty in the moments discussed here. These moments, in the history of this team, matter. The current team has many players who had one good season in 2015 and none before that, but here’s hoping that they don’t end up on this list.

Lead Photo: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

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2 comments on “The 9 Best Blue Jays One Year Wonders”

Matt Moore

Nice article, brings back some memories! Just a nit-pick, I believe Huff’s OBP in the slash line comparison with Alomar should be .393

Andrew Arnold

You’re right. Huff’s OBP was .392 in 1994. Good catch.

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