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	<title>Toronto &#187; Andrew Arnold</title>
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		<title>The 9 Greatest Seasons by Position in Blue Jays History</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/01/13/the-9-greatest-seasons-by-position-in-blue-jays-history/</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Jan 2017 17:50:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Andrew Arnold]]></dc:creator>
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		<category><![CDATA[The 9]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Winter doldrums have taken me over. I miss baseball. I wake every morning, and like so many of you, scour social media for any sign of life from the Blue Jays front office. This week&#8217;s one year contracts to avoid arbitration provided me with far more entertainment than it should. April seems so far away. [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Winter doldrums have taken me over. I miss baseball. I wake every morning, and like so many of you, scour social media for any sign of life from the Blue Jays front office. This week&#8217;s one year contracts to avoid arbitration provided me with far more entertainment than it should. April seems so far away. So until then, and while there are no other moves happening, let&#8217;s remember some of the greatest seasons ever by our beloved Blue Jays.</p>
<p>With at least one of these players leaving this team this offseason, it seems a good time to make this sort of list. Taking into consideration how the league performed in each of these seasons, and paying attention to individual accolades, here are the greatest seasons in Blue Jays history at the nine spots on the diamond:</p>
<h3>BONUS &#8211; Designated Hitter:</h3>
<h4><strong>Edwin Encarnacion, 2012: .280/.354/.557, 42 HR, 110 RBIS, 150 wRC+</strong></h4>
<p>We are going to miss this man now that he’s a Cleveland Indian. He was just so much better than any other DH the Jays have ever had, way ahead of everyone else on the all-time Toronto Blue Jay DH leaderboard in pretty much every stat. In terms of wRC+ and TAv, which as a DH are certainly a relevant stat, Edwin’s 2012-2015 seasons are the top four of any DH the Jays have ever had. (His 2016 season was his worst by both metrics since he broke out, and he’s almost as old as I am, so there’s reason to think he can’t continue that success going forward. This thought, at least, is how I sleep at night as he moves to the city of Rock and Roll.)</p>
<p>Of all these seasons, Encarnacion&#8217;s 2012 was the best. He managed to have the most HR, RBI, SLG and OPS of any DH that season. It was also the only season as a member of the Jay that he spent a significant amount of time without a fellow elite offensive player in the order, as Jose Bautista was limited to only 92 games that year. Edwin has provided this franchise with so many amazing seasons, and so many amazing moments, including one last year that we will all never forget. He also happened to provide, in 2012, the greatest season in Jays DH history.</p>
<p><strong>Also considered:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Dave Winfield, 1992:</strong> The first time the Jays had made a big free agent splash in their history, Winfield would prove that, even at age 40, he could still rake. He would win the silver slugger award at season’s end and would cap it all off with the most famous double in team history, providing the winning hit of the World Series.</p>
<p><strong>Paul Molitor, 1993:</strong> This future hall of famer would make the All-Star team and finish second in MVP voting in his first season as a Blue Jay. He would also win the silver slugger and cap off his season by being named the MVP of the World Series. His .332/.402/.509 line isn’t too shabby, either.</p>
<p><strong>Adam Lind: 2009:</strong> Lind won his only silver slugger award in 2009. This long-time Blue Jay hit .305/.370/.562. That slugging percentage is the highest of any Blue Jay season by a DH, ever.</p>
<h3>9. Right Field</h3>
<h4><strong> Jose Bautista, 2011: .302/.447/.608, 43 HR, 105 RBI, 181 wRC+, All-Star, Silver Slugger</strong></h4>
<p>No one should be surprised to see this name on the list. What may surprise some is the season that I have selected as his greatest. The previous year, in 2010, Jose managed 54 HR, the most in Blue Jays history, but his 2011 season was better rounded, highlighted by his .447 OBP, 357 TAv and 181 wRC+. In the past 25 years, only Bryce Harper’s 2015 season had a higher wRC+ than Bautista’s 2011, and only Harper and Sammy Sosa&#8217;s 64 HR 2001 are ahead in TAv. After signing an extension after his break-out 2010 season, Joey Bats could have, nay, should have won the MVP.</p>
<p>He did win the Hank Aaron Award as the best offensive player in baseball for the second consecutive year, and received the most votes in baseball and was subsequently a starter at the All-Star game. Offensively, it was possibly the greatest season in Toronto Blue Jay history, at any position, so it certainly deserves a place on this list as the greatest season by a right fielder. Defensively, Bautista has never been spectacular, but he did manage a career high 13 outfield assists in 2011, while actually spending most of July as the third baseman. He will remain in Blue Jays lore and almost certainly one day have his name etched in the level of excellence, but in 2011, as the Blue Jays starting right fielder for most of the season, he had was the best right fielder the Jays have ever had.</p>
<p><strong>Also Considered:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Jesse Barfield, 1986:</strong> Jesse Barfield had a monster season in 1986. Like Jose in 2011, Barfield could have very well been named the MVP that season, but instead finished a distant 6th (behind even teammate George Bell). He led the majors in home-runs, won the silver slugger and gold glove, and made the All-Star team.</p>
<p><strong>Shawn Green: 1999:</strong> This was the monster season many were expecting from Green from the time he broke into the majors. He won the silver slugger and gold glove, and made the All-Star team while finishing fifth in MVP voting. His .309/.384/.588 slash line was incredible, to say the least.</p>
<h3><strong>8. Centre Field</strong></h3>
<h4><strong>Vernon Wells, 2006: .303/.357/.542, 32 HR, 17SB, Gold Glove, All-Star</strong></h4>
<p>The Blue Jays have been spoiled by having many fantastic centre fielders in their 40 year history. Of the multitude of seasons and players to choose from, none was better than Vernon Wells&#8217; 2006 season. He won his third consecutive Gold Glove at an elite defensive position, while also having an incredible offensive season. This All-Star would parlay his career year into signing the biggest contract in Blue Jays history, a contract he would not come close to living up to. But Wells was the best centre fielder the Blue Jays ever had, and his 2006 season was the best season by a centre fielder in Blue Jays history.</p>
<p><strong>Also Considered:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Lloyd Moseby, 1984:</strong> Moseby was one of the greatest centre fielders of the 1980s and one part of what was certainly the greatest outfield in Jays history, flanked by George Bell and Jesse Barfield. Moseby’s best season came in 1984, as the Jays were just coming into their own as contenders. He hit 18 home runs and stole 39 bases to go along with a .280/.368/.470 slash line.</p>
<p><strong>Devon White, 1991:</strong> White&#8217;s best season as a Blue Jay came in his first season as a member of the team. He won the Gold Glove award as the best defensive centre fielder in the game and helped the Jays make the postseason. He had a strong all around offensive season that year as well, hitting 17 home-runs and stealing 33 bases from the leadoff spot.</p>
<p><strong>Jose Cruz, Jr., 2001:</strong> While he didn&#8217;t have the same strong career as a Blue Jay as any of Wells, Moseby or White, Cruz, in 2001, had one of the best offensive seasons by a Blue Jay centre fielder. He had an .857 OPS while being the only the second Blue Jay to ever reach the 30/30 plateau, stealing 30 bases and hitting 30 home-runs in the same season.</p>
<h3>7. Left Field</h3>
<h4><strong> Rickey Henderson, 1993: .215/.356/.319 22 SB, World Series</strong></h4>
<p>This time last year, the <a href="http://www.bluejaysplus.com/who-is-the-greatest-bluejay-of-all-time/" target="_blank">BPToronto staff were all tasked with picking the player we believe to be the greatest Blue Jay of all time</a>. As this writer’s selection was Rickey Henderson, who played all of half a season with the team, it seems the only option would be to choose that season as the greatest left field season of all time, as well. Coming to the team in a trade, Henderson hit a whopping .214 after immediately being placed in the lead-off position. He would also&#8230;</p>
<p>Ok Ok. I’m joking. There’s a real answer here, and it’s fairly obvious. The greatest season all time for a left fielder is:</p>
<h4><strong>George Bell, 1987: .308/.352/.605, 47 home-runs, MVP, Silver Slugger, All-Star</strong></h4>
<p>Lots has been said about George Bell’s MVP win in 1987. The first of its kind of the Toronto Blue Jays, baseball historians often debate whether or not it was warranted. What’s not debatable is that it was a monster season, offensively. A slash line of .308/.352/.605 to go along with 47 HR and 134 RBIs is a pretty spectacular season by any standard. Bell didn’t run the bases well or play a very good left field, but his 1987, a year in which he made the All-Star team and won a silver slugger award to go along with his MVP award, has to go down as the greatest season by a Blue Jay left fielder of all time. Offensively, no one else really came all that close.</p>
<p><strong>Also Considered:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Dave Collins, 1984:</strong> Not really close to Bell’s, Collins gets his name on this list because, in only 128 games, he set the team record with 60 stolen bases &#8211; a record that still stands. He also hit very well that season, to the tune of .308/.366/.444.</p>
<p><strong>Joe Carter, 1991:</strong> Level of excellence member Carter is most famous for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F5HwiGm7lg" target="_blank">THAT home-run</a>, but he was very solid in 1991, a bounce-back campaign for him after he was traded to the Jays after a very poor 1990. He made the All-Star team and won the silver slugger on his way to helping the Jays return to the post-season after a one-year absence.</p>
<p><strong>Shannon Stewart, 2000:</strong> The most complete season by a left-fielder in Blue Jay history, Stewart hit .319 with 21 home-runs, 20 stolen bases and played a very good left-field in the year 2000. It was the career year of a player who spent years as a solid every day left fielder for the team.</p>
<h3>6. Shortstop</h3>
<h4><strong> Tony Fernandez, 1987 .322/.379/.426, 32 SB, Gold Glove, All-Star</strong></h4>
<p>The second entry on this list from the same season, Tony Fernandez had a splendid season in his own right the year his teammate was winning the MVP. The all-time leader in games played as a Blue Jay, Fernandez was at his best in 1987, hitting for average, stealing a career-high in bases and winning his seconnd of four consecutive Gold Gloves. Overshadowed during the season as Alan Trammell had one of the best seasons by a shortstop of all time, Fernandez was nonetheless a deserving All-Star for the second time. Fernandez had other seasons that likely could have been included on this list, but his 1987 makes the cut over the rest.</p>
<p><strong>Also Considered:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Tony Batista, 1999:</strong> Batista’s 26 home-runs are still a record for Blue Jays shortstops. His .565 slugging percentage is over 100 points higher than any qualified Jays shortstop, and had he have been with the team all year, instead of only 94 games after a mid-season trade, it’s very possible that Batista would be number one on this list.</p>
<p><strong>Marco Scuturo, 2008:</strong> Utility player Marco Scutaro came to Toronto in 2008 to take over the shortstop position. He had a career year in 2009, hitting double digit home-runs and stealing bases for the first time in his career. He played a very solid shortstop, and his 13.2% walk-rate and .379 OBP was surpassed by no other Blue Jay shortstop in history.</p>
<h3>5. Third Base</h3>
<h4><strong> Josh Donaldson, 2015: .297/.371/.568, 41 HR, MVP, Hank Aaron Award, Silver Slugger, All-Star</strong></h4>
<p>This was an easy decision. Winning the MVP award over the best player of this generation in Mike Trout, Donaldson helped the 2015 Toronto Blue Jays break a 22 year play-off drought, capping it off by hitting an extra-innings walk-off home run in the home finale. There’s other names on the “also considered” list, but really, there was only ever one consideration here. Josh Donaldson probably had the best all around season of any Blue Jay position player in team history in 2015. Arriving in a surprise trade in the offseason, he quickly endeared himself to fans, making everyone forget about fan favourite Brett Lawrie while taking a step forward in his career performance-wise.</p>
<p><strong>Also Considered:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Kelly Gruber, 1990:</strong> Long time Blue Jay and long time mullet aficionado Kelly Gruber had his best season in 1990. He hit 31 home-runs, while winning both the silver slugger and gold glove award and making the All-Star team for the second time in his career. Until Donaldson came along, this was the standard for Jays third base seasons.</p>
<p><strong>Josh Donaldson, 2016: </strong>Troy Glaus, and Tonys Fernandez and Batista all had fairly decent seasons at third base for the Jays, but no-one else really came close to what Donaldson has done the past two seasons. His 2016 probably doesn&#8217;t quite measure up defensively or all-around as his MVP season, but he did walk much more and strikeout less in 2016 than 2015.</p>
<h3>4. Second Base</h3>
<h4><strong> Roberto Alomar, 1993 .326/.408/.492 55 SB, Gold Glove, All-Star</strong></h4>
<p>Being voted to an All-Star team that you get to play in front of your home fans or scoring the winning run of the World Series are probably the kind of things people only dream of. Robbie Alomar accomplished all of those things in 1991 and 1992, respectively, but his 1993 season was the greatest ever by a second baseman in Blue Jays history.</p>
<p>This future Hall of Famer dazzled fans with his diving grabs, his daring steal attempts and his all around excellent bat. Hitting seconnd, third, and sixth in the order at different points of the season, Alomar would finish with the thirrd highest batting average in the American league, behind teammates John Olerud and Paul Molitor, marking the first time in over 100 year that teammates would finish in the top three in this category. He would also finish 6th in the end of year MVP race, and finish first in our hearts (or at least mine).</p>
<p><strong>Also Considered:</strong></p>
<p><strong> Roberto Alomar, 1992:</strong> With numbers almost identical to his 1993, minus the power numbers (9 homeruns in 1992 vs. 17 in 1992) Alomar finished 6th in MVP voting, as well as being named to the All-Star team and winning a gold glove. He also capped the season off by winning the ALCS MVP and helping lead the team to their first championship in history and scoring the aforementioned series winning run.</p>
<p><strong>Orlando Hudson, 2005:</strong> Hudson’s three seasons as the Blue Jays regular second baseman were all very similar and very solid. His last season as a Blue Jay featured elite defense and a .271/.315/.412. Those are solid, yet unspectacular numbers for a middle infielder, but he makes this list because in addition to this, he managed to win the first of what would be multiple gold gloves.</p>
<p><strong>Aaron Hill, 2009:</strong> His 36 home runs remain a single season record for Blue Jays keystone sackers. He made the All-Star team that season for the only time in his career, won the Silver Slugger Award and the Comeback Player of the Year Award. Together with the aforementioned Adam Lind, they surprised everyone as one of the top two hitters on the team for that season.</p>
<h3>3. First Base</h3>
<h4><strong> John Olerud, 1993 .363/.473/.599, All-Star, World Series</strong></h4>
<p>In his fourth full season as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, Olerud finally lived up to the potential the team had seen when they elected to trade one of the best hitters in baseball, Fred McGriff, to allow him to play full time, in 1991. After two solid, but unspectacular seasons, Olerud took off in 1993, spending almost the entire season as the batting average leader, and was hitting .400 as late as August 2nd. He would finish the season third in MVP award voting, but likely deserved to win. He did make an All-Star team, and win his second world series. At a position that has featured some fantastic performances, Olerud’s 1993 stands above the rest. He had a very solid career, but would never be <em>this</em> good never again. For one season though, this man&#8217;sbeautiful swing provided many magical moments, and the greatest season of any other Blue Jay first baseman.</p>
<p><strong>Also Considered:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Willie Upshaw, 1983:</strong> The first Blue Jay to ever reach the 100 RBI plateau, Upshaw had a career year in 1983, slashing .306/.373/.515 and was likely better than every other MLB first baseman not named Eddie Murray. Not on par with a couple other seasons the team has received from their first basemen, it nonetheless deserves a spot on this list as the best offensive season the Blue Jays had seen to that point of their existence.</p>
<p><strong>Carlos Delgado, 2000:</strong> Delgado had a monster season in 2000, with a slash line of ..344/.470/.664. He also had 41 home runs, and finished fourth in MVP award voting. This season was on par with Olerud’s 1993, but finishes slightly behind on this list because the league-wide offense in 2000 was much more explosive than in 1993.</p>
<h4>2. Catcher</h4>
<h4><strong> Russell Martin, 2015 .240/.329/.458, 23 HR, 44% CS, All-Star</strong></h4>
<p>This may surprise many people, but Russell Martin’s 2015 campaign was the greatest season by a catcher in team history. Not only were his 23 home-runs tied for the most home-runs ever by a catcher in team history, but he finished second in the Gold Glove Award voting after leading the league in caught stealing rate, made the All-Star team (only the 3rd time this happened for a catcher in Blue Jays history), and played a big part in solidifying a rotation and a team that would make the postseason for the first time in 22 years. The first elite catcher the Blue Jays have ever had, Martin&#8217;s first season with the team didn&#8217;t fail to live up to expectations.</p>
<p><strong>Also Considered:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Ernie Whitt, 1985:</strong> The longest-serving catcher in Blue Jays history made his only All-Star Game in 1985. He spent the 1980s with solid seasons as the left-handed hitting side of Bobby Cox’s catcher platoon (Buck Martinez served as the other half of the platoon) and deserves a mention on this list.</p>
<p><strong>Darren Fletcher, 2000:</strong> Despite not being the strongest catcher defensively, Fletcher had the greatest <em>offensive</em> season by a Jays catcher in 2000, as both his .320 average and .515 slugging percentage were the best in team history at the position. He hit three home-runs in one game on Aug 27th, and was one of seven Blue Jays to hit 20 home-runs that season.</p>
<h3>1.Pitcher</h3>
<h4><strong> Roger Clemens, 1997: 21-7 2.05 ERA, 292 SO, Cy Young Award, All-Star</strong></h4>
<p>This season was easily the best by a pitcher in Blue Jays history. It’s actually one of the best in baseball history, in general. Clemens was signed as a high profile free agent in the offseason, and somehow exceeded expectations as he ended up winning the Pitching Triple Crown with the most wins, best ERA, and most strikeouts in the American League, en route to winning the Cy Young award. His 2.05 ERA is the best in Blue Jays history despite coming in the middle of one of the biggest offensive seasons ever. He also had the most strikeouts in Blue Jays history. Incredibly, Clemens only allowed 9 homeruns that season. It was probably the best season of Clemens’ career, and certainly the best season in Jays history.</p>
<p><strong>Also considered:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Dave Stieb, 1984:</strong> The Blue Jays first superstar, Stieb had perhaps his finest season in 1984. His 2.83 ERA was second in the AL, as were his 198 strikeouts. He also led the league in innings pitched and started the All-Star Game for the second year in a row.</p>
<p><strong>Roger Clemens, 1998:</strong> Unable to quite top his previous season, Clemens nonetheless posted another Triple Crown campaign and won another Cy Young. He had the highest strikeout rate of anyone in Blue Jays history, and was again the best pitcher in baseball.</p>
<p><strong>Roy Halladay, 2003:</strong> The best pitcher in team history won his only Cy Young Award as a member of the Jays in 2003, making the All-Star Game and leading the American League in wins and innings (by over 20!), while finishing only 3 strikeouts away from first. It was a great year, just not quite great enough.</p>
<p>And this concludes this month&#8217;s installment of &#8220;The Nine.&#8221; I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. These trips down memory lane (or, in the case of mid-80s teams, a historical study) are always great fun.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: © Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>The 9 Best Blue Jays Free Agent Signings</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/11/04/the-nine-best-blue-jays-free-agent-signings/</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Nov 2016 10:00:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Andrew Arnold]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The 9]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=7766</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Ok, so the season is over. The World Series was exciting, but the wrong teams were playing. Free agency officially began yesterday (kind of…teams can only negotiate with their own free agents for the first five days) and this Blue Jays team has some obvious decisions to make. You already all know what these decisions [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Ok, so the season is over. The World Series was exciting, but the wrong teams were playing. Free agency officially began yesterday (kind of…teams can only negotiate with their own free agents for the first five days) and this Blue Jays team has some obvious decisions to make. You already all know what these decisions are, and have read multiple articles about them, and will see any more in the coming days, so let’s do what the nine does best…focus on the past. The Blue Jays have made some fantastic free agent signings over the years, and here’s hoping by the time spring training roles around there will be many more names added to the list.</p>
<p>Of note: this list includes only players who were signed away from another team, extensions and re-signing like the ones given to Joe Carter, Roy Halladay, Jose Bautista and others didn’t qualify for this list.</p>
<h4>9. Frank Catalanotto, 4 yr/10 million on Dec 28, 2002</h4>
<p>This list could have opened with a virtual ten-way tie, as the Blue Jays have signed a lot of low profile, good impact players over the years. I chose Frank, in part, because he ended up playing five seasons with the club. I also chose Catalanotto because I wrote this a day before my anniversary, and Frank Catalanotto was my wife’s favourite player for his tenure in Toronto. Catalanotto joined the Jays from the Rangers organization and preceded to fill out the left-handed hitting side of a platoon with Reed Johnson for the majority of his time with the team. On the cheap, the Jays ended up with a high on-base guy to put near the top of the order, as he hit second for much of his time in Toronto. His lowest OBP as a Jay was .344 and he had an above average wRC+ for four of his five seasons in Toronto. A great addition to any team, he filled his role perfectly; never an all star or really even a full time player, Catalanotto produced for half a decade for the Jays.</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact:</strong> Not only does he have the greatest last name in Blue Jays history, he also managed to set the team record for hits in a game, going 6/6 in a win against the Chicago White Sox on May 1, 2004. Toronto won the game 10-6, as Catalanotto hit five singles and one double from the his familiar second spot in the batting order.</p>
<h4>8. Russell Martin, 5 yr/82 million on Nov 14, 2014</h4>
<p>Others (in particular, Vernon Wells) have signed for more money as a Blue Jay, but nobody has signed a larger free agent contract to join the Jays than Canadian product and elite catcher Russell Martin. It’s perhaps too early to include him on this list, as he’s only two years into his five year contract with the Jays, but what Martin has done with this team in the last two years earns him a place on this list in my mind. Martin joined the team as a former three time all-star, as well as a former gold glove and silver slugger award winner. The fact that he is a Canadian playing for the only Canadian team certainly made him even more attractive, and he hasn’t disappointed. Signed in large part to handle the pitching staff and provide leadership, he brought with him a pedigree of winning, as his teams always seem to make the postseason. These characteristics are all unquantifiable, but as the Jays have made the postseason the two years he’s been here, it’s safe to say the team is happy with the signing. He has also been an above average hitter while here, and made the all star team in 2015.</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact:</strong> Martin has a tattoo on his chest that states “World Citizen.” While fans of the Blue Jays are proud to call Martin one of their own, Martin is proud to have been part of many cultures. Biracial and bilingual, Martin spent most of his school days with his Mom in Paris, France and most of his summers in Montreal, Canada with his Dad. He attended college in the United States (at the same college and same time as Jose Bautista) and played the majority of his career thus far in the USA. He calls himself, and is, a Canadian, but is proud of his globetrotting life.</p>
<h4>7. Scott Downs, minor league contract, Dec 16, 2004</h4>
<p>Scott was an unheralded signing in the offseason of 2004. After failing as starter, he was soon moved to the bullpen, where he spent the better part of a decade dominating batters in the late innings. He even had seasons with ERAs as low as 1.78 and 2.17. Initially used as a LOOGY in the pen, he eventually made his way later into the game, and even took over for a time as the team’s closer for a time. He excelled in every bullpen role the team gave him, and finished with a 3.13 ERA over six years as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. His high 80s fastball and slow curve gave hitters fits for a long time. Not bad for a guy signed to a minor league contract with only an invite to spring training.</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact:</strong> For a long time it was believed that Downs would scribble “Jesus Mary Joseph” in the dirt before his first pitch out of the pen each outing, but Downs stated this was false. He was actually writing the initials of his two children, Katherine and Harrison, whose mother (and Downs&#8217; wife) was his high school sweetheart.</p>
<h4>6. Jose Canseco, 1 year/2 million, on December 4, 1998</h4>
<p>Injury prone, old, and eight years removed from his last all star appearance, former MVP Jose Canseco signed his name to an incredibly affordable contract and was given a shot at being the team’s regular DH heading into the 1998 season. He grabbed the shot and ran with it, playing in 151 games, which was only the fourth time he had ever managed that number in the past. As a 35 years old, he finished with the second most stolen bases of his career, with 29, and in the midst of league-wide home-run explosion finished with the most of his career, and a team high 46. Only on the team for one year, he nonetheless had a great season by any standard, and left an indelible mark on the organization and the city as a whole</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact:</strong> I’ve heard rumours of a book, and a boxing career, and that he might have a social media presence, but I frankly can’t think of a single fun fact about Jose Canseco, the guy has just been too low profile.</p>
<h4>5. Dave Stewart, 2 years/8.5 millions, December 8, 1992</h4>
<p>The old adage goes that if you can’t beat them, join them. In the Blue Jays case with Dave Stewart, they decided that they couldn&#8217;t beat him, so they asked him to join them. Stewart had dominated the Blue Jays in the postseason in both 1989 and 1992, and had famously no-hit them in 1990. He was, along with Rickey Henderson, public enemy number 1 in a lot of fan’s eyes. Offering the ALCS and World Series MVP a contract much larger than the A’s were willing to, the defending World Series champions made themselves even stronger heading into the 1993 season. He would have an injury prone first season with the team, and a rather pedestrian 4.44 ERA in 1993 (which was still good for 3rd on the team) and would be even worse in 1994, but he’s on this list because he ended up dominating in the ALCS. He won both games two and six, and took home ALCS MVP honours. This was exactly why they signed him. He would also go on to be the starting pitcher in the World Series clinching game six against the Phillies. Dave Stewart, by playing a significant role in helping the Jays repeat as World Series champions, deserves to make this list.</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact:</strong> Dave Stewart’s success was heralded by coaches, players and the media alike due to two factors: he had a devastating forkball, and something dubbed “The Death Stare” that was said to have hitters beat before he even threw a pitch. Glaring in to take the sign, Stewart would then lift his glove up to cover all of his face save his menacing eyes. Staring witheringly at hitters, he would then go into his wind-up. It was widely accepted at the time that Stewart’s stare made him the scariest pitcher in all of baseball. It is unlikely this sentiment would be so widely shared in today’s advanced metric era.</p>
<h4>4. Jack Morris, 2 years/10.85 million, on Dec 18, 1991</h4>
<p>Less than two months after one of the greatest pitching performances in history, a 10 inning complete game shut-out win in Game 7 of the World Series, the Toronto Blue Jays signed the winningest pitcher of the 1980s to the largest contract ever given at that time to a pitcher, prying him and his World Series MVP award away from the Minnesota Twins. Morris would proceed to start opening day, win 21 games and finish fifth in Cy Young voting for the division winning and eventual World Series champion Toronto Blue Jays. Morris was the second big name signing the Blue Jays had ever had in their entire history up to that point (Ken Dayley was the first, in 1990, but would only appear in 10 games over an injury riddled Blue Jay career) and his signing (and one other performed a day after that features later on this list) would go a long way to putting the Blue Jays over the hump and on their way to World Series victory.</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact:</strong> Jack Morris started opening days for three different teams. He was the highest paid pitcher in baseball for all three of those teams. He won World Series with all three of these teams. And finally, post-career, he worked as a broadcaster for all three of those teams as well (including, remarkably, working for two major league teams, the Tigers and the Twins, at the same time). It’s safe to say his impact in Detroit, Minnesota and Toronto will not soon be forgotten.</p>
<h4>3. Dave Winfield, 1 year/2.3 million on Dec 19, 1991</h4>
<p>A day after the Blue Jays made history by signing Jack Morris, they went out and signed future hall of famer Dave Winfield to be the team’s everyday DH. Formerly an elite all around player, the team thought Winfield could still hit, even at 41 years old. And hit, he did, to the tune of .290/26/100. He would end up finishing fifth in MVP voting at the end of the year, and would cap off a great season by hitting the most famous double in Blue Jays history, cashing in both Devon White and Roberto Alomar to give the Blue Jays a lead they would not relinquish in the deciding game 6 of the 1992 World Series. Curiously, the Blue Jays didn’t offer him a contract at season’s end, but for his great season, and for that one, big, huge, significant hit, Winfield makes this list.</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact:</strong> Unlike stadium patrons of the recent Blue Jays, the fans in 1992 were very quiet and respectful. Too much so, in Winfield’s eyes. After telling the Toronto Star’s Jim Proudfoot that he would be happy if the fans would start cheering a bit more for their own team, signs emblazoned with “Winfield wants noise” became the norm at Blue Jays games, as did a loud fan base.</p>
<h4>2. Paul Molitor, 3 yrs/13 million on Dec 7, 1992</h4>
<p>After winning the World Series, the Blue Jays decided to re-sign one power hitter, Joe Carter, to a 3 year/19.5 million dollar contract, while electing to let the older power threat, Dave Winfield walk. To fill his place, they turned to another future Hall of Famer in the later stages of his career, Paul Molitor. Still an elite bat, the Jays allegedly offered Molitor more than two million dollars per season more than any other team, and were able to bring his talents north of border. Molitor would not disappoint. He hit .332, with 21 home-runs, and finish second in MVP voting at season’s end. He would follow it up by hitting .341 during the next, strike-shortened, season. Even more significant in many fan’s eyes is that he would hit .500 in the 1993 World Series with two triples and two home runs on route to winning World Series MVP honours. A great free agent sign, indeed.</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact:</strong> As a Blue Jay, Molitor played 28 games at first base, and the rest as a designated hitter (and then actually played third base in the World Series). Over his long career, he played almost half his games without picking up a glove and was the first person to enter the hall of fame as a primary DH. Interestingly, while never really known as a great fielder, Molitor actually started multiple games at every single position other than catcher or pitcher throughout his career. It&#8217;s hard for early 90s Jays fans to imagine him as a shortstop or centre fielder, but he started more than 40 games at each spot during his storied career.</p>
<h4>1.Roger Clemens, 4 years/40 million on Dec 13, 1996</h4>
<p>The 1994, 1995 and 1996 Blue Jays were huge disappointments. Wanting to improve, the team added a multitude of players in the 1996-1997 offseason, including Orlando Merced, Benito Santiago, Carlos Garcia, Otis Nixon, and Roger Clemens. All but the latter turned out to be huge flops. Clemens, however, signed the richest pitching contract in history at the time to join a staff that already included 1996 Cy Young winner Pat Hengten and 1996 ERA leader Juan Guzman. All Clemens did in his two seasons as a Jay was win the pitching triple crown (wins, ERA and strikeouts) both years and take home back-to-back Cy Young awards. He put in probably the two best pitching years by any Blue Jay pitcher in history, in the height of the steroid era. He is the best free agent the Blue Jays ever signed.</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact:</strong> At the conclusion of Clemens’ first season as a Blue Jay, Cito Gaston was fired as the manager. To this day, Cito claims that Roger was very influential in his departure. Since Clemens was very good friends with Tim Johnson from their time together in Boston, Gaston believed that Roger led to both his own dismissal and Johnson’s hiring.</p>
<p>There you have it. A similar list could be made featuring the worst free agent signings, as for every Dave Winfield there’s a Frank Thomas, and for every Roger Clemens exists an Erik Hanson. Current Blue Jay J.A. Happ would love to make his way up this list, and could very well do it in the coming seasons. It’s the hope of every Jays that this offseason is one that will still be remembered 30 years from now for the positive additions made.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>The 9 Best Things To Do On An Off Day</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/08/22/the-nine-best-things-to-do-on-an-off-a-day/</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Aug 2016 18:54:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Andrew Arnold]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The 9]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blue jays]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Off Day]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Well, that series against the Cleveland Baseball Club was incredibly disappointing. Any given Blue Jay fan will awake early this morning to prepare for another long week of work, awash only in the satisfaction that, as the old baseball adage goes, “there’s always tomorrow.” As said fan takes a break to grab their third cup of [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Well, that series against the Cleveland Baseball Club was incredibly disappointing. Any given Blue Jay fan will awake early this morning to prepare for another long week of work, awash only in the satisfaction that, as the old baseball adage goes, “there’s always tomorrow.” As said fan takes a break to grab their third cup of coffee at 10:00 this morning, they will happen to glance at the team schedule and realize, to their dismay, that today is an off day. There’s no Blue Jays baseball tonight. No Olympics, either. The Hip have performed their last concert, Summerslam happened, The Arkells aren’t currently touring in Canada, and fall TV programming hasn&#8217;t yet begun. What is a fan to do? Whatever will they do with their precious few hours of free time on this Monday night? Never fear, friend, BP Toronto is here to help. In this very special issue of “the nine” we will explore the 9 greatest off day activities any Blue Jays fan can participate in.</p>
<h4>9. Read a Book</h4>
<p>I know what you’re thinking here, and I understand. School outs (for the summer, or forever, depending on your age), but hear me out. There are some fantastic pieces of writing about the Blue Jays, and some won’t even take long. Read an autobiography (spoiler alert, they all contain pictures). Current Blue Jay R.A. Dickey has a great one. Past Blue Jay great Roberto Alomar does too. Every current Blue Jays beat writer has also penned a book in the last few years; check out one of those. Read a classic novel like Shoeless Joe or the Art of Fielding. Or, shameless plug here for a future article, check out Ontario-born Andrew Forbes’ ode to fandom, “The Utility of Boredom.” It’s short, and awesome. The best part of reading a book is that you can feel superior the next day. “What did you do last night?” “Oh, nothing, just read some great and classic literature. You know,the usual”</p>
<h4>8. Write a Fan Letter</h4>
<p>Speaking of outdated concepts involving pens and paper&#8230;don’t you think it’s about time the current crop of Toronto Blue Jays were inundated with a never ending, impossible to get through stack of handmade cards, love letters, and autograph requests? You want Marcos Estrada to teach you how to throw a change-up? You want Josh Donaldson to marry you? You would love to share a glass of Merlot with John Gibbons? What better way to ask them than by spending hours painstakingly crafting a beautiful letter on fancy parchment, stopping every five minutes to avoid writer’s cramps. Dust off your old dictionary to check your spelling, look frantically around your house for a pen that still works, and get to work.</p>
<h4>7. Get a Blue Jays Haircut</h4>
<p>Come on, you know it’s probably long overdue. I get it, you’ve been busy, what with it being summer, and baseball season, and all. But it’s time. And what better way to show your support to your team with a classic hairstyle emulated after your favourite player. For some of us, the “Ryan Goins” is pretty much the only option we have left, but for those of you with hair, go all in to look like Stroman, or Osuna, or Syndergaard. Scratch that, don’t get a Syndergaard haircut. Don’t do it. Scores of people would, in the past, show up to work, church, and on dates sporting the classic “Rachel” hairstyle; isn’t about time scores of people started rocking “The Donaldson”?</p>
<h4>6. Watch a Classic Jays Game</h4>
<p>I know, you do this all winter. You’ve seen Joe touch ‘em all thousands of times. You’ve seen the bat flip almost as much. You’ve seen Timlin flip to Carter at first. But when was the last time you saw the bloody chin game? That’s right, Jays fans, for those of you with 4 1/4 hours to spare, engross yourself in what was the offensive spectacle of the 1993 game 4 series. Great game, great players, great moments. Watch it. I won’t spoil the ending for you, but the game featured the same losing pitcher that Game 6 would feature.</p>
<h4>5. Spend Hours Looking Up Obscure Jays Stats</h4>
<p>Think of how impressed your friends will be that you know that the Blue Jays&#8217; all time team leader in caught stealing is a three way tie between Tony Fernandez, Damaso Garcia and Lloyd Moseby. Or that Juan Guzman has the most wild pitches of any Blue Jay in history. An added bonus to this activity is that you can waste away so many hours that you forget to sleep and end up on browsing baseball prospectus to glean more advanced metric knowledge at 3 am. Perfect night, if you ask me.</p>
<h4>4. Organize Your Baseball Card Collection&#8230;Again</h4>
<p>I know you have your most prized Fred McGriff rookie card in a plastic case and displayed alongside your Marcus Stroman bobblehead and Greg Myers signed ball. But when was the last time you really took time to look through your baseball cards. You collected them, kept them in pristine shape, knowing that one day they’d be worth a fortune. Every single one of your friends did the same thing, without any understanding of supply and demand, so they’re all essentially worthless today. Still, the flood of memories you’ll be able to uncover upon discovering a 1984 Jim Acker that you forgot you had will be worth the hours spent in your garage searching for that old LA Gear shoe box full of cards you’re sure you still have.</p>
<h4>3. Rewrite the “Ok, Blue Jays” Song</h4>
<p>This classic song, sung at every Blue Jays, and requiring the requisite arm pumping actions and loud refrain is due for a make-over. Written in 1982, it’s possible that the lyrics to the verses no longer apply. The concern for the darkness isn’t an issue at the Roger’s Centre like it was at exhibition stadium, nor is the worry of seagull flooding the field. And it’s unlikely that Dave Steib will be throwing a fastball to finish off a complete game win anymore. So grab your guitar, or rhyming dictionary,, and hunker down to create a new classic. Or even better, just read-write the lyrics to the old one. Shouldn’t be that hard; the original writer believed that “ok” rhymed with “Blue Jays”</p>
<h4>2. Go outside and play</h4>
<p>Get off your couch, grab your glove, and your kid, or your friend,and go outside and play a good old fashioned game of catch. If you have no one to play with, toss a tennis ball against a wall and practice catching it on the rebound. If this sounds like far less fun than sitting and relaxing for a well earned break, just remember that you’re never too old to learn the knuckleball and keep your dream of one day being a big leaguer alive.</p>
<h4>1. Stalk Current and Former Blue Jays on Social Media</h4>
<p>This is number one on this list because, let&#8217;s be honest, we are already all doing this. Since there’s no game to watch, we all really want to know what Jose Bautista had for lunch, what Marcus Stroman’s exercise regime look like today, and what Jesse Barfield’s take on Yasiel Puig is. It really is fascinating, and what better thing to do when you can’t spend the evening with the Blue Jays than spend the evening with the Blue Jays, by proxy. Social media has made it so much easier to see inside the lives of all our favourite athletes, so why not take advantage of it. And who knows, maybe this is the day Tulo finally joins the social media age. A man can dream, can’t he.</p>
<p>There you go. Things to do tonight. You’re welcome, fellow fans. Now you don’t have to spend tonight staring at a blank screen waiting for the day to end and for tomorrow to become today and the Angels to arrive in town.</p>
<p><i>Lead Photo: Kevin Sousa-USA TODAY Sports</i></p>
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		<title>The 9 Biggest Blue Jays All Star Snubs in History</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/07/11/the-nine-biggest-blue-jay-all-star-snubs-in-history/</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 11 Jul 2016 14:02:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Andrew Arnold]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The 9]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Tomorrow, the Blue Jays will send five players to represent them at the All Star game, although Marco Estrada won’t play. When the teams were initially named, it appeared that Sanchez might have been snubbed. Saunders, too. After injury replacements and fan voting, however, it appears every Blue Jay who is deserving of consideration is [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Tomorrow, the Blue Jays will send five players to represent them at the All Star game, although Marco Estrada won’t play. When the teams were initially named, it appeared that Sanchez might have been snubbed. Saunders, too. After injury replacements and fan voting, however, it appears every Blue Jay who is deserving of consideration is now a member of the 2016 All Star Team. This is wonderful. In the past, this hasn’t always been the case. Over the years, the team has had it’s fair share of all star snubs. Here are the top nine snubs in Blue Jays history:</p>
<p><b>9. Jimmy Key and Jim Clancy, 1987</b><br />
Our list begins with not one, but two deserving starting pitchers who failed to make the 1987 All Star team. Jim Clancy boasted the fourth best ERA in the first half, with 2.92, and his ten wins (which mattered to people back then even more than now) were good for sixth. Jimmy Key was slightly better, with the second best ERA at 2.87, a 9-6 record and the third most innings pitched at 147. Five starters were named to the game, and of them, only Bret Saberhagen deserved it more than either Key or Clancy. Guys like Bruce Hurst, with an identical record to Key but an ERA a run higher, Mark Langston, who struck out a bunch and led the league in innings but had a 4.46 ERA, and Jack Morris, who was leading the league in wins but was worse than the two Jays starters in basically every other category, made the team instead. Both Key and Clancy would make All-Star teams in their storied careers, but for some reason they were both snubbed for the same team in the same year.</p>
<p><b> Fun 1987 All-Star Fact</b><br />
The Toronto Blue Jays, in their 10th season, would have an impact at the All Star Game, as George Bell, who was in the midst of what would end up being the MVP season, was voted in by the fans. It marked the first time a Blue Jay had been voted in as a starter (Dave Stieb had previously been the starting pitcher, but named by the coach). It ended up being one of the most interesting All Star games ever, as the two teams remained scoreless until the National League scored twice in the 13th inning.</p>
<p><b>8. Cliff Johnson, 1983</b><br />
Slugger Cliff Johnson joined the Toronto Blue Jays prior to the 1983 season. A platoon bat for much of his career, Johnson got out of the gate hitting very well against both righties and lefties, and ended up gaining the lion’s share of the at bats at DH for the Toronto Blue Jays, a team who had vastly improved over previous versions. Playing in all but six games, he went into the All Star break leading every other DH in home runs, RBIs, and Slugging Percentage. Deserving his first ever appearance in the midsummer classic, Johnson instead was left home in favor of two future hall of famers in the twilight of their careers; Reggie Jackson was hitting .214 with 12 Home Runs, while 44-year old Carl Yastrezmski had only two home runs, and had only appeared in 47 games. Both men, based on reputation and star power, were added to the American League roster as the team’s DHs, while Johnson was left off. It would have been the first, and only, all-star appearance for this popular slugger.</p>
<p><b> Fun 1983 All Star Fact</b><br />
The American League would set a record for runs scored en route to winning the game 13-3, exactly 50 years since the first All Star Game. This game certainly wasn’t without Blue Jay influence, either. Dave Stieb was the American League starter, the first Blue Jay to start an all star game. He fared very well for himself, too, striking out Andre Dawson, Dale Murphy and Mike Schmidt all in a row in the first inning (after committing an error to allow Tim Raines to reach first)</p>
<p><b>7. Duane Ward, 1991</b><br />
Duane Ward was very, very good for more than one season as a Blue Jay as the best set-up man in baseball, but the first half of 1991 was probably his best start and led to his biggest All Star snub. Leading all American League relievers in appearances, innings, and strikeouts, he undoubtedly was one of the best relievers in all of baseball at the time. He even had 14 saves at the break, good for ninth in the American League, despite pitching primarily in the 8th inning. His 2.40 ERA, 11.02 K/9 and 0.96 WHIP were all sparkling. He was left off the roster, however, and likely wasn’t even considered for a spot, due to the high priority at the time given to full time closers. Instead, guys like Rick Aguilera and Jeff Reardon were named to the squad, with gaudy save numbers but far worse stats in basically every other category. Ward would end up having five amazing seasons in the setup role for Toronto, and wouldn’t have been out of place on an All Star team during any of those seasons. He’d have to wait until 1993, his first and only year as a closer, to make his only appearance.</p>
<p><b>Fun 1991 All Star Fact</b><br />
The 1991 game was a watershed moment for the city of Toronto. The Skydome, in only it’s third season of existence, was chosen to host the All Star game. Roberto Alomar, the only Blue Jay currently in the Hall of Fame, would be named a starter to the team for the first of many years. Canadian-born hall of famer Ferguson Jenkins threw out the first pitch, and in what seems apropo for a game held in Canada, the winning pitcher was Jimmy Key &#8211; a member of the Toronto Blue Jays &#8211; while the losing pitcher played for the OTHER Canadian team: Dennis Martinez, of the Montreal Expos. The American League won 4-2.</p>
<p><b>6. Lloyd Moseby, 1984</b><br />
Lloyd Moseby was one of the best center fielders in the game for the 1980s. He was also one of the most unappreciated. In 1984, he went into the All-Star break having a very well-rounded season, with a .289/.369/.535 slash line to go with 14 home runs, 53 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases. Those are All Star numbers by almost every account in almost any season for a center fielder who played close to elite level defense. Chet Lemon was voted in as the centre fielder that season, and there’s no complaints here about that decision, as his .307/.377/.540 was slightly better than Moseby’s (although without the added stolen base dimension). However, for some reason, the other five outfielders on the squad were ALL corner outfielders, and they ALL probably had worse stats than Moseby did at the time (only Dave Winfield had a higher slugging percentage, but he’d missed 20 games due to injury). The Blue Jays were an improving team in 1984, but Moseby was not about to get the respect he deserved over known superstars, even if he was performing at a higher level. His All-Star time would eventually come, but not until 1986.</p>
<p><b> Fun 1984 All Star Fact</b><br />
The 1980s feature prominently on this list, in large part because it took the Blue Jays years of being contenders before they were taken all that seriously for all star games. The lone exception to this seemed to be Dave Stieb, who was named the game&#8217;s starter for the second year in a row in 1984. He would make six All Star games in his career, a feat matched in Blue Jays history by only Roy Halladay.</p>
<p><b>5. Juan Guzman, 1996</b><br />
Juan Guzman was a fantastic pitcher for the Blue Jays for the first three seasons of his career, from 1991-1993. Arguably the staff ace during both their championship seasons, Guzman was injured and ineffective in 1994 and 1995. Returning to health in 1996, he went into the break leading all American League starters with a 3.25 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP, while his 8.12 K/9 innings ranked fourth. Cleveland manager Mike Hargrove selected only nine total pitchers for the all star game, including two from his own team. He seemingly also just decided to look at ONLY pitcher wins to name his starters, as the top four in this category went to the game and everyone else stayed home. Included on this list were Roger Pavlik, with a 4.82 ERA, and Mike Mussina, with a 4.87 ERA. Guzman would actually end the season as both the WHIP and ERA leader, while teammate Pat Hentgten got hot in the second half and won the Cy Young Award that season. But in the first half of 1996, Juan Guzman was almost certainly the best pitcher in the American League, but 1992 remains the only year he made an all star team.</p>
<p><b> Fun 1996 All Star Fact</b><br />
Joe Carter was the Blue Jays only representative at this game, and he was the only player booed during the game. Since the game was held in Philadelphia, the hometown fans held a bit of understandable resentment for a particular home run Carter hit a few years prior. Interleague wasn’t introduced until the following season, so this would be the first time the fans had seen him since that series winning home run. The National League would lose the following 13 All-Star Games, but won this one 6-0. Of note as well is that the American League roster was void of the players who would win all the year end awards, as none of Juan Gonzalez (MVP), Pat Hengten (CY Young) or Derek Jeter (Rookie) made the team that year.</p>
<p><b>4. Marc Eichhorn, 1986</b><br />
Marc Eichhorn had one of the best seasons for a relief pitcher in history in 1986. He capped it off with an unheard of second half, but his first half was nothing to sneeze at either. His first half included 75 IP, a 9.88 K/9 rate and a 1.79 ERA. He was far an away the best reliever pitcher in the game that season, and easily the most obvious All-Star game snub, as of the three relievers named, none of them were even close to any of those numbers. But, as with today (although slowly changing) saves were the one stat that mattered; Yankee Dave Righetti made the all star team with the second most saves in the American League, despite a pedestrian ERA of 3.66 and a walk rate of 4.18.</p>
<p><b> Fun 1986 All Star Fact</b><br />
Future Jay Roger Clemens made his first all star appearance as a rookie in 1986, and pitched a perfect three innings in which he amazingly only threw three balls, en-route to a game MVP selection. Three Blue Jays made their all star game debuts this season as well, as Tony Fernandez, Jesse Barfield, and Lloyd Moseby were all named to the team as reserves. The AL would win 3-2, breaking a losing streak and beginning what would become an era of AL dominance, as they’d go 19-5-1 in the All-Star Game over the next 25 seasons.</p>
<p><b>3. Alex Gonzalez, 2010</b><br />
The most recent snub on this list played only a half season as a member of the Blue Jays. Not to be confused with the OTHER Toronto Blue Jay shortstop Alex Gonzalez, this one joined the team at the beginning of 2010. A veteran known for playing excellent defense and having a bit of pop in his bat, Gonzalez had previously only made the 1999 All-Star team. 11 seasons later, he went on a bit of a power tear in the first half, hitting 17 home-runs, more than double that of any other American League shortstop, while having 50 RBI and still playing a high level defense at shortstop. When it came down to name the All-Star teams, however, Gonzalez was conspicuously missing. Derek Jeter, in the midst of the worst season of his career, was voted to the team because he’s Derek Jeter, while Elvis Andrus was named as his back-up. Andrus’ reputation was that of a speedy, slick fielding shortstop, but didn’t hit much better than an average back-up shortstop (and still doesn’t). Gonzalez was left off the team, and traded to the Atlanta Braves the day after the game.</p>
<p><b> Fun 2010 All Star Fact</b><br />
This one is most notable for the changes made prior to the game that affected this and every game since. As of 2010, rosters are now expanded to include 34 players (actually making Gonzalez’ exclusion an even bigger snub) and the DH is used in every game, even those played in the National League. In addition, teams are allowed to have one player who has previously been substituted for, re-enter the game (a rule to be used in case of injury). In a game in which 14 injury replacements were named to the team, the National League won 3-1, the first time they had won since 1996</p>
<p><b>2. Fred McGriff, 1988</b><br />
In 1988, Fred McGriff’s first half slash line of .280/.381/.539 put him behind only George Brett among first basemen. Yet, when it came time to pick the All Star team, three first basemen made the team, none of whom were named Fred McGriff. Mark McGwire was voted in, and Don Mattingly was named a reserve (George Brett was also named a reserve at 1B, but deserved to be there). For his part, Mattingly had missed 15 games due to injury, had hit only six home runs and had a .448 SLG, far far worse than McGriff’s numbers. McGwire, the elected starter, had worse numbers across the board than McGriff, as well. At the All Star break in 1988, McGriff was in the top ten in pretty much every offensive category in the entire American league, and undoubtedly deserved to make it as a first baseman.</p>
<p><b> Fun 1988 All Star Fact</b><br />
The Blue Jays had a losing record going into the &#8217;88 All-Star Game. They would improve in the second half and finish only two games out, but as a result of their first half slump, many of their stars were overlooked for selection. After sending at least three people each of the following years to the game, only Dave Stieb was sent in 1988, as he was experiencing a career resurgence after being subpar the previous two seasons. The game itself was fairly uneventful, with the AL winning 2-1.</p>
<p><b>1. Fred McGriff, 1989</b><br />
In 1988, in his first year as major league regular, Fred McGriff missed out on the game despite having a much better first half than either Mark McGwire or Don Mattingly, as mentioned above. In 1989, in his second year as a major league regular, Fred McGriff missed out on the All Star Game despite having a much better first half than either Mark McGwire or Don Mattingly, who again made it ahead of him. At the break, McGriff’s 20 home runs, 56 runs and .538 SLG were all the best among first basemen, and by a fairly large margin. In fact, those numbers were all in the top three in the American league, not just among first basemen. He’d also finished the 1988 campaign as the second best hitter in both home runs and SLG in the American league, so it wasn’t like he was coming out of nowhere by that point, either. Over a three year period, from 1988-1990, Jose Canseco and Fred McGriff were far and away the two best power hitters in the American League, but for some reason Fred McGriff was left off the All-Star team each and every one of those years. He would make the game later in his career with other teams, but as a Blue Jay, he wasn’t NEAR as well regarded as he should have been. (He’s still first in wRC+ among Blue Jays hitters in history, higher even than Bautista and Delgado).</p>
<p><b> Fun 1989 All Star Game Fact</b><br />
The American League won the game 5-3, and Toronto Blue Jays fans were happy to see both Tony Fernandez and Kelly Gruber named to the team. However, this one is remembered mostly for Bo Jackson, the multi-sport star who stole the show. With two outs in the top of the first, he made an incredible play in centre field to save two runs. He then proceeded to lead off the bottom of the inning with a long home run. He would later steal a base, and be named the game MVP. Despite his tremendous physical gifts, he was much better at football than baseball, and this would be his only MLB All Star appearance, but what an appearance it was.</p>
<p>There you have it. The nine biggest All Star snubs in Blue Jays history. Agree? Disagree? Did we miss someone? Let me know in the comments. As always, I was surprised after doing some research by some of the players on this list, and surprised by some of the players not on it. Specifically, I had always assumed that Aaron Hill and Jesse Barfield had gotten snubbed on more than one occasion. They probably did, but not drastically so, as their best years happened to coincide with similarly great seasons from others at their positions.</p>
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<p><i>Lead Photo: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports</i></p>
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		<title>The 9 Greatest First Round Draft Picks in Blue Jays History</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/06/16/the-9-greatest-first-round-draft-picks-in-blue-jays-history/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 16 Jun 2016 15:18:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Andrew Arnold]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The 9]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MLB Draft]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=3852</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This month, the Toronto Blue Jays selected 41 players in the amateur draft. Statistically, only about five or six of these players will ever get a chance to play in the major leagues. About 17 percent of drafted players make it for at least a cup of coffee. T.J. Zeuch, the Blue Jays first round [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This month, the Toronto Blue Jays selected 41 players in the amateur draft. Statistically, only about five or six of these players will ever get a chance to play in the major leagues. About 17 percent of drafted players make it for at least a cup of coffee. T.J. Zeuch, the Blue Jays first round pick, has a much higher chance, as about 73 percent of first rounders make it. For this month’s issue of “The Nine”, let’s take a look at the best players the Jays have ever managed to draft in the first round. Over the years, as with any team, there have been some duds (Tom Goffeina, Garry Harris, Eddie Zosky, Kevin Ahrens, etc.) as well as some great players. Here are the 9 best major league baseball players that Toronto Blue Jays have ever drafted in the first round.</p>
<h3>9. Ricky Romero &#8211; 6th Overall Pick in 2005</h3>
<p>Yep. Romero makes this list. One of the most maligned first round draft picks in recent Blue Jays memory, many fans remember him being drafted ahead of Troy Tulowitzki. They also remember him taking longer to develop than originally thought, and they remember his fall from grace. They remember Tulo becoming a star, and Russ Adams, the player the Jays believed in enough to draft a pitcher instead, not becoming one. In between all of this though, was a player who had three solid seasons as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays rotation. That included an all-star appearance in 2011, a year in which he also finished in the top ten in Cy Young votes.</p>
<p>Romero was drafted out of college in 2005. The first, and still the best, pitcher drafted in the early rounds of that draft: he spent a couple seasons in the minors hurt, and struggled with control during his healthy seasons. He seemed to have figured it out by 2009, and spent the three seasons atop the Jays rotation, before inexplicably losing control over the strike-zone again by age 27. Still, anytime a draft pick can make the majors, have a successful run, and make an all-star team, he’s achieved an obvious element of success.</p>
<p><strong>Fun 2005 Draft Fact:</strong> This draft is well-regarded (deservedly so) as one of the best drafts of all time. Eight of the first twelve picks have made all-star teams, including Romero, first overall pick Justin Upton, Alex Gordon (2), Ryan Zimmerman (4), Ryan Braun (5) , Troy Tulowitzki (7) Andrew McCutchen (11) and Jay Bruce (12). That’s an incredible streak of success.</p>
<h3>8. Shannon Stewart &#8211; 19th Overall Pick in 1992</h3>
<p>A mid-first round draft pick out of high school in 1992, Stewart played in 14 seasons, 10 of which he was a member of a the Toronto Blue Jays. The only player on this list to not make an all-star team, Stewart nevertheless carved out a really nice career for himself, with eight seasons in a row in which the lowest OPS he had was .782. He even managed to finish 4th in AL MVP voting in 2003; a season in which he spent half his season in Toronto and half in Minnesota.</p>
<p>Stewart played a decent left field despite having a horrible arm. He was a high average, good on-base guy who possessed some pop  and speed (51 SB in 1998). Stewart solidified the top of the batting order in Toronto, setting the table for the late-90s/early 2000s power line-ups the Jays possessed. Stewart is, by all accounts, a successful draft pick of the Toronto Blue Jays.</p>
<p><strong>Fun 1992 Draft Fact: </strong>This was the first draft in which smaller market teams were intentionally and obviously forgoing certain high ranked prospects in favor of prospects who weren’t going to demand as much as much money in signing bonuses. In what is now the norm, Scott Boras clients Michael Tucker and Charles Johnson fell in the draft. Intead of paying a lot of money for one of the two two top prospects, Houston instead drafted Phil Nevin, who wasn’t nearly as highly touted at the time. One of the top two, Jeffrey Hammonds, fell to fourth. The other fell to sixth. His name was Derek Jeter.</p>
<h3>7. Ed Sprague Jr. &#8211; 25th Overall Pick in 1988</h3>
<p>The son of a former major league pitcher, Sprague was drafted as a third baseman out of college by the Jays, despite the fact that they already had Rance Mulliniks and Kelly Gruber in the fold. After hitting well throughout his minor league career, he came up for a cup of coffee in 1991, and then again in 1992. Despite being drafted as a third baseman and playing almost exclusively third base throughout his minor league career, Sprague was added to the 1992 postseason roster as the back-up catcher after starting only eight games for the team at that position during the season. Gruber was traded after the season and Sprague was moved back to his normal position for the 1993 season.</p>
<p>Sprague spent over a decade in the major leagues, most of them with the Jays, as a serviceable third baseman. He did manage to hit 36 home runs for them in 1996 and make an all-star team for Pittsburgh in 1999. His most famous Jays moment came in 1992, where his pinch hit home-run in the ninth inning of game two of the world series off Jeff Reardon served as the game-winning home-run. He also has the distinction of being the only Blue Jays&#8217; first round pick to ever play in a World Series as a member of the team.</p>
<p><strong>Fun 1988 Draft Fact:</strong> The early rounds of the 1998 draft managed to produce a few all-stars, including guys like Steve Avery, Tino Martinez and Robin Ventura, but this draft was notable in that all the future superstars came later in the draft. Luis Gonzalez was drafted in the 4th round, Jim Edmonds in the 7th, and Kenny Loften in the 17th. Most amazingly, the best player from this draft was picked in the 62nd round of that draft, and only as a favor to his father, who was close friends with then-Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda. Mike Piazza was drafted as the Dodgers final pick this year, moved to catcher, and went on to become the greatest offensive catcher of all time before making the hall of fame.</p>
<h3>6. Alex Rios &#8211; 19th Overall Pick in 1999</h3>
<p>Alex Rios was a very, very good player for both the Blue Jays and White Sox for a very long time. This author ranked him as the most underappreciated Blue Jay of all time in an earlier edition of the “nine” after he left the Blue Jays under bad terms. Rios, after being drafted out of high school in the first round in 1999, would go on to dominate the minor leagues and was named the 6th best prospect in all of baseball before making his debut in 2004. He would go on to play very well for 6 and a half seasons as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, making 2 all-star teams in the process. Known by many Jays fans for not living up to the large contract he signed in 2007, he was claimed on waivers (in a salary dump) by the White Sox in 2009 and would go on to several more successful seasons, even garnering some MVP votes in 2012. In the end, Alex Rios ended up being an excellent first round draft pick for the Toronto Blue Jays.</p>
<p><strong>Fun 1999 Draft Fact:</strong> The top pick in this draft was high school prospect Josh Hamilton, one of the rare “can’t miss” prospects, he was highly regarded as one of the best draft prospects the league has ever seen. You likely know his story by now, he hit a ton in his early minor league years, but struggled with substance abuse and ended up being out of baseball for 3 years, then getting his life back on track and winning an MVP award in 2010, before his career has been mostly derailed by injury and relapse since. The player who ended up having the best career, by far, of this draft was drafted 402nd because no one could confirm his age or figure out what position he should play. That player, Albert Pujols, has gone on to be one of the best first baseman to ever play the game.</p>
<h3>5. Lloyd Moseby – 2nd Overall Pick in 1978</h3>
<p>The Blue Jays have never chosen 1st overall in any draft, so Moseby stands with Garry Harris (1980) and Augie Schmidt (1982) as the highest draft picks the Blue Jays have made. He’s obviously the best of the three names mentioned since neither of the other guys ever made it the majors. Moseby, however, is a draft success story, as he ended up in the middle of a three-headed outfield monster with George Bell and Jesse Barfield for most of the 1980s making the Jays became perennial contenders. Probably the least heralded of those three, Moseby was very probably the best center fielder in the American league for a three year period from 1983-1985 (WAR would certainly agree that he was), although he made his only all-star appearance in 1986 (this is particularly odd, since it the was year that both Ricky Henderson and Robin Young became center fielders). Still, Moseby managed to play at least 100 games every single season for the Toronto Blue Jays in every year of the 1980s before moving to the Tigers in 1990. A 12 year career, an all-star appearance, MVP votes, good defense, and a perennial 15 HR/30 SB guy in an era where that mattered a lot earns him a spot on this list.</p>
<p><strong>Fun 1978 Draft Fact:</strong> An incredible 4 players were called up the majors immediately after the draft without playing even a game in the minors. It wasn’t super common then, and it has only happened 8 times in the over 35 years since. These players included first rounders Bob Horner, Tim Conroy and Mike Morgan. Incredibly, it also included the Toronto Blue Jays 7th round draft pick Brian Milner, the only catcher ever to do this. Even more incredible is that Milner made two starts for the Blue Jays as an 18 year old, was sent back down to the minors, and never again made it to the majors.</p>
<h3>4. Shawn Green &#8211; 16th Overall Pick in 1991</h3>
<p>Shawn Green is the first player to make an entrance on this list who had as much or more success outside of the Blue Jays organization as he did as a member of the Blue Jays. Drafted in 1991 out of Stanford University, he made his debut in 1993 (and even ended up with a World Series ring) but didn’t become a regular until 1995. Green played very well his first three seasons, mostly as part of a platoon. With a new manager in 1998, Green was finally allowed to play every day, and broke out, winning a silver slugger award, gold glove award, and making an all-star appearance. Traded to the LA Dodgers after that season because the Jays weren’t going to be able to afford to sign both him and Carlos Delgado, Green continued to perform, hitting 49 home-runs in 2000 and spending many more years as a reliable bat. One of the most high profile first round draft picks the Blue Jays have ever made, Shawn Green turned out to be quite the player.</p>
<p><strong> Fun 1991 Draft Fact:</strong> Shawn’s 1991 draft signing bonus was actually the second highest of the draft, despite being picked mid-way through the first round, at $750,000. It paled in comparison, however, to the $1.55 million that first overall draft pick Brien Taylor received from the Yankees, smashing records and causing teams to draft with signing bonuses more at the forefront of their in minds in subsequent drafts. Taylor never even managed to make the majors, missing two minor league seasons due to injuries sustained in a bar fight, and never regaining his form. The 1991 draft as a whole was a pretty poor one in the end, with only Green, Manny Ramirez, and Nomar Garciaparra having multiple all star appearances.</p>
<h3>3. Vernon Wells – 5th Overall Pick in 1997</h3>
<p>The first high school player drafted in 1997, Wells would go on to a storied career as a member of the Blue Jays, and is very likely the best center fielder ever to play for the team. He started in the middle of the Toronto outfield for nine seasons, made three all star teams, won three gold gloves, and a silver slugger award. Over the 10 years he was a major league regular, including one as a member of the Angels, no American League center fielder hit more home runs. After spending three consecutive Septembers with the team, Wells became a regular for good in 2002, the same year Eric Hinske won the rookie of the year award (Wells had too many prior plate appearances to be in contention). Signed to what is still the largest contract ever by a member of the Toronto Blue Jays in 2006, Wells had two good years and two mediocre ones before having his backloaded contract unloaded in a trade with the Angels. He would play three fairly unsuccessful years with the Angels and Yankees before retiring in 2013. When all was said and done, Wells finished his Jays career second all-time in Blue Jay plate appearances, home-runs (Bautista has passed him), RBIs, hits, and doubles. That’s a pretty good career by every standard.</p>
<p><strong>Fun 1997 Draft Fact: </strong>Not known for being a particularly strong first round, Vernon Wells is probably the second best player from the first round of that draft after Lance Berkman. The first overall pick was Matt Anderson, which was the first and only time that a projected relief pitcher was taken first overall in the major league draft. Anderson would go on to have a non-descript 7 year major league career.</p>
<h3>2. Chris Carpenter &#8211; 15th Overall Pick in 1993</h3>
<p>An undoubtedly great pitcher, and high up on the list of players the Blue Jays likely regretted letting leave, Carpenter was drafted in the first round by the Blue Jays but never reached his potential with the team. Plagued by injuries and a general lack of effectiveness, he turned down an incentive laden, minor league deal while he was injured in 2002 and moved on to St. Louis. He finished his Blue Jays career with a WHIP of 1.51 and and ERA of 4.83 in 870 innings, so it’s not unreasonable to understand the Jays unwillingness to give him a major league deal following shoulder surgery. Why he’s on this list, however, is for the way his career took off as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. After missing the entirety of the 2003 season, Carpenter figured it out in 2004, and by 2005 was the dominant force we all remember, winning the National League Cy Young Award. He would finish in the top three in Cy voting another two times in his career, and go on to win two World Series championship with St. Louis. He was never able to remain fully healthy, however, pitching in fewer than five games in 2003, 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2013, before finally calling it a career. When he <em>was</em> healthy though, he was one of the very best pitchers in all of baseball.</p>
<p><strong>Fun 1993 Draft Fact:</strong> The 1993 draft is well known as the Alex Rodriguez draft. Easily the highest touted player heading into the draft, he was drafted first overall and would go on to have a career we remember. Also of note in this draft is that future Heisman winner Charlie Ward was drafted in the 59th round. Ward was drafted in both the 1993 and 1994 major league drafts as a pitcher despite never playing baseball at the college level. He was also drafted in 1994 by the NBA’s New York Knicks, and would go on to a decent basketball career. Surprisingly, he was never drafted by an NFL team.</p>
<h3>1. Roy Halladay – 17th Overall Pick in 1995</h3>
<p>A fairly no-brainer number one on this, Mr. Halladay will undoubtedly be placed on the level of excellence, and may one day go into the Hall of Fame. His resume speaks for itself; he won a Cy Young Award in both leagues, pitched a perfect game, a postseason no-hitter, was an eight time all-star, and finished in the top five in Cy Young voting seven times. It’s not unreasonable to argue that he was the best starting pitcher of his time, league-wide (his fWAR from 2001-2011 is 62.7, over 10 wins more than any other pitcher). Halladay was drafted out of high school, ranked highly, and made the big leagues with lots of hype, coming within one out of a no-hitter in his second major league start. After a mediocre first full season, Halladay went off the rails in 2000, posting a 10.64 ERA that still stands as the major league high record for a pitcher with 50 innings. Sent all the way back to single-A, he rebuild his mechanics (with the help of Mel Queen), and returned as a bonafide starter in 2001. He would stay that way for over a decade. The Jays certainly don’t regret this pick; with apologies to Todd Helton and Carlos Beltran, Roy Halladay is actually the very best player taken in that draft. One of the top two Blue Jays pitchers ever, Halladay tops this list of best Blue Jay first round draft choices of all-time.</p>
<p><strong> Fun 1995 Draft (Jays!) Fact: </strong>Roy Halladay is not the highest drafted player, or even the first to play for the Blue Jays, from this draft. That honor belongs to Jose Cruz Jr, who was drafted third overall by the Mariners. He was eventually traded to Toronto in 1997 (for Paul Spoljaric and Mike Timlin), where he played for the big league club a year earlier than Halladay. Cruz would have a pretty decent career as well, but since he wasn’t drafted by the Blue Jays, he is ineligible for this list.</p>
<p>There you have it: The nine greatest first round draft choices in Blue Jays history. I hope you enjoyed that trip down memory lane, and I certainly hope that in a few years names like Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman, or Jon Harris and TJ Zuech, can be added to this list.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>The 9 Best Blue Jays One Year Wonders</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/05/05/the-9-best-blue-jays-one-hit-wonders/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 05 May 2016 13:24:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Andrew Arnold]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The 9]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=2296</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I pretend, at times, to be a musician. Over the years, a staple of my sets for any gig I&#8217;ll play has become a tune written and recorded by a band of brothers in 1997. It&#8217;s a catchy little ditty that went number one in 27 countries. I&#8217;m speaking, of course, of Hanson&#8217;s MMMBop. The [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I pretend, at times, to be a musician. Over the years, a staple of my sets for any gig I&#8217;ll play has become a tune written and recorded by a band of brothers in 1997. It&#8217;s a catchy little ditty that went number one in 27 countries. I&#8217;m speaking, of course, of Hanson&#8217;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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<h3>9. John Cerutti, 1989</h3>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact: </strong>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.</p>
<h3>8. Eric Hinkse, 2002</h3>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact: </strong>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.</p>
<h3>7. Greg Myers, 2003</h3>
<p>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.</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact: </strong>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.</p>
<h3><strong>6. Jesse Carlson LHP, 2008</strong></h3>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><strong> Fun Fact:</strong> 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.</p>
<h3>5. Doug Ault, 1977</h3>
<p>Doug Ault isn&#8217;t really a one year wonder&#8230;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.</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact: </strong>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.</p>
<h3>4. Gustavo Chacin, 2005</h3>
<p>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&#8217;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&#8217;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&#8217;t very good and was out of major league baseball before he turned 30.</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact:</strong> Most of us will remember this, but it still bears repeating. After a couple radio guys joked that Chacin&#8217;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&#8217;s cologne. Gustavo was on the disabled list at the time and would only start another seven games at the major league level thereafter.</p>
<h3>3. Josh Towers, 2005</h3>
<p>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&#8217;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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact:</strong> 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&#8217;t even a true pitch. It was the Brooklyn Dodgers&#8217; Ben Chapman in 1944, who had been an outfielder before moving to the mound. It&#8217;s a strange little fact, but one that likely won&#8217;t phase Jays fans, as we are now treated to seeing Marcus Stroman wear No. 6 on his back</p>
<h3>2. Jeremy Accardo, 2007</h3>
<p>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.</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact:</strong> 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.</p>
<h3>1.Mike Huff 1994</h3>
<p>No one better represents a one-year wonder than left-fielder Mike Huff. It&#8217;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&#8217;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.</p>
<p>The 1994 Blue Jays were a huge disappointment, but Huff was amazing. He hadn&#8217;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.</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact: </strong>Look at these slash lines from two players on the 1994 Toronto Blue Jays:</p>
<p>Player A: .306/.386/.452<br />
Player 2: .307/.293/.449</p>
<p>Player A is Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar. Player B is Mike Huff. Baseball is awesome.</p>
<p>Hanson still makes music. It&#8217;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&#8217;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&#8217;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&#8217;s hoping that they don&#8217;t end up on this list.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>The 9 Greatest Opening Day Performances in Blue Jays History</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/04/03/the-9-greatest-opening-day-performances-in-blue-jays-history/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/04/03/the-9-greatest-opening-day-performances-in-blue-jays-history/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 03 Apr 2016 10:30:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Andrew Arnold]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The 9]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dave Stieb]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Devon White]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Doug Ault]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[George Bell]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[J.P. Arencibia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jack Morris]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John Mayberry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Luis Perez]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tony Batista]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=969</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[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 [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>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&#8217;s issue.</em></p>
<p>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&#8217;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&#8217;s edition of The 9, we&#8217;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.</p>
<h3>9. Devon White, 1995</h3>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5">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&#8217;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&#8217;s too bad that they weren&#8217;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.</span></p>
<h3>8. John Mayberry, 1980</h3>
<p>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.</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact:</strong> 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.</p>
<h3>7. Dave Stieb, 1983</h3>
<p>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&#8217;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.</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact:</strong> 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.</p>
<h3>6. J.P. Arencibia, 2011</h3>
<p>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.</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact:</strong> Debuts seemed to be Arencibia&#8217;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&#8217;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.</p>
<h3>5. Luis Perez, 2012</h3>
<p>This game was the longest opening day the Blue Jays ever played, lasting 16 innings. In a game of this length, there&#8217;s bound to be noteworthy performances. In this particular game, those performances included Arencibia&#8217;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.</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact:</strong> In May of 2012, Perez was forced to leave the game for wearing an illegal undershirt (yes, this is possible&#8230;apparently the piping on the sleeves weren&#8217;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&#8217;s playing in Japan.</p>
<h3>4. Jack Morris, 1992</h3>
<p>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&#8217;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&#8217; 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.</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact: </strong>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.</p>
<h3>3. George Bell, 1988</h3>
<p>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.</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact: </strong>George Bell had a pretty bad season in 1988, but he absolutely won the battle with his manager over what position he&#8217;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.</p>
<h3>2. Doug Ault, 1977</h3>
<p>Doug Ault wasn&#8217;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.</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact: </strong>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.</p>
<h3>1. Tony Batista, 2000</h3>
<p>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.</p>
<p><strong>Fun Fact:</strong> 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.</p>
<p>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&#8217;s a glaring omission as the Jays set out to conquer the Rays. Enjoy the game folks, the season begins now.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>The 9 Most Significant Spring Training Transactions in Blue Jays History</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/03/08/the-nine-most-significant-spring-training-transactions-in-blue-jays-history/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Mar 2016 14:57:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Andrew Arnold]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The 9]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[David Cone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Free Agency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rance Mulliniks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spring Training]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trades]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=49</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[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 [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>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&#8217;s issue.</em></p>
<p>It&#8217;s finally time for spring training. All the free agents have signed, and the team is ready to do battle with the players they have in camp. There are a few position battles yet to be sorted out, but for the most part, the 2016 Toronto Blue Jays roster is fairly close to being set. Two fights still being waged recently had a new name thrown into the hat, as Rafael Soriano was signed to a minor league contract to compete for the last spot in the bullpen, and Domonic Brown was brought in to compete for the fourth outfield spot. For the last few years though, big Blue Jays transactions in spring are uncommon.  However, historically the Jays have added some pretty nice pieces to their team after camp had opened.  So with that in mind, let&#8217;s take at a look at the 9 most significant spring training transactions in Blue Jays history:</p>
<p><strong>9. March 30, 1993 &#8211; Darrin Jackson acquired from the San Diego Padres for Derek Bell and Stony Briggs</strong></p>
<p>After 1992 World Series hero and starting left fielder Candy Maldonado signed with the Chicago Cubs, the Toronto Blue Jays were left with a hole in left field going into the 1993 season.  24 year old Derek Bell had been the team&#8217;s 4th outfielder in 1992, but the team wasn&#8217;t confident he was was ready to step into a starting role on contending team, so they traded for &#8220;proven veteran&#8221; Darrin Jackson. He wasn&#8217;t flashy, or all that good, but Jackson had played 155 games in 1992 and hit 17 home runs.  He would start on opening day after beating out fellow veteran journeyman Darnell Coles,  but would play very poorly with the team, as is evident by looking at his slash line of .216/.250/.347.  He would appear in only 46 games with the Jays before being traded for Blue Jays great Tony Fernandez.  Derek Bell, on the other hand, would immediately become a starter in San Diego and go on to carve out a decent enough career for himself, even getting some MVP votes in the 1995 season. On its surface, this trade looks quite bad for the Jays, but since they were eventually able to flip Jackson for a rejuvenated Tony Fernandez &#8211; a key figure in the 1993 world series run &#8211; it&#8217;s hard to view the move as a total loss. That&#8217;s why it makes this list.</p>
<p><em>Fun Fact:</em> Derek Bell had been the Jays top prospect going into the 1989 season, and again prior to 1992. After one so-so season as the fourth outfielder, Toronto gave up on him and sent him packing. It was a fairly shocking trade at the time, and Bell turned out to be a much better player than Darrin Jackson in the end, which really surprised no one. However, the Jays viewed Bell as a lazy player, and it was a reputation that followed him his entire career. In 2002 he famously was released with 4.5 million left on his Pirates contract after leaving the team in spring training because they told him he had to battle for his starting position after putting up terrible numbers the previous year. He never played again.</p>
<p><strong>8. March 19, 1992 &#8211; Alfredo Griffin signs as a free agent</strong></p>
<p>34 year old light-hitting utility infielders are not normally thought of as meaningful pick-ups, but in much the same vein as the previous entry on this list, any transaction made by a championship team is likely to be looked upon favorably after the fact. In Griffin&#8217;s case, he&#8217;d already been a Blue Jay fan favorite for 6 seasons in the 1970s and 1980s. Manuel Lee had been the starting shortstop for 1991, but had not played very well. Eddie Zosky (remember him?) was slated to take over the starting spot for 1992, but after performing terribly in spring training at the plate and in the field, it was decided he needed to get more seasoning in the minors. That&#8217;s why Griffin was brought in to back-up Lee at short and Alomar at second. Griffin held that job for 2 seasons (backing up Dick Schofield/Tony Fernandez and Alomar in 1993) and performed the way you&#8217;d expect a light-hitting back-up middle infielder to perform; he held his own defensively when called upon, while not proving to be very effective at the plate. Griffin retired after 1993, with his last moment on a baseball field being standing on deck to watch Joe Carter&#8217;s World Series winning drive to left field clear the fence.</p>
<p><em>Fun Fact:</em> Let&#8217;s be honest, Griffin was kind of bad. Known for playing fairly decent defense, he was an historically terrible hitter, finishing his career with a .249/.285/.319 slash line. So he didn&#8217;t hit for average, didn&#8217;t walk, didn&#8217;t hit for any kind of power, yet somehow managed to play in 1962 games. For players who had at least 7000 plate appearances at the major league level, his OBP is dead last&#8230;of ALL-TIME (the .319 slugging is 3rd worst, the batting average 5th worse). Yet amazingly, he just kept getting starting starting jobs, even somehow managing to somehow block future all-star shortstops (Tony Fernandez, Walt Weiss, and Jose Offerman) at three different stops in his career.</p>
<p><strong>7. March 15, 1978 &#8211; Rick Bosetti Acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals for Tom Bruno.</strong></p>
<p>During the expansion season of 1977, no one Blue Jay played more than 60 games in center field.  Going into the following spring training, no one appeared poised to grab the job, so the Jays pulled the trigger on a trade for 24 year old Rick Bosetti, who had played center for parts of the previous two seasons in St. Louis. He would immediately be installed as the Blue Jays starter, a role which he held for two seasons. A decent fielding outfielder, Bosetti&#8217;s .645 OPS in 1978 was hardly ideal, but for a team that managed to win only 58 games, it was certainly good enough to keep him in the line-up every day. For a new franchise that was desperately seeking some level of stability, simply being able to take the field every day made Bosetti a valuable Blue Jay, and earned him a spot on this list. He would be out of baseball by 1982, and has served as the mayor of Redding, California and is currently running for the California District State Assembly.</p>
<p><em>Fun (or Just Plain Weird) Fact:</em>  Bosetti was kind of weird.  He is on record as stating that it&#8217;s his goal to urinate in every baseball stadium in America.  It makes sense for a visiting player to want to mark his territory in some way in an unfamiliar ballpark, but this seems to be taking it to the extreme.</p>
<p><strong>6. March 29, 1994 &#8211; Mike Huff acquired from the Chicago White Sox for Domingo Martinez</strong></p>
<p>Possibly the least recognizable name on this list for Blue Jays fans, Mike Huff nonetheless was incredible for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1994 after being acquired at the end of spring training. Left field had been a position of weakness for the Blue Jays for much of 1993, and with Rickey Henderson returning to Oakland, the Jays were looking to add depth for the 1994 season. For this reason, Toronto shipped out first baseman Domingo Martinez (who would never play another game in the major leagues) for the four-year veteran, Huff. He finished the strike-season with a .304/.392/.449 slash line, with his OPS of .842, third on team behind Paul Molitor and John Olerud, but <em>ahead </em>of Joe Carter and Roberto Alomar. Suffice it to say, the Blue Jays were happy they made this move, despite the incredible disappointment of the year, both in terms of team success and a league wide strike. Unfortunately, Huff couldn&#8217;t replicate the success of 1994, ultimately losing his starting spot part-way through 1995 to Shawn Green. He was out of baseball entirely by the end of the 1996 season, but for one half season in 1994, the Blue Jays had a very very good left-fielder by the name of Mike Huff.</p>
<p><em>Fun Fact:</em> Despite the fact he started 80 out of 115 games in 1994, Huff didn&#8217;t win the job out of spring training. In fact, the opening day left fielder was actually some prospect by the name of Carlos Delgado. Delgado would struggle a bit at the plate and a lot in the field, and was eventually sent down to make way for Huff to begin his improbable run. We all know Delgado as the great first baseman he eventually became, but many of us likely forgot that the two-time defending World Series champions opened the following season with Delgado on the team, and in the outfield.</p>
<p><strong>5. March 15th, 1978 &#8211; Rico Carty acquired from the Cleveland Indians for Dennis DeBarr</strong></p>
<p>Carty was acquired on the same day as Bosetti. 38 years old at the time, Carty was still considered a pretty good hitter, having played very well for the Indians the past few seasons. Playing exclusively as the DH, he would be the best hitter in the Jays line-up by a fair margin for most of 1978, slugging 20 home runs for the team in 104 games with an OPS of .850. For his part, Dennis DeBarr, who had played 14 games in middle relief for the Blue Jays in 1977, would never play in the majors again.</p>
<p><em>Fun Fact</em>: Rico Carty apparently liked Toronto. With him hitting as well as he was, the Blue Jays traded Carty to an Oakland team hoping to finish with a winning record (they wouldn&#8217;t; they played terrible ball over the last month and a half and finished well below .500). He clearly held no ill feelings, as he would sign with the Jays in the following offseason anyway, finishing his career with one more season as the Jays DH. Uniquely, he had played AAA ball for the Toronto Maple Leafs as part the the Brewers organization in 1963. There&#8217;s a legend that while a member of the Maple Leafs, Carty hit two home runs in the same at bat, hitting one after the umpire had called time, but followed it up by hitting another one on the next pitch anyway.</p>
<p><strong>4. April 6, 1995 &#8211; David Cone acquired from Kansas City Royals for Chris Stynes, David Sinnes and Tony Medrano.</strong></p>
<p>This could have easily been number 1 on this list, had Cone not have been traded to the Yankees right before the trade deadline of the same year, as he was almost certainly the best player the Blue Jays ever picked up in Spring Training. To be fair, it&#8217;s also a slight misnomer; Cone was certainly traded for during Spring Training, but since the offseason started with baseball still mired in a strike, there hadn&#8217;t really been any transactions made up until that point. 1994 was a terrible season for the Blue Jays, so hoping to make the best of their second chance to defend their 1993 title, the Jays struck a deal for the the 1994 Cy Young Award winner, Cone. Hopes were high, as this team still had the core nucleus of the 1993 World Series championship team; Roberto Alomar, Joe Carter, John Olerud, Devon White, Paul Molitor, Pat Hengten, Juan Guzman, Duane Ward and Mike Timlin were all still Blue Jays. Cone would prove to be every bit the player Toronto hoped for, as he would go 9-6 with a 3.38 ERA with the Blue Jays, but the high expectations were misguided, as the Blue Jays sat in 5th place. Eventually, they traded Cone to the wild-card bound Yankees, where he&#8217;d go on to help the Yankees to earn the first ever American League Wild Card and win game four of the World Series as a member of the Evil Empire.  But for half a season, the Jays were treated to some of the best pitching in all of baseball. Going the other way were Chris Stynes, who was rated the Blue Jays 9th best prospect at the time of the trade (he would go on to have a 10 year career, mostly as a back-up), Tony Medrano, a career minor leaguer, and David Sinnes who would spend only one year in the Royals organization before retiring from the game at age 24.</p>
<p><em>Fun Fact:</em>  Most of us remember the <em>other </em>time the Blue Jays traded for David Cone. In 1992 the Jays picked him in August (how the heck did he clear waivers?!) and went on to win the World Series. At the end of that season, Cone decided to sign with the Kansas City Royals for three years/$18 million, making him the highest paid pitcher in the game at the time.  In 2015, another former Cy Young winner named David made his way into our hearts in a mid-season trade, only to leave and become highest paid pitcher in the the game at the end of the season. The contract? seven years/217 million. What a difference 22 years makes in terms of player salaries. Wow.</p>
<p><strong>3. March 16, 2000 &#8211; aquired Brad Fullmer in a three team trade (David Sequi going to the Rangers/Lee Stevens going to the Expos)</strong></p>
<p>In a rare trade that featured both the Toronto Blue Jays and Montreal Expos, the Blue Jays traded for Brad Fullmer in March of 2000, the last year before Rogers would take over ownership of the team from Interbrew. The Texas Rangers sent power hitting but defensively flawed and strike-out prone Lee Stevens to a Montreal Expos team hoping to contend, the Blue Jays sent slick-fielding, good hitting David Segui and his $4.3 Million contract to the Rangers, and the Expos send a 25 year old, mostly unproven first baseman to the Blue Jays. Brad Fullmer was by far the youngest, cheapest, and least accomplished of the three players involved, but would go on to have the best 2000 season of them all, hitting 32 home-runs and posting an .898 OPS as the Blue Jays full time DH. The 2000 Blue Jays had seven players who hit 20 home-runs, including four who hit more than 30, so Fullmer&#8217;s season is kind of lost in the shuffle, but he was very, very good that year, and cost significantly less than the guy for whom he was traded. He would play one more season as the Jay&#8217;s DH before being traded to the Angels, but Fullmer&#8217;s 2000 season is one of the best seasons by a DH the team has ever had.</p>
<p><em>Fun Fact:</em> This trade was pretty interesting for a variety of reasons. For one, all three teams traded only a first baseman (although most reports indicate that Blue Jays sent cash Texas&#8217; way as well). For another, David Segui had only recently joined the Blue Jays when he was dealt. Only half a game back of Boston for the wild card spot in July of 1999, the Blue Jays traded for Segui to bolster an already pretty great offense. He would play well the rest of the way, the Jays would score a team record number of runs, but they would finish 11 games back of the Wild Card. He actually re-signed with the Blue Jays in January before they traded him in March.</p>
<p><strong>2. John Mayberry Sr. Aquired from the Kansas City Royals for cash on April 3rd, 1978.</strong></p>
<p>The third move made by the new Jays franchise for a starting position player during spring training of 1978, Mayberry was a former two-time All-Star who had finished second in MVP voting in 1975. His stock had dropped since then, as he finished both the 1976 and 1977 with batting averages in the .230s. In fact, his coach, Whitey Herzog, had actually blamed him for the team&#8217;s 1977 ALDS loss to the Yankees (he struck out a lot, made errors and even arrived late to a game), so the team didn&#8217;t really want to keep him. Waiting until almost the start of the season, the Blue Jays managed to pick Mayberry up for just cash, and immediately plugged him in as their starting first baseman. While he was never able to regain his former glory, Mayberry nonetheless proved a valuable player in the middle of the team&#8217;s order for the next few seasons, even managing to hit 30 home runs in 1980. He played five seasons in Toronto, and even spent some years as a coach in their system following his retirement.</p>
<p><em>Fun Fact:</em> Mayberry&#8217;s son, John Mayberry Jr. is currently in the Tigers training camp trying to crack the roster.  He has played for a variety of major league teams, including a short stint in Toronto in 2014, making John Mayberry and John Mayberry, the only father and son pairing to both suit up for the Blue Jays to this point (unless we count Prince Fielder&#8217;s apparently legendary adolescent batting practices in Toronto).</p>
<p><strong>1. Rance Mulliniks: acquired from the Kansas City Royals for Phil Huffman on March 25, 1982</strong></p>
<p>Rance Mulliniks was drafted as a shortstop, but had languished in the minors, spending only parts of five seasons in the big leagues. Already 25 and running out of options, the Blue Jays saw something they liked, picking him up for pitcher Phil Huffman. Huffman hadn&#8217;t played with the big league club since 1979, a year in which he lost 18 games due in large part to being fairly terrible, so he was easily expendable. Mulliniks was immediately moved to third base (a position occupied on his former team by some guy named George Brett) as the left-handed side of a platoon with Garth Iorg. . Rance immediately proved he could handle the position defensively, and his offense started to come around as well, especially his ability to get on base, as he would end his Jays career with an OBP of .365. The platoon would last until 1987, when Iorg retired and Mulliniks was moved to DH to make room for Kelly Gruber. Mulliniks played 11 years as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, and in only one of them, his first year in 1982, did the Blue Jays have a losing season. He played an integral part on the first Blue Jays playoff team, and was able to gain a ring in his final season with the club in 1992. This is one reason why he&#8217;s first on this list. The other is that Phil Huffman never played a game for the Royals big league club, and was out of baseball by the end of 1985, having pitched only 4.2 innings since the trade. Basically, this ended up being possibly the most lopsided trade in the history of the Blue Jays (non-Jose Bautista for Robinzon Diaz division).</p>
<p><em>Fun Fact:</em>  Rance Mulliniks was slow his entire career, and obviously even slower late in his career. Of some surprise, then, is that he actually hit the first inside the park home room ever at the Skydome. On July 11, 1991, as a 35 year DH, Mulliniks &#8220;sprinted&#8221; around the bases after a drive off of Kevin Brown in a 2-0 victory for the first place, playoff bound Blue Jays over the Texas Rangers.  It would prove to be the last home-run of his career.</p>
<p>So, there you have it. Nine players that the Jays picked up late in the offseason, after the sounds of spring had already started.  You may have noticed that the most recent player on this list was acquired in the year 2000. It&#8217;s been a long time since the Jays have made any significant Spring Training moves, so hopefully Soriano, Brown, or even another addition over the next few weeks can make an appearance on a future issue of &#8220;The Nine&#8221; as key late moves for the eventual 2016 World Series champions.</p>
<p><em>Lead photo: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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