The "Blue Jays" name originates from the bird of the same name. They are nicknamed "the Jays", which is featured on the team's logo and on the front of the home uniform.
An expansion franchise, the club was founded in Toronto, in 1977. Originally based at Exhibition Stadium, the team began playing its home games at the SkyDome, upon completion of its construction in 1989. Since 2000, the Blue Jays are owned by Rogers Communications, and in 2004, the SkyDome was purchased by the company, which renamed the venue to Rogers Centre. They are the only team outside the United States to win a World Series, the first team to win a World Series in Canada, and the fastest American League expansion franchise to win a World Series (winning in their 16th year, beating the Kansas City Royals' record by one year). With the fellow Canadian franchise Montreal Expos relocating to Washington, D.C. after the 2004 season, and becoming the Washington Nationals, the Blue Jays are currently the only MLB team outside the United States. The Blue Jays are also one of three MLB teams under corporate ownership, with the other two being the Seattle Mariners (Nintendo of America) and the Atlanta Braves (Liberty Media).
History
History of the Toronto Blue Jays
1977–1994: The Pat Gillick era
1977–1981
The Blue Jays played their first game on April 7, 1977, against the Chicago White Sox, before a home crowd of 44,649. The game is now perhaps best remembered for the minor snowstorm which began just before the game started. Toronto won the snowy affair 9–5, led by Doug Ault's two home runs. That win would be one of only 54 of the 1977 season, as the Blue Jays finished in last place in the AL East, with a record of 54–107. After the season, assistant general manager Pat Gillick succeeded Peter Bavasi as general manager of the team, a position he would hold until 1994.
In 1978, the team improved their record by four and a half games, but remained last with a record of 59–103. In 1979, after a 53–109 last place finish, shortstop Alfredo Griffin was named American League co-Rookie of the Year. In addition, the Blue Jays' first mascot, BJ Birdie, made its debut in 1979.
In 1980, Bobby Mattick became manager, succeeding Roy Hartsfield, the Blue Jays' original manager. In Mattick's first season as manager, although they remained at the bottom, Toronto almost reached the 70-win mark, finishing with a record of 67–95, a 14-win improvement on 1979. Jim Clancy led with 13 wins and John Mayberry became the first Jay to hit 30 home runs in a season.
In the strike-divided season of 1981, the Blue Jays finished in last place in the American League East in both halves of the season. They were a dismal 16–42 in the first half, but improved dramatically, finishing the 48-game second half at 21–27, for a combined record of 37–69.
1982–1988
Under new manager Bobby Cox, Toronto's first solid season came in 1982 as they finished 78–84. Their pitching staff was led by starters Dave Stieb, Jim Clancy and Luis Leal, and the outfield featured a young Lloyd Moseby and Jesse Barfield. 1982 was also the Blue Jays first season outside the bottom, as they finished sixth in the East out of seven teams.
In 1983, the Blue Jays compiled their first winning record, 89–73, finishing in fourth place, nine games behind the eventual World Series champions, the Baltimore Orioles. First baseman Willie Upshaw became the first Blue Jay to have at least 100 RBIs in a season.
The Blue Jays' progress continued in 1984, finishing with the same 89–73 record, but this time in a distant second place behind another World Series champion, the Detroit Tigers. After 1984, Alfredo Griffin went to the Oakland Athletics, thus giving a permanent spot to young Dominican shortstop Tony Fernández, who would become a fan favorite for many years.
In 1985, Toronto won their first championship of any sort: the first of their five American League East division titles. The Blue Jays featured strong pitching and a balanced offense. Their mid-season call up of relief pitcher Tom Henke also proved to be important. They finished 99–62 (the franchise record for most wins), two games in front of the New York Yankees. The Blue Jays faced the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series (ALCS), and took a 3 games to 1 lead (the "Drive of '85"). However, Kansas City won three consecutive games to win the series 4 games to 3, on their way to their first, and only, World Series championship. Painfully ironic, prior to 1985, MLB League Championship Series (both the ALCS and NLCS) were best of 5, so, had the Blue Jays been in the same position in previous years as they were in 1985, leading Kansas City 3 games to 1, they would have won the League Championship and been on to the World Series.
With Jimy Williams now the skipper, the Blue Jays could not duplicate their success in 1986, sliding to a fourth-place tie at 86–76. Jesse Barfield and George Bell led the way with 40 and 31 home runs respectively and Jimmy Key and Jim Clancy tied for the team wins lead with 14 each.
In 1987, the Blue Jays lost a thrilling division race to the Detroit Tigers by two games, after being swept on the last weekend of the season by the Tigers. The Blue Jays finished with a 96–66 record, second best in the major leagues, but to no avail. However, George Bell was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the American League, the only Blue Jay to be named so.
In 1988, however, Toronto could not duplicate the successes of the previous season, tying the Milwaukee Brewers for third in the division at 87–75. Still, the season had numerous highlights. First baseman Fred McGriff hit 34 home runs, and Dave Stieb had back-to-back starts in which he lost a no-hitter with two out in the ninth inning.
1989–1991
The Toronto Blue Jays cap logo (1989–1996)
In 1989, the Blue Jays' new retractable roofed home, SkyDome, opened in the mid-season. It also marked the beginning of an extremely successful five-year period for the team. In May, management fired manager Jimy Williams and replaced him with Cito Gaston, the team's hitting instructor. The club had a dismal 12–24 record at the time of the firing, but went 77–49 under Gaston to win the American League East title by two games with an 89-73 record. George Bell's walk-off home run, off Bobby Thigpen, marked the end of the Exhibition Stadium era. The first game at the new stadium took place on June 5 against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Jays lost 5–3. In the 1989 American League Championship Series, Rickey Henderson led the Oakland Athletics to a 4–1 series win.
In 1990, the Blue Jays again had a strong season, but finished in second place, two games behind the Boston Red Sox. Dave Stieb pitched his only no-hitter, beating the Cleveland Indians 3–0 in front of a less than capacity crowd at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. This was also, as of 2009, the only no-hitter ever pitched by a Toronto Blue Jay pitcher. During the offseason, the Blue Jays made one of the two biggest trades in franchise history, sending all-star shortstop Tony Fernández and first baseman Fred McGriff to the San Diego Padres in exchange for outfielder Joe Carter and second baseman Roberto Alomar. The Jays also obtained center fielder Devon White from the California Angels. These deals, particularly the trade with San Diego, were instrumental in the team's future success.
Carter, Alomar and White would prove to be extremely effective additions, as the Blue Jays again won the division in 1991, as Carter drove in the division winning run. Once again, however, they fell short in the postseason, losing to the Minnesota Twins, who were on their way to their second World Series victory in five seasons, in the ALCS. In 1991, the Blue Jays became the first Major League club ever to draw over four million fans in one season.
Team record 1989: 89 wins–73 losses, W%- 0.549
Team record 1990: 86 wins–76 losses, W%- 0.531, 2 games behind Division Leader
Team record 1991: 91 wins–71 losses, W%- 0.562
1992–1993: World Series Champions
World Series banners above the Rogers Centre videoboard
After the 1991 season had ended, the Blue Jays acquired pitcher Jack Morris, who had led the Minnesota Twins to victory in the World Series by pitching a 10-inning complete game shutout in Game 7 and had been named the World Series MVP. To add veteran leadership to their explosive offense, Toronto signed future Hall of Famer Dave Winfield to be the team's designated hitter.
The 1992 regular season went well, as the Jays clinched their second straight AL East crown with a final record of 96–66, four games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers. They also went the entire season without being swept in any series. The Blue Jays met the Oakland Athletics (who had the same record as the Jays and led the division by six games over the defending champion Twins) in the ALCS, winning 4 games to 2. The pivotal game of the series was Game 4, considered by many to be one of the most important games in Blue Jays history: the Blue Jays rallied back from a 6–1 deficit after seven innings, capped off by Roberto Alomar's huge game-tying 2-run homer off Hall of Fame A's closer Dennis Eckersley in the top of the ninth. This paved the way for a 7–6 victory in 11 innings, a 3 games to 1 lead in the series and an eventual 4–2 ALCS series win.
The original Toronto Blue Jays logo (1977–1996)
The Blue Jays then faced the Atlanta Braves in the World Series. The Braves returned after being beaten by the Twins the previous year. The pivotal game in this series turned out to be Game 2, in which reserve player Ed Sprague hit a 9th-inning 2-run home run off Braves closer Jeff Reardon to give the Blue Jays a 5–4 lead, which would hold up. After winning Game 3 thanks to Candy Maldonado's ninth inning RBI hit and Game 4 due to Jimmy Key's superb 7⅓ inning pitching effort in which he retired 15 straight batters (five innings), the Jays could not win the Series on home turf as the Braves struck back with a 7–2 win in Game 5. Game 6 in Atlanta, with the Blue Jays leading 3 games to 2, was a very close game. Toronto was one strike away from winning in the bottom of the 9th inning, 2–1, but Otis Nixon singled in the tying run off the Blue Jays' closer Tom Henke. It was the first run the Toronto bullpen had given up in the series. The game was decided in the 11th inning, when Dave Winfield doubled down the left-field line, driving in two runs. The Braves would again come within one run in the bottom of the 11th, but Jays reliever Mike Timlin fielded Otis Nixon's bunt, throwing to Joe Carter at first base for the final out. The Blue Jays became the first team based outside of the United States to win the World Series. Pat Borders, the Jays' catcher, was the unlikely player who was named MVP after hitting .450 with one home run in the World Series. Oddly, Morris was acquired in large part for his reputation as a clutch postseason pitcher, but he went 0–3 in the playoffs. Morris, however, pitched well in the regular season, becoming the Blue Jays' first 20-game winner, with a record of 21–6 and an ERA of 4.04.
After the 1992 season, the Blue Jays let World Series hero Dave Winfield and longtime closer Tom Henke go but signed two key free agents: designated hitter Paul Molitor from the Milwaukee Brewers and perennial playoff success Dave Stewart from the Oakland Athletics.
In 1993, the Blue Jays had seven All-Stars: outfielders Devon White and Joe Carter, infielders John Olerud and Roberto Alomar, designated hitter Molitor, plus starting pitcher Pat Hentgen, and closer Duane Ward. In August, the Jays acquired former nemesis Rickey Henderson from the Athletics. The Blue Jays cruised to a 95–67 record, one less win than 1992 and seven games ahead of the New York Yankees, winning their third straight division title. The Jays beat the Chicago White Sox 4 games to 2 in the ALCS, and then the Philadelphia Phillies, 4 games to 2, for their second straight World Series victory. The World Series featured several exciting games, including Game 4, played under a slight rain, in which the Blue Jays came back from a 14–9 deficit to win 15–14 and take a 3 games to 1 lead in the series. It remains the highest scoring game in World Series history. Game 6 in Toronto saw the Blue Jays lead 5–1, but give up 5 runs in the 7th inning to trail 6–5. In the bottom of the 9th inning Joe Carter hit a one-out, three-run walk-off home run to clinch the series off of Phillies closer Mitch Williams. Only the second World Series–winning walk-off home run in the history of Major League Baseball (following Bill Mazeroski's in Game 7 in 1960), Carter's hit differed from the first in that Toronto, while not facing elimination, was trailing in the bottom of the 9th. The home run is also memorable for late Blue Jays broadcaster Tom Cheek's call:
"A swing, and a belt! Left field! Way back! Blue Jays win it! The Blue Jays are World Series champions as Joe Carter hits a three-run home run in the ninth inning and the Blue Jays have repeated as World Series Champions! Touch 'em all, Joe, you'll never hit a bigger home run in your life!" (Listen to Tom Cheek's historic call)
In the regular season, three Blue Jays—John Olerud, Paul Molitor and Roberto Alomar—finished 1-2-3 for the AL batting crown.
Team record 1992: 96 wins–66 losses, W%- 0.593
Team record 1993: 95 wins–67 losses, W%- 0.586
1994 season
Expectations were high for the Blue Jays for the 1994 season, following back-to-back championships, but they slumped to a 55–60 record and a third place finish (16 games back of the New York Yankees) before the players' strike. It was their first losing season since 1982. Joe Carter, Paul Molitor and John Olerud enjoyed good years at the plate, but the pitching fell off. Juan Guzmán slumped considerably from his first three years (40–11, 3.28 ERA), finishing 1994 at 12–11 with a 5.68 ERA. Three young players, Alex Gonzalez, Carlos Delgado and Shawn Green, did show a lot of promise for the future.
Labatt Breweries was bought by Belgian-based brewer Interbrew (now InBev), making the Blue Jays the second baseball team owned by interests outside of North America. Interestingly, the first was the Blue Jays' expansion cousins, the Seattle Mariners, which was owned by Nintendo.
Team record 1994: 55 wins–60 losses, W%- 0.478, 16 games behind Division Leader
1995–2001: The Gord Ash era
Before the 1995 season, Pat Gillick, the longtime Blue Jays general manager, resigned and handed the reins of the team to Toronto native Gord Ash, who would lead the team in its most tumultuous era yet.
In the 1995 season, the Blue Jays proved that they had lost their contending swagger of the past 12 years. Although they had most of the same cast of the World Series teams, the Blue Jays freefell to a dismal 56–88 record, last place in the AL East, 30 games behind the Boston Red Sox. Attendance also tailed off dramatically during the 1995 season, and has never recovered since. During SkyDome's first four-plus seasons, Blue Jays tickets were among the toughest in all of baseball. While attendance suffered throughout the majors in the years immediately after the strike, the dropoff was especially pronounced for the Canadian teams, the Montreal Expos and Blue Jays.
1996 was another mediocre year for the Blue Jays, despite Pat Hentgen's Cy Young Award (20–10. 3.22 ERA). Ed Sprague had a career year, hitting 36 home runs and driving in 101 runs. However, their 74 wins did put them in 4th place, improving over their last place finish in 1995. They improved their record by 18 victories as they played the full 162 game schedule for the first time since 1993.
Toronto Blue Jays logo (1997–2002)
The Blue Jays started 1997 with high hopes. Not only did the Jays drastically change their uniforms, they signed former Boston Red Sox ace Roger Clemens to a $24,750,000 contract. Clemens had one of the best pitching seasons ever as he won the pitcher's Triple Crown, leading the American League with a record of 21–7, a 2.05 ERA, and 292 strikeouts. This was not enough to lead the Blue Jays to the postseason, however, as they finished in last place for the second time in three years with a record of 76–86. Cito Gaston, the longtime manager who led the team to 3 division titles and 2 World Series crowns, was fired five games before the end of the season.
Before the start of the 1998 season, the Blue Jays acquired closer Randy Myers and slugger José Canseco. Gaston was replaced with former Blue Jay Tim Johnson, a relative unknown as a manager. Despite mediocre hitting, strong pitching led by Clemens' second straight pitching Triple Crown (20–6, 2.65 ERA, 271 strikeouts) sparked the Blue Jays to an 88–74 record – their first winning season since 1993. However, this was only good enough to finish a distant third, 26 games behind the New York Yankees, who posted one of the greatest records in all of baseball history at 114–48. They were, however, in contention for the wildcard spot until the final week.
Before the 1999 season, the Blue Jays traded Clemens to the Yankees for starting pitcher David Wells, second baseman Homer Bush and relief pitcher Graeme Lloyd. They also fired manager Tim Johnson during spring training after he lied about several things (including killing people in the Vietnam War) in order to motivate his players. The Blue Jays had initially been willing to stand by Johnson. A blizzard of questions about his credibility during spring training, however, led Ash to fire him less than a month before opening day. Johnson was replaced with Jim Fregosi, who managed the Phillies when they lost to the Blue Jays in the 1993 World Series. The offense picked up somewhat in 1999, but the pitching suffered without Clemens, as the Blue Jays finished at 84–78, in third place. After the 1999 season, the Blue Jays' original mascot for 20 years, BJ Birdie, was replaced by a duo named Ace & Diamond.
On November 8, 1999, Toronto traded star outfielder Shawn Green to the Los Angeles Dodgers for left-handed relief pitcher Pedro Borbón and right-fielder Raúl Mondesí. Green had told the Jays that he would not be re-signing when his contract was up at the end of the year (he wished to play closer to his home in Southern California).
2000 proved to be a similar season, as the Jays had an 83–79 record, well out of the wild card race but only a slim 4½ games back of the three-time defending World Series Champion Yankees in the AL East, the first time since 1993 they had contended for the division. Carlos Delgado had a stellar year, hitting .344 with 41 home runs, 57 doubles, 137 RBI, 123 walks and 115 runs. In addition, six other players hit 20 or more home runs, an outstanding feat. José Cruz Jr., Raúl Mondesí, Tony Batista, Darrin Fletcher, Shannon Stewart, and Brad Fullmer all contributed to the powerful heart of the lineup.
On September 1, 2000, Rogers Communications Inc. purchased 80% of the baseball club with Interbrew (now InBev) maintaining 20% interest and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce relinquishing its 10% share. Rogers eventually acquired the 20% owned by Interbrew and currently owns 100% of the team.
Buck Martinez, a former catcher and broadcast announcer for the Blue Jays, took over as manager before the 2001 season. The Blue Jays were back under .500 for 2001, finishing at 80–82, with mediocre pitching and hitting. Delgado led the team again with 39 home runs and 102 RBI. After the 2001 season ended, the Blue Jays fired Gord Ash, ending a seven-year tenure as general manager.
J. P. Ricciardi, then director of player development under Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane, was named the Blue Jays' General Manager and was expected to slash the payroll immediately, in order to stem the tide of red ink. During the off-season, the team traded or let go several popular players, including Alex Gonzalez, Paul Quantrill, Brad Fullmer and closer Billy Koch to let talented youngsters such as Eric Hinske and Felipe Lopez get a chance to develop into major leaguers.
]2002–2009: The J. P. Ricciardi era
2002 season
2002 Toronto Blue Jays season
The Blue Jays started the 2002 season with slow progress in performance. Buck Martinez was fired about a third of the way through the season, with a 20–33 record. He was replaced by third base coach Carlos Tosca, an experienced minor league manager. They went 58–51 under Tosca to finish the season 78–84. Roy Halladay was relied on as the team's ace and rose to the challenge of being the team's top pitcher, finishing the season with a 19–7 record and 2.93 ERA. The hitters were led once again by Carlos Delgado. Promising young players were assigned to key roles; starting third baseman Eric Hinske won the Rookie of the Year Award at the season's conclusion, and 23-year-old centre fielder Vernon Wells had his first 100 RBI season.
Team record 2002: 78 wins–84 losses, W%- 0.481, 25.5 games behind division leader, third in division
2003 season
Toronto Blue Jays logo (2003)
2003 Toronto Blue Jays season
The 2003 season was a surprise to both team management and baseball analysts. After a poor April, the team had its most successful month ever in May. Carlos Delgado led the majors in RBI, followed closely by Wells. Despite their hitting successes, poor pitching continued to plague the team. Halladay was an exception, winning his first Cy Young Award, going 22–7, with a 3.25 ERA. In July, Shannon Stewart was traded to the Minnesota Twins for Bobby Kielty, another outfielder with a much lower batting average than Stewart's. Delgado was second in the voting for the American League MVP Award, although the Jays were in third place in their division. In the off-season, Kielty was traded to the Oakland Athletics for starter Ted Lilly.
Team record 2003: 86 wins–76 losses, W%- 0.531, 15 games behind division leader, third in division
2004 season
Current Blue Jays logo (2004–present)
2004 Toronto Blue Jays season
The 2004 season was a disappointing year for the Blue Jays right from the beginning. They started the season 0–8 at SkyDome and never started a lengthy winning streak. Much of that was due to injuries to All-Stars Carlos Delgado, Vernon Wells and Roy Halladay among others. Although the additions of starting pitchers Ted Lilly and Miguel Batista and reliever Justin Speier were relatively successful, veteran Pat Hentgen faltered throughout the season and retired on July 24. Rookies and minor league callups David Bush, Jason Frasor, Josh Towers and others filled the void in the rotation and the bullpen; however, inconsistent performances were evident. With the team struggling in last place and mired in a five-game losing streak, manager Carlos Tosca was fired on August 8, 2004, and was replaced by first base coach John Gibbons. Long-time first baseman Carlos Delgado became a free agent in the off-season. Nevertheless, prospects Russ Adams, Gabe Gross, and Alex Ríos provided excitement for the fans. Rookie pitchers David Bush, Gustavo Chacín and Jason Frasor also showed promise for the club's future. The Blue Jays' lone MLB All-Star Game representative was Lilly.
Team record 2004: 67 wins–94 losses, W%- 0.416, 33.5 games behind division leader, fifth in division
2005 season
After the 2004 season, FieldTurf replaced AstroTurf as the Rogers Centre's playing surface.
Main article: 2005 Toronto Blue Jays season
The Blue Jays had a good start to the 2005 season. They led the AL East from early to mid-April and held their record around .500 until late August. The Jays were hit with the injury bug when third baseman Corey Koskie broke his finger, taking him out of the lineup, but the club was pleasantly surprised with the performance of rookie call-up Aaron Hill in his stead. On July 8, just prior to the All-Star break, Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay was struck on the shin by a line drive, resulting in a fractured leg. Though Halladay's injury was hoped to be minor, the recovery process was met with constant delays, and eventually, he was out for the rest of the season. Prior to his injury, the Blue Jays were in serious wild card contention, but soon fell out of the playoff race. The team received glimpses of the future from September call-ups Guillermo Quiróz, John-Ford Griffin, and Shaun Marcum. Marcum made himself noteworthy by posting an ERA of 0.00 over 5 relief appearances and 8 innings in September. Josh Towers also stepped up, showing largely unseen potential by going 7–5 with a 2.91 ERA in the second half of the season.
Team record 2005: 80 wins–82 losses, W%- 0.494, 15 games behind division leader, third in division
2006 season
Main article: 2006 Toronto Blue Jays season
In 2006, the team experienced its most successful season in years. On July 2, Troy Glaus, Vernon Wells, Roy Halladay, B. J. Ryan, and Alex Ríos were picked to represent the Blue Jays at the All-Star Game.[2] It was the largest number of Blue Jay All-Stars selected for the game since 1993. The team played well in the critical month of September, going 18–10. This, combined with the slumping of the Boston Red Sox, enabled the Blue Jays to take sole possession of second place in the American League East by the end of the season. This marked the first time that the Jays had finished above third place in their division since their World Championship season of 1993, and with the most wins since the 1998 season. On December 18, the Blue Jays announced that they had re-signed centre fielder Wells to a seven-year contract worth $126 million, which came into effect after the 2007 season.
Team record 2006: 87 wins–75 losses, W%- 0.537, 10 games behind division leader, second in division
2007 season
Banner at Rogers Centre, showing Frank Thomas' home run count.
Main article: 2007 Toronto Blue Jays season
The 2007 season was blighted by persistent injuries, with 12 Blue Jays landing on the disabled list. The most serious injury was that of B. J. Ryan, who was out for the entire season having had Tommy John surgery. Prior to the season, the team signed starting pitchers John Thomson, Tomo Ohka, and Victor Zambrano; each of them were released before the end of the season. However, young starters Shaun Marcum and Dustin McGowan had breakout years, with 12 wins each. On June 24, McGowan pitched a complete game one-hitter. On June 28, Frank Thomas became the 21st major league player to hit 500 career home runs. Aaron Hill also had a breakout year, setting a team record for second baseman with 47 doubles.
Team record 2007: 83 wins–79 losses, W%- 0.512, 13 games behind division leader, third in division
2008 season
2008 Toronto Blue Jays season
The Blue Jays' 2008 season featured a strong pitching staff, which led the major leagues with a 3.49 ERA. For much of the season, however, the team struggled to hit home runs and drive in runs. On May 24, starter Jesse Litsch set a team record, with 38 consecutive innings without giving up a walk. On June 20, following a five-game losing streak and with the Jays in last place in the AL East, management fired John Gibbons and several members of his coaching staff, and re-hired Cito Gaston. Meanwhile, Alex Ríos had 32 stolen bases, making him the first Blue Jay with 30 since 2001. On September 5, Roy Halladay earned his 129th career win, moving him into second spot on Toronto's all-time wins list. Halladay also came second in the voting for the Cy Young Award, after posting a 20–11 record and 2.78 ERA. From August 30 to September 9, the team had a 10-game winning streak.
Team record 2008: 86 wins–76 losses, W%- 0.531, 11 games behind division leader, fourth in division
2009 season
2009 Toronto Blue Jays season
Ace, the Blue Jays mascot, on the field during the 2009 season
The 2009 season saw the addition of two new patches on the Blue Jays' uniforms: on the right arm, a bright red maple leaf (part of the Canadian flag), and on the left arm, a small black band with "TED" written on it, in reference to team owner Ted Rogers, who died in the off-season.
The Toronto Blue Jays took on the Detroit Tigers, for Opening Day, at the Rogers Centre on April 6, 2009, beating the Detroit Tigers 12–5. Roy Halladay was matched up against the Tigers' pitcher, Justin Verlander, and Halladay went seven innings striking out two and walking one, but he did give up two home runs, and five runs overall.[3] The game was briefly interrupted when fans started throwing objects onto the field (including baseballs, a golfball and an AA battery). The Tigers were pulled from the field in the bottom of the eighth inning, causing a nine-minute delay. A statement was also read over the public address system reminding fans of the consequences of such actions (including the possibility of forfeiture of the game).
In another turn of events, the Rogers Centre was dry on April 7, as the province of Ontario imposed the first of a three-day alcohol suspension at the stadium, for "infractions (that) took place at certain past events," according to the press release.[5] The Jays beat the Tigers 5–4 for their second win of the season.
2009 is the first year that the Blue Jays began counting their in game attendance by the ticket and not by numbers sold or given away. This was done to ensure that the number of fans paying for the seats they sit in is counted accurately.
On June 9, in the MLB draft with the 20th pick, the Jays selected RHP Chad Jenkins, a power pitcher that has drawn comparisons to David "Boomer" Wells and Gustavo Chacín. In addition, it was announced on the same day that Jesse Litsch will miss the remainder of the season with Tommy John surgery. Aaron Hill and Roy Halladay both had excellent years and represented the Blue Jays at the 2009 All-Star game in St. Louis. In mid-August, J. P. Ricciardi allowed the Chicago White Sox to claim Alex Ríos off the waivers.
With two games remaining in what was a disappointing season, Ricciardi was fired on October 3, 2009. He was replaced by assistant general manager Alex Anthopoulos.
Despite the team's overall disappointing record the Jays saw the strong return of Aaron Hill, who won the American League Comeback Player of the Year and the American League Silver Slugger for second base. Adam Lind, who also had a strong season, earned the Silver Slugger for designated hitter.
Team record 2009: 75 wins–87 losses, W%- 0.463, 28 games behind division leader, fourth in division
2010–present: The Alex Anthopoulos era
[2010 season
2010 Toronto Blue Jays season
2010 is Alex Anthopoulos' first full season as General Manager with the Jays.
The Blue Jays made some changes in the dugout, announcing that Cito Gaston would retire by the end of the year. The Jays made numerous moves, moving Brian Butterfield from bench coach to third base coach, third base coach Nick Leyva to bench coach, and the Jays brought in Omar Malave to be the first base coach. Former first base coach Dwayne Murphy became hitting coach. Brad Arnsberg left to become the pitching coach in Houston, and former bullpen coach Bruce Walton took his spot making room for Rick Langford to become the bullpen coach.
This is rookie GM Alex Anthopoulos' first season. His first two moves were waiver claims of relief pitcher Sean Henn and second baseman Jarrett Hoffpauir. The Blue Jays announced on November 25, 2009 that the club had re-signed veteran shortstop John McDonald to a two-year 3 million dollar contract to return to the club in 2010. One day later the Jays announced the signing of shortstop Alex Gonzalez to a one-year 2.75 million dollar contract.This meant that Marco Scutaro was left as the odd man out for the position of shortstop, and as a result, he signed a two-year contract with the Boston Red Sox. This gives the Blue Jays one compensation draft pick, and Boston's first round choice (29th overall) due to Scutaro's Type A free agent status. On December 16, Roy Halladay was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Kyle Drabek, Travis D'Arnaud, and Michael Taylor; Taylor was immediately traded to the Oakland Athletics for Brett Wallace.
Toronto Blue Jays broadcasters
Canadian MLB Blackout map
The Blue Jays' former radio play-by-play announcer, Tom Cheek, called every Blue Jays game from the team's inaugural contest on April 7, 1977 until June 3, 2004, when he took two games off following the death of his father – a streak of 4,306 consecutive regular season games and 41 postseason games. Cheek died in 2005, and the team commemorated him during their 2006 season by wearing a circular badge on the left sleeve of their jerseys. The badge was adorned with Cheek's initials, as well as a stylized microphone. Cheek is also honoured with a place in the Blue Jays' "Level of Excellence" in the upper level of the Rogers Centre; the number 4,306 is depicted beside his name. In 2008, Cheek received the third highest amount of votes by fans to be nominated for the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting excellence. This is the fifth year in a row Cheek has been named a finalist.
Radio broadcasts of Blue Jays games are on CJCL, known as The Fan 590. Jerry Howarth is the lead play-by-play announcer, with former Blue Jays catcher Alan Ashby serving as the colour commentator and secondary play-by-play announcer. The Toronto Blue Jays have the largest geographical home market for radio and television in all of baseball, encompassing all of Canada. Despite this, the number of radio stations that broadcast games is actually quite small. Only nineteen radio stations across the country are airing at least some Blue Jays games during the 2010 season, which is fewer affiliates than most teams have.
On television, Blue Jays games are carried on Rogers Sportsnet (which, like the Blue Jays, is owned by Rogers Communications). Sportsnet became the team's primary carrier soon after it launched in the late 1990s, and became the team's exclusive carrier in 2010. In the event of conflicts with other Sportsnet properties, affected games currently air on an alternate Sportsnet channel available on digital cable through many cable providers (as well as both Bell TV and Shaw Direct). Buck Martinez is the play-by-play announcer, with colour analysis rotating between Pat Tabler, Rance Mulliniks, and Darrin Fletcher.
TSN, which (like the Jays) was owned by Labatt from 1984 to 1995, served as the primary television outlet for the Blue Jays prior to the launch of Sportsnet. TSN (and later its sister channel TSN2) continued to carry a handful[quantify] of Jays games through the 2009 season; most recently, Rod Black handled play-by-play while Tabler served as colour commentator on these telecasts. CBC has carried Blue Jays games intermittently throughout the team's history, most recently in 2007 and 2008; those broadcasts featured Jim Hughson as the play-by-play announcer, and former Blue Jays Rance Mulliniks and Jesse Barfield on colour commentary.
Quick facts
Uniform colours: Blue, Black, Graphite, Silver, White
Logo design: A blue jay's head coming out of a "J".
Alternate logo design: Stylized "T" using uniform colours.
Team motto: "You Belong at the Game"
Mascot: Ace, an anthropomorphized blue jay.
Theme song: "OK Blue Jays"
Local radio: The Fan 590
Local television: Rogers Sportsnet
Spring Training Facility: Dunedin Stadium, Dunedin, Florida
World Series Champions: 1992, 1993
Baseball Hall of Famers
No one has yet been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame based primarily on service with the Blue Jays. Four Hall of Famers have worn the Blue Jays uniform:
Toronto Blue Jays Hall of Famers
Affiliation according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Blue Jays
Rickey Henderson
Paul Molitor
Phil Niekro
Dave Winfield
Names in bold inducted as Blue Jays
Additionally, Bobby Doerr, a second baseman with the Boston Red Sox, served as a coach with the Jays early in their history, and was the first person associated with the franchise to be elected to the Hall, in 1986. Early Wynn, the Hall of Fame pitcher and 300-game winner, was a broadcaster for the Blue Jays during their first few years.
Current roster
Toronto Blue Jays roster view • talk • edit
Active roster Inactive roster Coaches/Other
Pitchers
Starting rotation
27 Brett Cecil
30 Dana Eveland
28 Shaun Marcum
23 Brandon Morrow
24 Ricky Romero
Bullpen
57 Shawn Camp
37 Scott Downs
54 Jason Frasor
44 Casey Janssen
50 Rommie Lewis
17 Josh Roenicke
Closer
63 Kevin Gregg
Catchers
14 John Buck
8 José Molina
Infielders
11 Álex González
2 Aaron Hill
18 Mike McCoy
6 John McDonald
35 Lyle Overbay
21 Randy Ruiz
Outfielders
19 José Bautista
15 Fred Lewis
26 Adam Lind
45 Travis Snider
10 Vernon Wells
Designated hitters
None specified
Pitchers
49 Jeremy Accardo
39 Jesse Carlson
40 Reidier González
59 Brad Mills
47 Luis Pérez
25 David Purcey
60 Robert Ray
34 Marc Rzepczynski †
56 Brian Tallet †
Infielders
11 Brian Dopirak
12 Edwin Encarnación †
-- Adeiny Hechavarria
5 Jarrett Hoffpauir
Outfielders
7 Jeremy Reed
Manager
43 Cito Gaston
Coaches
55 Brian Butterfield (third base)
22 Rick Langford (bullpen)
16 Nick Leyva (bench)
52 Omar Malave (first base)
41 Dwayne Murphy (hitting)
53 Bruce Walton (pitching)
60-day disabled list
58 Dirk Hayhurst
51 Jesse Litsch
29 Dustin McGowan
48 Scott Richmond
† 15-day disabled list
* Suspended list
# Bereavement list
Roster updated May 13, 2010
Transactions • Depth Chart
→ More rosters
Minor league affiliations
Level Team League Location
AAA Las Vegas 51s Pacific Coast League Las Vegas, NV
AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats Eastern League Manchester, NH
Advanced A Dunedin Blue Jays Florida State League Dunedin, FL
A Lansing Lugnuts Midwest League Lansing, MI
Short Season A Auburn Doubledays New York-Penn League Auburn, NY
Rookie GCL Blue Jays Gulf Coast League Dunedin, FL
DSL Blue Jays 1 Dominican Summer League Dominican Republic
Former teams:
AAA: Syracuse Chiefs, International League 1978–2008 (renamed to Syracuse SkyChiefs 1996–2006)
AA: New Haven Ravens, Eastern League 2000–2003
AA: Knoxville Smokies, Southern League 1980–1999
High A: Kinston Eagles/Kinston Blue Jays, Carolina League 1979–1981
High A: Ventura County Gulls, California League 1986
Low A: Florence Blue Jays, South Atlantic League 1981–1985
Low A: Myrtle Beach Blue Jays, South Atlantic League 1986–1992
Low A: Hagerstown Suns, South Atlantic League 1993–2000
Low A: Charleston Alley Cats, South Atlantic League 2001–2004
Short A: St. Catharines Blue Jays/St. Catharines Stompers, New York-Penn League 1986–1998
Short A: Utica Blue Sox/Utica Blue Jays, New York-Penn League 1977–1980
Short A: Queens Kings, New York-Penn League 1999
Rookie: DSL Blue Jays2, Dominican Summer League 2007–2008
Rookie: Pulaski Blue Jays, Appalachian League 2003–2006
Rookie: Medicine Hat Blue Jays, Pioneer League 1978–2002
Franchise records
Main article: Toronto Blue Jays team records
[edit]Season records
Highest Batting Average: .363, John Olerud (1993)
Most Games: 163, Tony Fernández (1986)
Most Runs: 134, Shawn Green (1999)
Most Hits: 215, Vernon Wells (2003)
Highest Slugging %: .664, Carlos Delgado (2000)
Most Doubles: 57, Carlos Delgado (2000)
Most Triples: 17, Tony Fernandez (1990)
Most Home Runs: 47, George Bell (1987)
Most Grand Slams: 3, Carlos Delgado (1997) and Darrin Fletcher (2000)
Most RBIs: 145, Carlos Delgado (2003)
Most Stolen Bases: 60, Dave Collins (1984)
Most Wins: 22, Roy Halladay (2003)
Lowest ERA: 2.05, Roger Clemens (1997)
Most Strikeouts: 292, Roger Clemens (1997)
Most Appearances: 89, Mark Eichhorn (1987)
Complete Games: 19, Dave Stieb (1982)
Saves: 45, Duane Ward (1993)
[edit]Career records
Highest Batting Average: .307, Roberto Alomar
Most Games: 1450, Tony Fernández
Most Runs: 889, Carlos Delgado
Most Hits: 1583, Tony Fernández
Highest Slugging %: .556, Carlos Delgado
Most Doubles: 343, Carlos Delgado
Most Triples: 72, Tony Fernandez
Most Home Runs: 336, Carlos Delgado
Most RBIs: 1058, Carlos Delgado
Most Stolen Bases: 255, Lloyd Moseby
Most Wins: 175, Dave Stieb
Lowest ERA: 3.42, Jimmy Key and Dave Stieb
Strikeouts: 1658, Dave Stieb
Complete Games: 103, Dave Stieb
Saves: 217, Tom Henke
Jackie Robinson's number was retired on every team in MLB
Level of Excellence
While the Blue Jays have never retired a number (except for the number 42, retired by MLB for Jackie Robinson), they have instituted a "Level of Excellence" on the 500 level of the Rogers Centre, where the following Jays personnel are honoured:
Tony Fernández
SS: 1983–1990, 1993, 1998–1999, 2001
George Bell
LF: 1981–1990
Roberto Alomar
2B: 1991–1995
Joe Carter
RF,1B: 1991–1997
Dave Stieb
P: 1978–1992, 1998
Cito Gaston
M: 1989–1997, 2008–present
Tom Cheek
Broadcaster: 1977–2005
Paul Beeston
VP: 1976–1989; President: 1989–1997, 2008–present
Pat Gillick
GM: 1978–1995
Toronto portal
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays all-time roster
Toronto Blue Jays award winners and league leaders
Toronto Blue Jays managers
Pearson Cup
List of baseball teams in Canada
2007 Toronto Blue Jays Draft
Source:wikipedia
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