Top 50 Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays joined the American League in 1977, becoming the second Canadian team to join the Majors, and are currently the only ones.
First making the playoffs in 1985, the Blue Jays brought the World Series outside the United States in 1992 and were repeat champions in 1993.
They have been to the post-season sparingly since but are Canada's team. No other MLB organization can say that they own a country.
This list is up to the end of the 2023 regular season.
Note: Baseball lists are based on an amalgamation of tenure, traditional statistics, advanced statistics, playoff statistics, and post-season accolades.
Teoscar Hernandez played a handful of Games for the Houston Astros before the Dominican Outfielder was traded to the Blue Jays at the 2017 Trade Deadline. Hernandez spent most of that year in AAA but would be in the Majors the following year, belting 22 Home Runs, though his Batting Average was only .239. 2019 was much of the same (26 HR, .230), but the COVID-shortened year 2020 was Hernandez' breakout. In 50 Games, Hernandez had 16 Home Runs but raised his Batting Average to .289, winning the Silver Slugger and finishing 11th in MVP voting. He kept that through a full year in…
Doyle Alexander arrived in Toronto as a Free Agent early in 1983, right after the Yankees released him. The righthander was a crafty veteran and had already played 13 seasons with six different teams, and when the Blue Jays picked him up, it would not have surprised anyone if this was the end of the road for Alexander. It wasn’t, and he was about to have the best run of his career. Alexander finished ’83 7-6 with a 3.93 ERA, and proved that he could still contribute. He then produced his best year to date, complimenting ace Dave Stieb with a 17-6 record…
Mark Eichhorn had a tumultuous road to the Majors, first making it in 1982, but shoulder issues kept him from another MLB Game until 1986. Eichhorn found a role for the Jays in late relief, winning 24 Games from 1986 to 1988 and leading the American League in Games Pitched (89) in 1987). Toronto retooled and sold his contract to Atlanta in 1989, but the then-Angel was traded back to Toronto before the 1992 Trade Deadline. Eichhorn was used in middle relief, and he helped Toronto in their back-to-back World Series wins in 1992 and 1993. Eichhorn left as a Free Agent…
Adam Lind played most of his career with Toronto (2006-14), first showing up to the Jays as a September callup. Lind proved that he could hit, but he was an abysmal fielder and could only find a place in the Majors as a Designated Hitter, and for a brief time, he was among the best in this role. Lind entered this role full-time in 2009, and he was phenomenal that year, hitting 35 Home Runs with 114 RBI and a .306 Batting Average. He won the Silver Slugger and the Edgar Martinez Award as the game's top DH, but this was his…
Damaso Garcia was not an original Blue Jay, but for many in Toronto, he was their first infielder who connected with the fans. After two years in a reserve role with the Yankees, Garcia was traded to Toronto in 1980, where he was still rookie-eligible. He collected 151 Hits, finished fourth for the ROY, and had a respectable Batting Average (.278), and arguably had his best season in 1982, batting .310, swiping 54 bases, and winning a Silver Slugger. After another decent year in 1983 (.307, 31 SB), Garcia went to the All-Star Game in both 1984 and 1985, though his season-end…
Orlando Hudson came a long way from the 1997 43rd Round Pick to make the Jays roster in 2002, and the defensive-minded Second Baseman used his glove to show his worth on the Majors. Hudson went into 2003 as Toronto’s starter at Second, finishing the season with a 1.5 Defensive bWAR and batted .268. He then had his best year as a Jay, leading the American League in Defensive bWAR (2.7) with 12 Home Runs and a .270 Batting Average. Hudson then won the Gold Glove in 2005 (he should have won it in 2004) with similar metrics. Toronto sent Hudson to Arizona…
Jordan Romano was a 10th Round Draft Pick by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2014, but he almost did not play for the team. The Chicago White Sox plucked Romano in the 2018 Rule 5 Draft, who promptly sold his right to Texas. The Rangers returned him to Toronto during the following Spring Training. here we are with Romano going into 2024 as the Blue Jays closer and one of the better 9th Inning specialists in baseball. Romano, a native of Marham, a suburb of Toronto, made his Blue Jays debut that year and, two seasons later, was Toronto’s top…
Lyle Overbay’s best years were with the Blue Jays, though it can be argued that the First Baseman did not live up to the expectations when the team traded for him in the 2005/2006 offseason. The Blue Jays were in need of a First Baseman when they acquired Overbay, and in his first year North of the border, Overbay had career-highs in Home Runs (22), Batting Average (.312), and OPS (.880). He could not reach those stats again, never batting .300 again, though he did have another 20 HR year in 2010, which was last year with the Jays, as he…
Marco Estrada struggled as a Starting Pitcher with Milwaukee, but the potential was there. Toronto believed so, and they traded Adam Lind straight up for him before 2015, and it worked out well for Estrada and the Jays. Estrada’s debut year with Toronto was his best in Baseball, setting personal bests of Wins (13), ERA (3.13), and WHIP (1.044), and he was the American League leader in H/9 (6.7). He got a win in both the ALDS and ALCS, and the Jays were able to resign him as a Free Agent. Estrada had another good year, going to the All-Star Game (his only)…
Over his seven seasons in Toronto, Venezuelan hurler Kelvim Escobar tried every role on the mound. Debuting in 1997, five years after he was signed as an Amateur Free Agent, Escobar saved 14 Games as a rookie, but two years later was a starter, going 14-11, though his ERA was a bloated 5.69. He again had an ERA over five in 2000 (10-14), going back and forth from starter to reliever, and was finding a groove in late relief in 2001. Toronto promoted Escobar to their closer in 2002, and though he had 38 Saves, the 4.27 ERA was not good,…
Jose Cruz came from a baseball pedigree as the son of the Astros star of the same name. Also playing in the Outfield, the younger Cruz went to the Jays from Seattle as a rookie, and though there were high hopes for Cruz, the Mariners dealt him for pitching help in their playoff run. He finished the year as the American League runner-up for the Rookie of the Year with a 26 HR year. Cruz looked poised for greatness after his rookie year, but the next two seasons, it did not come to fruition, with Cruz missing Games due to injury with…
As of this writing, is it safe to say that Alek Manoah is the most exciting Pitcher going into 2023? Manoah was a First Round Pick in 2019 (11th Overall), and he only needed two years to make his MLB debut, where he beat the Yankees in Yankee Stadium. He finished the year with a 9-2 record in 20 Starts, and it looked like Manoah was ready to ascend to the staff ace, which occurred the following year where he was third in Cy Young voting, an All-Star, and an owner of a 16-7 record with a 2.24 ERA, 180 SO and…