All-time Blue Jays

While not an old club there have nonetheless been a number of good and to wear the home blue and white. What might be lacking in history and the lore of Boston or New York is the fact that Torontonians got to see winning baseball for eleven consecutive seasons including two World Series winners.

I picked twenty-five players, just like a real baseball club. I also picked the best Blue Jays season. Would it be the 1985 club that almost made it to the Series or one of the World Series winners and which one was better? Read on.

Part One- Catchers (2)

While Darrin Fletcher (1999-) is making a name for himself, it is Ernie Whitt (1977-8, 80-89) who will fill the left handed part of a platoon. He was a decent hitter who could pop about fifteen homers a season, drive in 55-60 runs, take about 45 walks and strike out the same. A member of the 1985 and 89 playoff squads, Whitt managed a (Jays only) .327 on base average (OBA) and .420 slugging average (SA) solid numbers at a tough position in a neutral hitter’s era.

Whitt still ranks in the top five of many all-time Jays categories. Rarely do catchers play in more than 120-130 games per season and Whitt was no exception. Being a left handed hitter and generally hopeless against southpaws gave him a chance to rest and re-charge. It also allows Pat Borders (1988-94,99) a chance to play against left-handed starters. He was an impatient hitter, rarely took a walk and had only a little power. His slugging percentage was generally in the high 300’s, well below Whitt’s average season.

1990 was Borders best season (15HR-49RBI .286BA-.321OBA-.497SA) but this was the exception rather than the rule. Still, he did catch on two World Series winners and won the ’92 Series MVP award. He was also probably a better defensive catcher than Whitt and that would make him average. All in all, it adds up to a decent platoon catcher.

Part Two- Infield (4 starters, 2 backups)

Fred McGriff (1987-90) gets the nod over Carlos Delgado at first, despite Carlos’s prodigious power. He will be rewarded later on in this article. While McGriff’s numbers pale somewhat in comparison to Delgado, the ‘Crime Dog’ played in a less home run happy era and did lead the American League with 36 homers in 1989. He slugged over .500 in every season with the Jays, took walks and played average defense something I cannot say of Carlos Delgado.

You already know that Roberto Alomar (1991-5) was going to be this ‘nine’s’ second baseman. No Damaso Garcia or Nelson Liriano here with ‘hidden skills.’ Alomar was (and remains) a great player, quite possibly the best player to ever wear the home blue and whites.

He stole bases (206) while rarely getting caught. He got on base via the hit and walk (.382 OBA) and slugged over .400 in two seasons. His best season was 1993: 17-93 .326-411-.492, 109 runs, 35 doubles, 55 stolen bases/70 attempts) the second of the Blue Jay World Series winners. He won five consecutive Gold Gloves and played in the All-Star game every season he played with the Jays. What a treat it was to see this guy play!

Shortstop Tony Fernandez (1983-90,93,98-9,2001) was another easy choice. The four-time Gold Glove winner (1986-9) was among the games best short stops in the ‘80’s. He was a good hitter with a .300 batting average five times, took some walks (with an OBA generally in the high .300’s with decent power (SA in the mid .400’s). He could also steal bases, nailing between 15-30 per season at a productive (i.e. better than 67%) rate.

He led the AL in 1985 in triples with seventeen and fielding percentage 1986-9. He made the All-Star team four consecutive seasons (86-9) and finished eighth in the 1987 MVP vote. He was the starting shortstop on three Blue Jay playoff clubs including the 1993 Series winners. He came back to the Jays and played second then third base in 1998-9. While he had lost his fielding skills he could still hit as his .400 plus OBA would indicate. He came back for a fourth and final time in 2001 as a pinch-hitter.

Kelly Gruber (1984-92) is the third baseman. He managed one great season in 1990 (31-118 .274-.336-.512) and enough good seasons (1988-9,91) to beat out Rance Mulliniks for the ‘hot corner job.’ Gruber was an above average fielder and Gold Glove winner in 1990. He took a while to get going, initially he was a platoon player with Mulliniks and faded quickly but for five or so seasons he was the man at third.

He had some speed, stealing ten or more bases for 1987-91 and plus power which made up for his low walk totals. He made the All-Star team in both 1989-90 and finished fourth in the 1990 MVP vote. A good comparison for Gruber is long-time Expo Tim Wallach sans the longevity. Both had decent power, low walks and played outstanding defense.

The two infield backups are Rance Mullinks (1982-92) and Alex Gonzalez (1994-2001). Alex barely beats out Alfredo Griffin for the final spot. Mulliniks is an easy choice over Ed Sprague. While his raw numbers might pale in comparison to Ed Sprague in 1996 he actually out-slugged Sprague .424-.411. Mulliniks also took walks and rarely struck out, finishing with a very solid .365 OBA.

His best season was 1987 when he slugged .560. He was also a good third baseman and able to play both short and second in a pinch. After losing his platoon job to Kelly Gruber in 1988 Mulliniks remained a decent spare player and occasional DH. He and Garth Iorg ‘Mullinorg’ to Jays fans of the era, were as good a platoon as any.

Gonzalez can backup at short for this club. He was an above-average fielder but never really figured out how to hit righties. Comparisons to Derek Jeter and A-Rod look stupid now but against lefties Alex generally hit around .300 with a SA about .500. He was less error-prone than Griffin and had more power. His defense will be missed; he was traded to the Chicago Cubs after the 2001 season.

Part three- picking three starting outfielders and two backups

There are six outfielders in Blue Jays history that deserve recognition. They are Lloyd Moseby (1980-9), George Bell (1981, 83-90), Jesse Barfield (1981-89), Devon White (1991-5), Joe Carter (1991-97) and finally Shawn Green (1993-99). All were good to great players. Some were power hitters and some were known for their defense. Some were overrated others underrated.

A great baseball club should have a solid defender in center and corner outfielders who can hit. An arm is helpful in right and less so in left where offense is truly the name of the game.

In right Shawn Green barely beats out Jesse Barfield. Green might have had only two great seasons with the Jays but those 1998-9 seasons were impressive. He came into his own in 1998, hitting 35 homers with 100 ribbies, mainly hitting in the two spot. He also stole 35 bases and scored 106 runs. The only negatives were his high strikeout (142) and low walk (50) total and low batting average against lefties (below .200 ‘till a hot September. He vowed to do better and did just that in 1999. He started to hit lefties, took more walks (66) and K’s less often (117). He also increased his power numbers 42-123 batting average by .037, and runs by 28. He also won his first Gold Glove, quiet an accomplishment, as he was not known for his glove coming up through the minors.

Green was not the bad player that Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston made him out to be in 1994-7. He was simply not allowed to break out of a platoon. In what normally was two-thirds a season Green would hit 15 homers with 50 or so ribbies. Still, Gaston brought in aging, no-good players such as Ruben Sierra and gave an aging Joe Carter more playing time when the Jays should have played youth. Green did not break out until 1998 when then manager Tim Johnson finally gave him the everyday job. For all his faults Johnson deserves kudos for giving Green the chance to perform.

Jesse Barfield was probably a better rightfielder than Green. He had a "gun" for an arm and won back-to back Gold Gloves in 1986-7. At the plate Barfield was literally "hit or miss." He had one monstrous season in 1986 (40-108 .289-.371-.559) and two good season and two average ones thrown in. He slugged over .500 three times and despite his high strikeouts and sometimes low BA he took some walks to post a decent (at the time) .334 OBA. His .483 SA ranks high on among the Jays best.

To pick Green over Barfield is a tough call. There is little to separate them. Both under-achieved at times when they were platooned. Barfield arguably was the better fielder and Green was probably faster. I ultimately give it to Green because he was able to put up better back-to-back seasons than Barfield ever did. Even considering hitting era’s favouring Green he gets the nod. One last note; Barfield generally played on good clubs while Green did not and this makes his statistics even more impressive.

I mentioned that I valued great defense over offense in center field. The question is just how much offense will I give up and just how good was Lloyd Moseby (1980-9). Can I justify putting him in center over Devon White (1991-5) or does White prevail, offense be damned?

Let us begin with Moseby. It took him awhile to get going (it seems the Jays like to rush their top prospects up quickly don’t they, especially outfielders) but in 1983 he came through: 18-81 .315-.380-.499, 35 SB and 106 runs. He followed that up with a similar season in 1984 but slumped some in 1985-6. He rode the offensive explosion that was 1987 to great success (26-96 .282-.360-.473, 39 SB, 106 Runs and 70 walks). It was his last good season and he was let go after the 1989 season.

The problem with Moseby is one that seems to effect all "tool" players. He had it all. He hit for a good average, with power and was fast. Unlike a player with lesser talents Moseby seemed to squander his. A case in point. Larry Walker was never as fast as Moseby but "appeared" to work hard at his craft. Moseby looked like he squandered his.

Another problem with Moseby was where to bat him. He got on base enough to lead off but that took away his bat from the third spot where he could drive in runs. When he slumped here the fans let him know it and he did not run as much hitting in front of a cleanup man as he did leading off. When he slumped the fans went nuts.

He was a decent outfielder at least until 1987. He resisted a move to leftfield in 1988 and the ensuing madness (more George Bell’s than Moseby’s) ruined the 1988 season. Looking back, it made sense to play Lloyd in left, it might have put less strain on his body but the way it was handled annoyed everyone.

Devon White was the best outfielder this club has ever had. He won five Gold Gloves and is worthy in comparisons to the greatest of all-time. If White could hit just a little bit better there would be no question as to who played center here. He came to the Jays from the California Angels as a "failed" player, a great outfielder but no bat. General Manager Pat Gillick and Cito Gaston both felt that he would thrive in Toronto under the low-key managing style of Gaston. In hindsight both were right.

He was not a horrible hitter. He had good power from both sides of the plate, averaging about 15 home runs a season. He stole about 30 bases rarely getting caught and generally scored around 100 runs. What he could never do was take enough walks to become a great leadoff hitter. He had to hit around .300 to have an acceptable OBA. His 45 or walks per season added up to a less than sterling .327 OBA in his Jays stint.

For all his negative aspects with the bat he does not trail Moseby by as much as one would think at the plate and in fact had better power numbers than Moseby:
Moseby .333OBA-.415 SA= .848 OPS (on base average plus slugging).
White .327-.432 .859 OPS.

Even taking hitting eras into consideration both are pretty equal. Moseby took more walks but hit for a lower batting average. Both had about the same base stealing speed. Moseby hit a few more homers and White more doubles.

It comes down to defense and White wins out here easily. The Jays did not win it all with Moseby but won twice with White. He deserves to get the nod here.

My left fielder is Joe Carter (1991-97) over George Bell (1981,83-90) solely due to defense. Bell was a mediocre-to-poor- defender who ended up hurting the Jays in the later years. Carter was at least an average outfielder and could play both corners. Carter was not a great player but did do three of the five things one must do on offense effectively. He hit for power, ran decently and drove in runs. What he could never do well enough was get on base; he hit only.257 BA with a poor .308 OBA. In reality he was only doing half of the job, as he did not get on base enough for others to drive him in.

While the RBI’s seem impressive any third place or cleanup hitter SHOULD drive in 100 runs, a season and more. You might say that he slugged .500 twice from 1991-3 and I say big deal. Middle of the order hitters SHOULD slug .500! Heck, the guy drove in 102 runs in 1997, impressive right? Nope. He slugged .398. Even Alex Gonzalez normally slugs more. Check out the Stats Inc Baseball Scoreboards and notice that even his perceived skill was overrated as he never ranks much more than average in RBI/RBI opportunities.

While I am critical of the man (even more so of his short-lived stint as the colour-man on Sportsnet) he does deserve some respect. The Jays won their division and the two World Series crowns with him as the main power guy. Swatting 30 homers is nothing to sneeze at and his defensive game was better than Bell’s.

As for the backups I feel that Moseby and Barfield deserve to be here. Moseby can replace White when the club feels it needs a bit more offense. Barfield can sub for Green against tough lefties without sacrificing defense.

DH

Delgado (1993-) and Bell get their due. This can be a platoon situation. If either could have played the field at least decent they would have played left and first base respectively. I considered Paul Molitar (1993-5) but a poor 1995 season does him in.

Part four-starting pitching (5)

I made only one exception to my three-year limit and only because Roger Clemens (1997-8) was the best pitcher the Jays ever had. He starts on this club's opening day. He won two consecutive Cy Young awards easily. Going 41-13 on a club that was barely over .500 is amazing. He was durable and dominant, leading the league in K’s and ERA both seasons. It’s too bad he is a world-class jerk because I loved watching him pitch.

Dave Stieb (1979-92, 98) was the club’s best long-term starter but even his peak numbers pale into comparison with Rocket Roger. This does not take anything away from Stieb he was great. He went 175-135, won 16 or more games 1982-4 and again from 1988-90. Arm problems due to overwork made him a below-average hurler in 1986-7 but he rebounded to contribute in 1989-90.

Due to his longevity he holds most of the clubs pitching records. He led the AL in complete games, shutouts and innings pitched in 1982 when he went 17-14 3.25 on a 76-86 club lacking a bullpen. Voters noticed him he finished fourth in the Cy Young vote. He also led the league in innings in 1984 and ERA in ’85.

Ironically Stieb did not get a chance to really pitch in 1992; the arm miseries returned and he was out of baseball after the 1993 season. He returned to pitch decently in relief in 1998 and then having proved his point that he could make it back, retired.

Jimmy Key (1984-92) and Pat Hentgen (1991-99) are my third and fourth starters respectively. Hentgen was the Cy Young award in 1996 when he went 20-10 3.22, leading the league in innings, complete games and shutouts. He was also not too shabby in 1993 when his 19-9 3.87 season resulted in a sixth place finish in the Cy Young. He remained solid in 1994 (13-8 3.40) but slumped badly in 1995 (10-14 5.11) before rebounding in ’96.

Hentgen continued to roll along in 1997 but the innings caught up with him. His ERA went up by more than a run in the second half of the season. In one June game Cito Gaston left him in to take a beating, something like eleven runs in seven innings and he was never the same after that. He gutted it out in 1998-9 but went 23-23 but gave up too many hit and homers. He left the Jays in a trade after the 1999 season and has been troubled by injuries.

Key went 116-81 3.42 over his nine season tenure in Toronto. His best season was 1987 when his 17-8 2.76, 261 innings work resulting in a secondplace finish in the Cy Young. Despite elbow problems that came up from time to time the crafty lefty won 12-17 games each season as a starter (he spent his rookie season as a reliever) with ERA’s under 4.00. He had great control and a great pickup move.

He won two games in the 1992 World Series. This was after he was taken out of the rotation down the stretch and ALCS. The rest did him good. He started and won game four to give the club a commanding 3-1 series lead and then won the game six clincher in relief. He then left the club to sign with the New York Yankees and helped them win their first World Series in almost twenty-years.

Juan Guzman (1991-98) bests Doyle Alexander (1983-86) and David Wells (1987-92, 1999-2000) for the final starter spot. Guzman was the clubs best starter in the early 90’s. Control problems, then injury woes slowed him down by 1994 and save one last hurrah in 1996 was not effective as a Blue Jay.

Neither Alexander nor Wells were slouches. Alexander went 46-26 3.56 in what amounted to three seasons with the club. He was as good as Stieb in 1984-5, going 34-16 finishing fifth in the 1985 Cy Young vote. Wells won twenty in 2000 but falls short. At his best he was not as good as Key or Alexander and he was a hell of a lot less consistent than both were in general. While he is not good enough to make this staff we must not forget Jim Clancy (1977-88) who merely went 128-140 4.16) He lacked THE dominant season to make this staff but deserves mention for his yeoman work.

Part five-relievers (5)

There are only two good closures on this club and none of note until late in the 1985 season. Sadly the Jays have lacked a really good closers since 1993.

Tom Henke (1985-92) and Duane Ward (1986-95,95) are the two top men. Both were actually picked up from other organizations. Henke came as compensation for Cliff Johnson’s free-agent deal with the Texas Rangers. Ward came to Toronto in the 1986 Atlanta Braves Doyle Alexander deal. Both deals were steals for the Jays. The Jays even got Johnson back from the Rangers when they needed a right handed hitting DH later in the same season. Alexander could still pitch but he wouldn’t help the (then) hopeless Atlanta Braves much.

Henke saved 217 games for the Jays with an excellent 2.48 ERA. He threw smoke, striking out more than one batter per inning almost every season. He led the league in saves with 34 in 1987. When Henke left as a free agent after the 1992 season Ward filled in quite nicely. It was the only season that Ward was THE man but what a season! He went 2-3 2.13 with 45 saves in 49 opportunities. He placed fifth in the Cy Young vote. This was his last hurrah; he came up lame after the season and never pitched effectively again.

Ward threw even harder than Henke and K’d more than a batter per inning in every season save 1988. Whenever Henke slumped Ward filled in nicely as the closer. In all, he notched 121 saves with a 3.23 ERA. He was better in 1993 than Henke was in any season. A few more seasons like that and he would be the first choice to close games but as it was for many seasons all the Jays had to do was have a lead in the 6th inning cause Ward and Henke were literally unbeatable.

David Wells falls short as a starter but he was a solid reliever in his early stint with the Jays and besides, the Jays need a lefty here. Billy Koch (1999-2001) was always overrated. He came up in 1999 and initially dominated but his fastball was straight and hitters adjusted. The tall right hander managed 100 saves but saw his ERA rise over 2 earned runs after a decent 2000 season. For someone who hit 100 MPH on the radar gun Koch only managed to K six batters per nine innings pitched further proof that is fastball was straight.Doyle Alexander finds a spot as the clubs swingman but it is much harder to find a final reliever. He beats out candidates such as Mark Eichhorn (1982, 86-88, 92-93) who was dominant in 1986, Mike Timlin (1991-97) and Paul Quantrill (1996-2001). Both Quantrill and Timlin had their moments but Alexander is a better option here and more versatile. He can go long and start if needed.

Part six- The best Blue Jays club of all time, 1985 or 1992?

Three seasons: 1985, 1992 and ’93 were considered and 1985 and 1992 prevail. For all the power of the 1993 club the ’92 version had better pitching than 1993’s model. One more reason for 1992 over ’93; the game changed after the 1992 season, becoming more hitter friendly. The 1985 and 1992 clubs played in a similar era and are more easily compared.

Catcher (2 points).
1985- Ernie Whitt 19-64 .245 and Buck Martinez 4-14 .162.
1992- Pat Borders 13-53 .242.

Whitt was the better hitter, Borders slightly better behind the plate. Call it even.
1985 and 1992 1.0 each.

First base (1 point).
1985- Willie Upshaw 15-65 .275.
1992- John Olerud 16-66 .282.

Upshaw put up a .789 OPS, Olreud .825. Olerud took 22 more walks and struck out 10 fewer times. Upshaw did steal more bases (8-1) and probably was a better defender. Like the catcher’s comparison call it even.
1985 and 1992 0.5 each.

Second base (1.5 points).
1985- Damaso Garcia 8-65 .282.
1992- Roberto Alomar 8-76 .310.

Alomar dominates. He was a Gold Glover who, unlike Garcia took walks. Garcia was an average player who had to hit .300 to contribute. He also lagged behind "Robbie" as a base stealer 49-28.
1985 .3- 1992 1.2.

Shortstop (2 points).
1985- Tony Fernandez 3-51 .289.
1992- Manny Lee 3-39 .263.

Fernandez wins this one for 1985! He had slightly more power than Lee. Fernandez was at his peak as a defender a legit Gold Glover. Lee was solid but not quite in Tony’s field.
1985 1.6- 1992 .4.

Third base (1 point).
1985 Rance Mulliniks 10-57 .295 and Garth Iorg 7-37 .313.
1992- Kelly Gruber 11-43 .229 and early on Jeff Kent 8-35 .240.

This was not Gruber at his best; he was hurt all season. Kent was a decent backup and later went to the New York Mets for David Cone. ‘Mullinorg’ were better. They had an OPS of around .830, much higher than Gruber’s .627. On defense Gruber slipped some from Gold Glove status while Mullinorg were both above average.
1985 .6- 1992 .4.

Rightfield (1 point).
1985- Jesse Barfield 27-84 .289.
1992- Joe Carter 34-119 .309.

Carter hit seven more homers (34-27) but Barfield was faster, got on base more and was a much better fielder. Still, Carter meant more to his club than Barfield. This evens it up.

1985 and 1992 0.5 each.
Centerfield (2 points).
1985- Lloyd Moseby 18-70 .259.
1992- Devon White 17-60 .248.

Moseby was slightly better with the bat (.771OPS-.693) but White was a Gold Glove outfielder. This was not the best year for either player but I go with defense here.
1985 0.8 1992 1.2.

Leftfield (1 point).
1985- George Bell 28-95 .275.
1992- Candy Maldonado 20-66 .272.

If you go only by OPS (.819 for Candy, .806 for George) it would be even but: Bell out-homered Candy by eight, scored 23 more runs and stole 20 more bases. Both had good arms but were poor fielders.
1985 .7- 1992 .3.

DH (1 point).
1985- Jeff Burroughs 6-28 .257, Al Oliver 5-23 .251, Len Matusek 2-15 .212 and Cliff Johnson 1-10 .274.
1992- Dave Winfield 26-108 .290.

The 1985 DH situation was a mess although Oliver and Johnson helped a bit late. One point for trying.
1985 .1- 1992 .9.

Part seven-Pitching

Ace and number two starters (2 points).
1985- Dave Stieb 14-13 2.48 and Doyle Alexander 17-10 3.45.
1992- Jack Morris 21-6 4.04 and Juan Guzman 16-5 .264.

Morris might have won twenty-one games but check out the ERA. Both Stieb and Alexander were better. Guzman was better than all of them but he missed some starts due to injuries. His absence evens the score.

1985 and 1992 1 point each.
Third and fourth starters (1.5).
1985- Jimmy Key 14-6 3.00 and Jim Clancy 9-6 3.78.
1992- David Cone 4-3 2.55 and Key 13-13 3.53.

Key, circa 1985, was better than 1992. Getting Cone from the Mets was the clincher. He started game six and Key won it in relief. Clancy was decent, a solid third starter on a good team but little more. 1985 .6- 1992 .9.

Fifth starter and swingmen (1 point).

1985- Tom Filer 7-0 3.88, Luis Leal 3-6 5.75 and Steve Davis 2-1 3.54.
1992- Todd Stottlemyre 12-11 4.50, Stieb 4-6 5.04 and David Wells 7-9 5.40.

Filer beats Stott by a nose. Wells was better than he shows here, a few really bad outings inflated his ERA by over a run. Stieb and Leal were both finished.
1985 and 1992 0.5 each.

Closer(s) (2 points).

1985- Tom Henke 3-3 2.03 13 Saves, Bill Caudill 4-6 2.97 14 Saves, Jim Acker 7-2 3.23 10 Saves and Gary Lavelle 5-7 3.10 8 Saves.

1992- Henke 3-2 2.26, 34 Saves and Duane Ward 7-4 1.95 12 Saves.

Claudill was a bust; the two solid months of Henke circa 1985 keep it from being a laugher. Acker and Lavelle were competent as setupmen but overmatched as closers. Ward and Henke were dominant, one of the best tandems of all-time.
1985- .6- 1992 1.4.

Setup/long/specialists (1 point).
1985- Lavelle (L) Acker (R), Dennis Lamp (R) 11-0 3.02 and Ron Mussleman (R) 3-0 4.47.

1992- Ward (R), Wells (L), Pat Hentgen (R), 5-2 5.36, Bob MacDonald (L) 1-0 4.37, Mike Timlin (R) 0-2 4.12 and Mark Eichhorn (R) 2-0 4.35.

Ward/Henke had to be good because the men who got the ball to them were generally lousy. The saving grace for the 1992 crew; Ward qualifies as a setupman and he was superb! Acker, Lamp and Lavelle were great in this role but none compare to Ward.
1985 and 1992 0.5 each.

Bench (1 point).

1985-Iorg (3B-2B), Cecil Fielder (DH), Lou Thornton (OF-PH), Manny Lee (2B-SS), Oliver/Johnson (DH-PH)
1992- Kent (3B-2B), Derek Bell (OF), Alfredo Griffin (SS-2B), Pat Tabler (1B) and Ed Sprague (C-1B).

Cox loved to platoon and needed a deeper bench. When a righty started he had Iorg and Johnson ready to pinch-hit if needed. Gaston played his regulars almost all the time, using substitutes only in case of injury. Even Borders caught literally every day after lefty Greg Myers was traded in the summer. With a lineup like this one can understand Cito’s reluctance to take out his regulars
1985 .6- 1992 .4.

Manager (2 points).
1985 Bobby Cox.
1992 Cito Gaston.

It might appear to the naked eye that Cox did a better job but looks are often deceiving. Cox was out-managed by Kansas City Royals skipper Dick Howser; allowing a 3-1 LCS lead to vanish. Howser forced Cox’s hand in platooning, forcing moves and getting the upper hand late in the games. An example:

Howser started a rested eventual Cy Young winner Bret Saberhagen so Cox would play his left-handed hitters Rance Mulliniks and DH Al Oliver. Howser then pulls ‘Sabes’ in the fourth inning and put in Bud Black, a lefty. Cox would pull Mulliniks and Oliver and go to righties Iorg and Johnson. Howser then finishes it off by bringing in a righty, side-armer Dan Quisenberry. Overkill on Howsers part? No.

Late in the 1985 season left-handed hitters were figuring out ‘Quiz,’ the premier closer of the early 1980’s. On the other hand righties were easy pickings for him. In close games Howser got the platoon advantage and this helped his job make up the 3-1 deficit.

Gaston was not out-managed by Cox in 1992. He knew how to use pitchers i.e. saving a tired Jimmy Key for game four. This paid of big-time and Key went seven winning 2-1. The 1985 Jays were favoured to beat the Royals and should have! There was no real favourite to win the 1992 World Series. For all the later criticisms of Cito (and they are valid) he won while Cox did not.
1985 .7- 1992 1.3.


Total
1992 12.4
1985 10.6.

Part eight all-time manager

Cito Gaston (1989-97) won two World Series in a row and also brought his club to the playoffs in 1989 and 1991. Bobby Cox (1982-5) was the man at the helm during the rise of the club but did not win in 1985 when he should have. If he had I might have awarded him the title, as Gaston was a lousy manager when his club aged after the 1994 season. He did not go with the times; his handling of rookies on a poor, out-of contention-club was horrible.

As it is Gaston knew how to run a veteran club. He knew enough to play Devon White every day and not worry about strikeouts. He put Paul Molitar in the third spot of the batting order and watched him drive in runs like crazy. He manages this club and Cox can coach third. Lame-duck manager Jimy Williams (1986-89) was crippled by George Bell and Lloyd Moseby fiasco of 1988. He made the right move to DH Bell and move Moseby to left but the front office did not back him up. He generally managed well but Moseby and Barfield aged prematuraly and injuries to Jimmy Key and Dave Stieb were often enough to push the Jays out of contention. He coaches first base.

Part nine-the lineup

1. White (S) CF
2. Alomar (S) 2B
3. McGriff (L) 1B
4. Delgado (L)/Bell (R) DH
5. Carter (R) LF
6. Green (L) RF
7. Gruber (R) 3B
8. Whitt(L)/Borders (R) C
9. Fernandez (S) SS
P Clemens (R

White was not a great leadoff hitter; too many strikeouts and not enough walks. I am tempted to put Tony here but I like him lower down in the order and I value White’s power. Alomar can hit anywhere. The power core 3-6 is good. Carter hits fifth due to his low OBA. Seven-nine are mediocre; Gruber was a good player for about five seasons but Whitt and Borders are nothing special.

Defensively we have Gold Glovers up the middle in Fernandez-Alomar and White. Gruber was above average and Green solid. Carter was better in left than in right and McGriff was decent at first. Whitt was in the lineup for his bat and Borders for his glove albeit overrated.

Clemens starts on opening day. In addition to his praises here he might just be the best starting pitcher ever. Certainly his signing in 1997 has to rank as one of the best free agent signings of all-time. Since he has left Toronto he has finally won the World Series he coveted so much and another Cy Young award. 300 wins are his next goal.

Eric Bernstein – April 2002