1979 Toronto Blue Jays season

1979  Toronto Blue Jays
League	American League
Division	East
Ballpark	Exhibition Stadium
City	Toronto
Record	53–109 (.327)
Divisional place	7th
Owners	Labatt Breweries, Imperial Trust, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
General managers	Pat Gillick
Managers	Roy Hartsfield
Television	CBC Television (Don Chevrier, Tony Kubek, Tom McKee) CBFT (Jean-Pierre Roy, Guy Ferron)
Radio	CKFH (Early Wynn, Tom Cheek)
←  1978 Seasons 1980  →

The 1979 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's third season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing seventh in the American League East with a record of 53 wins and 109 losses. The Blue Jays were the only American League East team to finish 1979 with a losing record and the loss total of 109 set the franchise mark; it is also the last time as of 2023 the team lost over 100 games in a season. Attendance for the season decreased to 1,431,651. ^[1]

Offseason

Transactions

Transactions by the Toronto Blue Jays during the off-season before the 1979 season. ^[2]

October 1978

October 3

Purchased Rico Carty from the Oakland Athletics.

November 1978

November 2	Joe Coleman granted free agency. Rico Carty granted free agency.
November 3	Acquired Dave Freisleben from the Cleveland Indians for a player to be named later (Sheldon Mallory on March 27, 1979).
November 24	Signed amateur free agent Fred Manrique. Signed amateur free agent Toby Hernández.
November 27	Signed amateur free agent José Escobar. Acquired Joe Cannon, Pedro Hernández and Mark Lemongello from the Houston Astros for Alan Ashby.

December 1978

December 2	Willie Horton became a free agent. Released Bill Singer.
December 4	Acquired Don Pisker from the Houston Astros for Gary Woods. Selected Bob Davis from the San Diego Padres in the 1978 MLB Rule 5 draft. Selected Ted Wilborn from the New York Yankees in the 1978 MLB Rule 5 draft.
December 5	Acquired Alfredo Griffin and Phil Lansford from the Cleveland Indians for Víctor Cruz.

January 1979

January 1	Signed amateur free agent Luis Leal.
January 4	Signed free agent Chuck Scrivener of the Detroit Tigers to a contract.
January 11	Signed free agent Rico Carty to a multi-year contract.
January 23	Player rights of Sam Ewing sold to Nippon-Ham Fighters of the Nippon Professional Baseball.

March 1979

March 17	Signed free agent Steve Luebber of the Chicago White Sox to a contract.
March 25	Claimed Bobby Brown off of waivers from the New York Mets.
March 29	Released Jeff Byrd. Released Don Kirkwood.

Regular season

Following the team's poor performance, manager Roy Hartsfield was fired at the end of the season. One highlight of the season was the awarding of the American League Rookie of the Year Award to Alfredo Griffin. ^[3]

The end of the 1979 season marked a crossroads for the franchise. The first real talent from the minor leagues had made it to the major league roster. Such talent included pitcher Dave Stieb and third baseman Danny Ainge. ^[1]

Season standings

v t e AL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Baltimore Orioles	102	57	0.642	—	55–24	47–33
Milwaukee Brewers	95	66	0.590	8	52–29	43–37
Boston Red Sox	91	69	0.569	11½	51–29	40–40
New York Yankees	89	71	0.556	13½	51–30	38–41
Detroit Tigers	85	76	0.528	18	46–34	39–42
Cleveland Indians	81	80	0.503	22	47–34	34–46
Toronto Blue Jays	53	109	0.327	50½	32–49	21–60

Record vs. opponents

1979 American League record v t e Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	8–5	9–3	8–3	8–5	7–6	6–6	8–5	8–4	5–6	8–4	10–2	6–6	11–2
Boston	5–8	—	5–7	5–6	6–7	8–5	8–4	8–4	9–3	5–8	9–3	8–4	6–6	9–4
California	3–9	7–5	—	9–4	6–6	4–8	7–6	7–5	9–4	7–5	10–3	7–6	5–8	7–5
Chicago	3–8	6–5	4–9	—	6–6	3–9	5–8	5–7	5–8	4–8	9–4	5–8	11–2	7–5
Cleveland	5–8	7–6	6–6	6–6	—	6–6	6–6	4–9	8–4	5–8	8–4	7–5	5–7	8–5
Detroit	6–7	5–8	8–4	9–3	6–6	—	5–7	6–7	4–8	7–6	7–5	7–5	6–6	9–4
Kansas City	6–6	4–8	6–7	8–5	6–6	7–5	—	5–7	7–6	5–7	9–4	7–6	6–7	9–3
Milwaukee	5–8	4–8	5–7	7–5	9–4	7–6	7–5	—	8–4	9–4	6–6	9–3	9–3	10–3
Minnesota	4–8	3–9	4–9	8–5	4–8	8–4	6–7	4–8	—	7–5	9–4	10–3	4–9	11–1
New York	6–5	8–5	5–7	8–4	8–5	6–7	7–5	4–9	5–7	—	9–3	6–6	8–4	9–4
Oakland	4–8	3–9	3–10	4–9	4–8	5–7	4–9	6–6	4–9	3–9	—	8–5	2–11	4–8
Seattle	2–10	4–8	6–7	8–5	5–7	5–7	6–7	3–9	3–10	6–6	5–8	—	6–7	8–4
Texas	6–6	6–6	8–5	2–11	7–5	6–6	7–6	3–9	9–4	4–8	11–2	7–6	—	7–5
Toronto	2–11	4–9	5–7	5–7	5–8	4–9	3–9	3–10	1–11	4–9	8–4	4–8	5–7	—

Opening Day starters

• Bob Bailor
• Rick Bosetti
• Rico Carty
• Rick Cerone
• Jim Clancy
• Alfredo Griffin
• Roy Howell
• John Mayberry
• Dave McKay
• Alvis Woods

Transactions

Transactions for the Toronto Blue Jays during the 1979 regular season. ^[4]

April 1979

April 6	Signed free agent Mike Sember from the Chicago Cubs to a contract.
April 7	Player rights of Mike Stanton sold to the Petroleros de Zulia of the Inter-American League.
April 13	Signed free agent Jackson Todd from the Philadelphia Phillies to a contract.
April 19	Player rights of Bobby Brown sold to the New York Yankees.
April 23	Signed free agent Bob Robertson from the Seattle Mariners to a contract.
April 24	Signed amateur free agent Tony Fernández to a contract.

May 1979

May 12

Released Tom Murphy.

June 1979

June 6	Purchased Dyar Miller from the California Angels.
June 22	Signed amateur free agent Steve Senteney to a contract.
June 27	Released Bob Robertson.

July 1979

July 25	Purchased Craig Kusick from the Minnesota Twins.
July 30	Acquired Tony Solaita from the Montreal Expos for a player to be named later (Dyar Miller on October 24, 1979).

Draft picks

• June 5, 1979: 1979 Major League Baseball draft
  • Future NFL quarterback Jay Schroeder was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1st round, but did not sign. ^[5]
  • Ron Shepherd was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 2nd round. ^[6]
  • Ron Romanick was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 3rd round, but did not sign. ^[7]
  • Andre Robertson was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 4th round. ^[8]

Roster

1979 Toronto Blue Jays
Roster
Pitchers 44 Tom Buskey 18 Jim Clancy 16 Butch Edge 25 Dave Freisleben 36 Jerry Garvin 45 Steve Grilli 47 Phil Huffman 34 Jesse Jefferson 23 Dave Lemanczyk 40 Mark Lemongello 46 Steve Luebber 46 Dyar Miller 38 Balor Moore 45 Tom Murphy 37 Dave Stieb 32 Jackson Todd 24 Tom Underwood 33 Mike Willis		Catchers  9 Rick Cerone  8 Bob Davis Infielders  2 Danny Ainge 11 Luis Gómez  4 Alfredo Griffin 13 Roy Howell 17 Tim Johnson  5 Craig Kusick 10 John Mayberry 39 Dave McKay  5 Bob Robertson 27 Tony Solaita		Outfielders  1 Bob Bailor 22 Rick Bosetti  5 Bobby Brown 30 Joe Cannon 19 Otto Vélez 35 Ted Wilborn 20 Alvis Woods Other batters 21 Rico Carty 29 Pedro Hernández		Manager  7 Roy Hartsfield Coaches 31 Bobby Doerr (Hitting) 43 Don Leppert (First Base) 15 Bob Miller (Pitching) 42 Jackie Moore (Third Base) 41 Harry Warner (Bullpen)

Game log

1979 Game Log 53–109 (Home 32–49, Away 21–60)
April 7–15 (Home 3–8, Away 4–7) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 1 April 5 @ Royals 11–2 Leonard (1–0) Underwood (0–1) Mingori (1) 37,754 0–1 2 April 7 @ Royals 7–4 Gura (1–0) Clancy (0–1) Hrabosky (1) 21,850 0–2 3 April 8 @ Royals 8–3 Splittorff (1–0) Lemongello (0–1) 23,477 0–3 4 April 10 @ White Sox 10–2 Huffman (1–0) Kravec (0–2) Freisleben (1) 41,043 1–3 – April 11 @ White Sox Postponed (rain)Rescheduled for April 12 5 April 12 @ White Sox 9–7 Murphy (1–0) LaGrow (0–1) 1,205 2–3 6 April 13 Royals 4–1 (6) Clancy (1–1) Splittorff (1–1) 40,035 3–3 7 April 14 Royals 8–6 Freisleben (1–0) Leonard (1–1) 11,683 4–3 8 April 15 Royals 12–10 Rodríguez (2–0) Murphy (1–1) Hrabosky (2) 12,287 4–4 9 April 16 White Sox 8–4 Scarbery (1–0) Murphy (1–2) Proly (1) 11,211 4–5 10 April 17 White Sox 6–1 Barrios (1–0) Underwood (0–2) Proly (2) 10,074 4–6 11 April 18 White Sox 12–5 Wortham (3–0) Clancy (1–2) 10,478 4–7 12 April 20 @ Tigers 7–2 Wilcox (2–0) Lemongello (0–2) 13,617 4–8 13 April 21 @ Tigers 5–4 Huffman (2–0) Billingham (1–1) Freisleben (2) 10,904 5–8 14 April 22 @ Tigers 4–1 Rozema (1–1) Underwood (0–3) 14,543 5–9 15 April 23 @ Rangers 5–0 Alexander (1–0) Clancy (1–3) Kern (2) 12,661 5–10 16 April 24 @ Rangers 2–0 Lemanczyk (1–0) Comer (1–2) 14,411 6–10 17 April 25 @ Rangers 4–3 (10) Lyle (2–1) Jefferson (0–1) 15,731 6–11 18 April 27 Brewers 8–5 Sorensen (3–2) Huffman (2–1) McClure (1) 10,306 6–12 19 April 28 Brewers 11–8 (10) McClure (3–0) Willis (0–1) 12,683 6–13 20 April 29 Brewers 3–0 Caldwell (4–1) Clancy (1–4) 6–14 21 April 29 Brewers 5–3 Lemanczyk (2–0) Travers (0–2) 16,083 7–14 22 April 30 Twins 6–3 Hartzell (1–0) Lemongello (0–3) 10,170 7–15
May 5–23 (Home 3–15, Away 2–8) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 23 May 1 Twins 3–2 Koosman (5–0) Jefferson (0–2) Marshall (8) 10,155 7–16 24 May 2 Twins 7–5 Goltz (3–3) Huffman (2–2) Marshall (9) 20,110 7–17 25 May 3 @ Brewers 5–4 Travers (1–2) Underwood (0–4) 7,801 7–18 26 May 4 @ Brewers 5–4 Clancy (2–4) Caldwell (4–2) Freisleben (3) 28,896 8–18 27 May 5 @ Brewers 6–1 Slaton (3–1) Lemanczyk (2–1) 14,910 8–19 28 May 6 @ Brewers 4–0 Sorensen (4–3) Lemongello (0–4) 53,962 8–20 29 May 7 @ Twins 6–1 Goltz (4–3) Huffman (2–3) 4,571 8–21 30 May 8 @ Twins 16–6 Bacsik (1–0) Willis (0–2) 3,126 8–22 – May 9 @ Twins Postponed (rain)Rescheduled for July 21 31 May 11 Rangers 3–1 Matlack (1–2) Clancy (2–5) 12,153 8–23 32 May 12 Rangers 3–1 Comer (3–3) Lemanczyk (2–2) Lyle (5) 14,109 8–24 33 May 13 Rangers 3–1 Lemongello (1–4) Alexander (1–2) 9–24 34 May 13 Rangers 7–5 Farmer (2–0) Huffman (2–4) Lyle (6) 16,531 9–25 35 May 14 @ Indians 1–0 Waits (4–3) Underwood (0–5) 3,867 9–26 36 May 15 @ Indians 5–3 Monge (2–3) Garvin (0–1) 3,978 9–27 37 May 16 @ Indians 4–3 Lemanczyk (3–2) Wise (3–4) 4,079 10–27 38 May 17 @ Indians 8–3 Paxton (3–2) Lemongello (1–5) 4,409 10–28 39 May 18 Orioles 7–6 (11) Stanhouse (3–1) Freisleben (1–1) 12,088 10–29 40 May 19 Orioles 4–3 Palmer (5–2) Underwood (0–6) Stanhouse (4) 18,144 10–30 41 May 20 Orioles 6–2 Martínez (6–2) Jefferson (0–3) 30,065 10–31 42 May 21 Indians 8–1 Lemanczyk (4–2) Wise (3–5) 12,260 11–31 43 May 22 Indians 8–6 Wilkins (2–2) Lemongello (1–6) Monge (5) 10,182 11–32 44 May 23 Indians 4–3 Garland (2–4) Freisleben (1–2) 20,283 11–33 – May 25 Red Sox Postponed (rain)Rescheduled for September 17 45 May 26 Red Sox 7–6 Buskey (1–0) Campbell (2–2) 31,590 12–33 46 May 27 Red Sox 1–0 Rainey (3–2) Jefferson (0–4) 33,556 12–34 47 May 28 Tigers 6–2 Morris (2–1) Lemanczyk (4–3) 10,740 12–35 48 May 29 Tigers 9–8 Tobik (1–0) Buskey (1–1) Hiller (3) 11,449 12–36 49 May 30 Tigers 8–2 Wilcox (4–2) Huffman (2–5) 21,359 12–37 50 May 31 Tigers 1–0 Underwood (1–0) Underwood (0–7) Hiller (4) 12,423 12–38
June 12–18 (Home 6–5, Away 6–13) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 51 June 1 @ Mariners 7–2 Mitchell (1–4) Jefferson (0–5) 4,113 12–39 52 June 2 @ Mariners 6–2 Lemanczyk (5–3) Jones (0–6) 8,011 13–39 53 June 3 @ Mariners 10–5 Parrott (3–1) Lemongello (1–7) 4,436 13–40 54 June 4 @ Angels 4–2 Barlow (1–1) Huffman (2–6) Clear (5) 16,979 13–41 55 June 5 @ Angels 3–0 Tanana (5–3) Underwood (0–8) 18,862 13–42 56 June 6 @ Angels 5–4 Jefferson (1–5) LaRoche (2–5) 18,835 14–42 57 June 8 @ Athletics 2–1 Buskey (2–1) Heaverlo (2–6) 2,022 15–42 58 June 9 @ Athletics 5–0 Huffman (3–6) Keough (0–8) 1,725 16–42 59 June 10 @ Athletics 12–1 Hamilton (2–0) Underwood (0–9) 2,400 16–43 60 June 11 Mariners 2–0 Lemanczyk (6–3) Bannister (3–6) 10,213 17–43 61 June 12 Mariners 5–1 Abbott (3–7) Jefferson (1–6) 12,056 17–44 62 June 13 Angels 9–8 Freisleben (2–2) LaRoche (2–6) 18–44 63 June 13 Angels 10–2 Aase (6–4) Willis (0–3) 28,577 18–45 64 June 14 Angels 10–2 Ryan (8–3) Huffman (3–7) 15,097 18–46 65 June 15 Athletics 6–0 Underwood (1–9) Hamilton (2–1) 13,124 19–46 66 June 16 Athletics 3–2 Lemanczyk (7–3) McCatty (4–2) 19,270 20–46 67 June 17 Athletics 10–9 Buskey (3–1) Heaverlo (2–7) 25,518 21–46 68 June 19 @ Yankees 5–4 Huffman (4–7) John (10–3) Buskey (1) 36,211 22–46 69 June 20 @ Yankees 2–1 Hood (2–0) Underwood (1–10) Davis (1) 22–47 70 June 20 @ Yankees 3–2 Moore (1–0) Burris (1–3) 32,129 23–47 71 June 21 @ Yankees 3–1 Tiant (3–2) Lemanczyk (7–4) Davis (2) 19,278 23–48 72 June 22 @ Red Sox 12–1 Rainey (5–4) Jefferson (1–7) Burgeier (2) 31,089 23–49 73 June 23 @ Red Sox 4–3 (11) Drago (6–3) Buskey (3–2) 34,130 23–50 74 June 24 @ Red Sox 8–4 Torrez (8–4) Huffman (4–8) 33,560 23–51 75 June 25 Yankees 3–1 Underwood (2–10) Clay (1–3) 37,612 24–51 76 June 26 Yankees 11–2 Tiant (4–2) Lemanczyk (7–5) 38,696 24–52 77 June 28 Yankees 5–3 (10) Davis (6–0) Lemongello (1–8) 39,347 24–53 78 June 29 @ Orioles 6–1 McGregor (2–2) Stieb (0–1) 24–54 79 June 29 @ Orioles 4–0 Stone (6–5) Huffman (4–9) Stanhouse (9) 20,872 24–55 80 June 30 @ Orioles 2–0 Flanagan (10–5) Underwood (2–11) 19,807 24–56
July 8–18 (Home 5–6, Away 3–12) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 81 July 1 @ Orioles 10–7 Stewart (5–2) Jefferson (1–8) Stanhouse (10) 33,592 24–57 82 July 3 @ Tigers 9–1 Moore (2–0) Billingham (7–5) 20,885 25–57 83 July 4 @ Tigers 7–6 (11) Buskey (4–2) Tobik (1–4) 13,772 26–57 84 July 5 @ Tigers 3–2 Young (2–1) Huffman (4–10) López (2) 13,199 26–58 85 July 6 @ Rangers 5–1 Underwood (3–11) Johnson (4–9) Buskey (2) 19,539 27–58 86 July 7 @ Rangers 2–0 Medich (2–3) Lemanczyk (7–6) Kern (15) 23,935 27–59 87 July 8 @ Rangers 4–3 Comer (9–6) Moore (2–1) Lyle (9) 17,489 27–60 88 July 9 Brewers 7–1 Stieb (1–1) Sorensen (10–9) 14,240 28–60 89 July 11 Brewers 2–1 (10) Slaton (9–4) Buskey (4–3) 22,523 28–61 90 July 12 Brewers 5–3 Haas (6–6) Underwood (3–12) Galasso (1) 14,207 28–62 91 July 13 Twins 6–4 Goltz (8–6) Lemanczyk (7–7) Marshall (18) 14,095 28–63 92 July 14 Twins 4–2 Stieb (2–1) Koosman (11–7) 19,187 29–63 93 July 15 Twins 9–4 Zahn (8–2) Clancy (2–6) 19,069 29–64 94 July 19 @ Brewers 3–2 (11) Castro (3–0) Buskey (4–4) 21,152 29–65 95 July 20 @ Brewers 2–0 Slaton (10–4) Underwood (3–13) 27,010 29–66 96 July 21 @ Twins 6–4 Goltz (9–6) Huffman (4–11) Marshall (19) 29–67 97 July 21 @ Twins 4–3 Hartzell (5–6) Moore (2–2) 12,887 29–68 98 July 22 @ Twins 13–1 Redfern (5–0) Lemanczyk (7–8) 18,927 29–69 99 July 23 @ Twins 7–6 Marshall (10–9) Lemongello (1–9) 7,482 29–70 100 July 25 Rangers 8–3 Stieb (3–1) Johnson (4–12) Buskey (3) 24,705 30–70 101 July 26 Rangers 8–4 Underwood (4–13) Medich (4–4) 14,605 31–70 102 July 27 Tigers 4–3 (11) López (5–2) Buskey (4–5) 23,814 31–71 103 July 28 Tigers 3–0 Lemanczyk (8–8) Robbins (0–1) 30,131 32–71 104 July 29 Tigers 5–4 Underwood (6–1) Clancy (2–7) López (8) 33,824 32–72 105 July 30 @ Royals 9–0 Gura (7–7) Stieb (3–2) 31,572 32–73 106 July 31 @ Royals 6–5 Pattin (4–2) Jefferson (1–9) Hrabosky (9) 22,156 32–74
August 11–17 (Home 6–8, Away 5–9) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 107 August 1 @ Royals 4–3 Gale (9–8) Huffman (4–12) Hrabosky (10) 24,077 32–75 108 August 3 White Sox 8–5 Trout (6–4) Moore (2–3) Farmer (5) 14,232 32–76 109 August 4 White Sox 5–2 Buskey (5–5) Wortham (11–11) 15,130 33–76 110 August 5 White Sox 5–4 Kravec (10–10) Lemanczyk (8–9) Farmer (6) 21,203 33–77 111 August 6 Royals 16–12 Mingori (3–2) Stieb (3–3) 15,108 33–78 112 August 7 Royals 3–2 Underwood (5–13) Splittorff (10–12) 23,779 34–78 113 August 9 Royals 10–3 Gura (8–8) Huffman (4–13) 20,102 34–79 – August 10 @ White Sox Postponed (rain)Rescheduled for August 11 114 August 11 @ White Sox 6–1 Kravec (11–10) Todd (0–1) Farmer (8) 34–80 115 August 11 @ White Sox 6–0 Stieb (4–3) Scarbery (2–7) 19,420 35–80 116 August 12 @ White Sox 7–0 Baumgarten (10–7) Underwood (5–14) 35–81 117 August 12 @ White Sox 7–5 Moore (3–3) Proly (1–4) Buskey (4) 14,712 36–81 118 August 13 @ Athletics 4–2 Edge (1–0) Norris (3–5) Buskey (5) 3,183 37–81 119 August 14 @ Athletics 6–2 Huffman (5–13) Minetto (1–4) 1,289 38–81 120 August 15 @ Athletics 3–1 Kingman (3–4) Jefferson (1–10) Heaverlo (9) 2,151 38–82 121 August 17 @ Angels 6–5 Stieb (5–3) Clear (10–4) 25,050 39–82 122 August 18 @ Angels 7–5 Ryan (13–8) Underwood (5–15) Clear (13) 30,361 39–83 123 August 19 @ Angels 4–2 Aase (9–8) Moore (3–4) 23,814 39–84 124 August 20 @ Mariners 7–4 Parrott (11–8) Edge (1–1) 5,642 39–85 125 August 21 @ Mariners 8–4 Montague (6–4) Huffman (5–14) McLaughlin (11) 8,376 39–86 126 August 22 @ Mariners 6–3 Honeycutt (9–9) Stieb (5–4) 7,365 39–87 127 August 24 Angels 6–4 Underwood (6–15) Knapp (3–3) Buskey (6) 18,077 40–87 128 August 25 Angels 24–2 Frost (13–8) Moore (3–5) 25,207 40–88 129 August 26 Angels 9–3 Edge (2–1) Ryan (13–10) 22,619 41–88 130 August 27 Athletics 7–0 Huffman (6–14) McCatty (8–9) 12,047 42–88 131 August 28 Athletics 6–3 Langford (10–13) Stieb (5–5) 21,736 42–89 132 August 29 Athletics 6–4 Norris (5–6) Underwood (6–16) 13,071 42–90 133 August 30 Mariners 8–2 Parrott (13–8) Moore (3–6) 11,850 42–91 134 August 31 Mariners 5–4 (11) Buskey (6–5) McLaughlin (6–5) 11,254 43–91
September 10–18 (Home 9–7, Away 1–11) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 135 September 1 Mariners 3–2 (10) Honeycutt (10–9) Buskey (6–6) 23,139 43–92 136 September 2 Mariners 8–5 Stieb (6–5) Twitchell (0–2) Jefferson (1) 14,776 44–92 137 September 3 @ Orioles 2–1 (11) Martinez (9–2) Buskey (6–7) 44–93 138 September 3 @ Orioles 5–1 Flanagan (20–7) Lemanczyk (8–10) 20,432 44–94 – September 5 @ Orioles Postponed (rain)Rescheduled for September 6 139 September 6 @ Orioles 5–0 Martínez (15–12) Edge (2–2) 7,053 44–95 140 September 7 @ Indians 9–8 Reuschel (2–1) Buskey (6–8) 4,222 44–96 141 September 8 @ Indians 5–4 Wise (15–7) Stieb (6–6) 4,439 44–97 142 September 9 @ Indians 14–10 Monge (9–9) Buskey (6–9) 9,166 44–98 143 September 11 Orioles 3–1 Underwood (7–16) McGregor (11–5) 12,092 45–98 144 September 12 Orioles 3–2 Edge (3–2) Palmer (8–6) 21,213 46–98 145 September 13 Orioles 10–4 Flanagan (22–7) Huffman (6–15) 11,080 46–99 146 September 14 Indians 4–3 Stieb (7–6) Wise (15–8) 11,010 47–99 147 September 15 Indians 5–2 Moore (4–6) Barker (6–5) 12,160 48–99 148 September 16 Indians 8–2 Underwood (8–16) Garland (4–10) 17,078 49–99 149 September 17 Red Sox 5–4 Jefferson (2–10) Drago (9–6) 50–99 150 September 17 Red Sox 5–3 Rainey (7–5) Freisleben (2–3) Campbell (9) 15,644 50–100 151 September 18 Red Sox 8–3 Torrez (15–12) Huffman (6–16) 13,208 50–101 152 September 19 Red Sox 8–0 Stanley (16–10) Stieb (7–7) 21,650 50–102 153 September 20 Red Sox 6–2 Moore (5–6) Renko (10–9) 13,201 51–102 154 September 21 Yankees 3–2 Underwood (9–16) Guidry (17–8) Buskey (7) 22,331 52–102 155 September 22 Yankees 7–4 Tiant (12–8) Edge (3–3) Gossage (16) 37,408 52–103 156 September 23 Yankees 7–5 John (20–9) Huffman (6–17) Gossage (17) 28,137 52–104 157 September 25 @ Red Sox 5–3 Stieb (8–7) Stanley (16–11) 18,929 53–104 158 September 26 @ Red Sox 6–4 Rainey (8–5) Moore (5–7) Drago (12) 18,010 53–105 159 September 27 @ Red Sox 6–5 Drago (10–6) Buskey (6–10) 20,853 53–106 160 September 28 @ Yankees 7–3 Tiant (13–8) Edge (3–4) 17,647 53–107 161 September 29 @ Yankees 9–4 John (21–9) Huffman (6–18) 30,016 53–108 162 September 30 @ Yankees 9–2 Davis (14–2) Stieb (8–8) Griffin (1) 28,150 53–109

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases

Pos	Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	Avg.	HR	RBI	SB
C	Rick Cerone	136	469	47	112	27	4	.239	7	61	1
1B	John Mayberry	137	464	61	127	22	1	.274	21	74	1
2B	Danny Ainge	87	308	26	73	7	1	.237	2	19	1
3B	Roy Howell	138	511	60	126	28	4	.247	15	72	1
SS	Alfredo Griffin	153	624	81	179	22	10	.287	2	31	21
LF	Alvis Woods	132	436	57	121	24	4	.278	5	36	6
CF	Rick Bosetti	162	619	59	161	35	2	.260	8	65	13
RF	Bob Bailor	130	414	50	95	11	5	.229	1	38	14
DH	Rico Carty	132	461	48	118	26	0	.256	12	55	3

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases

Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	Avg.	HR	RBI	SB
Otto Vélez	99	274	45	79	21	0	.288	15	48	0
Luis Gómez	59	163	11	39	7	0	.239	0	11	1
Dave McKay	47	156	19	34	9	0	.218	0	12	1
Joe Cannon	61	142	14	30	1	1	.211	1	5	12
Tony Solaita	36	102	14	27	8	1	.265	2	13	0
Bob Davis	32	89	6	11	2	0	.124	1	8	0
Tim Johnson	43	86	6	16	2	1	.186	0	6	0
Craig Kusick	23	54	3	11	1	0	.204	2	7	0
Bob Robertson	15	29	1	3	0	0	.103	1	1	0
Ted Wilborn	22	12	3	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0
Bobby Brown	4	10	1	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0
Pedro Hernández	3	0	1	0	0	0	----	0	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player	G	GS	IP	W	L	ERA	R	ER	BB	K
Tom Underwood	33	32	227.0	9	16	3.69	113	93	95	127
Phil Huffman	31	31	173.0	6	18	5.77	130	111	68	56
Dave Lemanczyk	22	20	143.0	8	10	3.71	65	59	45	63
Dave Stieb	18	18	129.1	8	8	4.31	70	62	48	52
Jim Clancy	12	11	63.2	2	7	5.51	44	39	31	33
Butch Edge	9	9	51.2	3	4	5.23	32	30	24	19

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player	G	GS	IP	W	L	SV	ERA	R	ER	BB	K
Balor Moore	34	16	139.1	5	7	0	4.84	85	75	79	51
Jesse Jefferson	34	10	116.0	2	10	1	5.51	75	71	45	43
Mark Lemongello	18	10	83.0	1	9	0	6.29	64	58	34	40

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	SV	ERA	R	ER	BB	K
Tom Buskey	44	78.2	6	10	7	3.43	33	30	25	44
Dave Freisleben	42	91.0	2	3	3	4.95	57	50	53	35
Mike Willis	17	26.2	0	3	0	8.44	27	25	16	8
Jackson Todd	12	32.1	0	1	0	5.85	26	21	7	14
Tom Murphy	10	18.1	1	2	0	5.40	11	11	8	6
Dyar Miller	10	15.1	0	0	0	10.57	18	18	5	7
Jerry Garvin	8	22.2	0	1	0	2.78	9	7	10	14
Steve Grilli	1	2.1	0	0	0	0.00	0	0	0	1
Craig Kusick	1	3.2	0	0	0	4.91	2	2	0	0
Steve Luebber	1	0.0	0	0	0	inf	1	1	1	0

Awards and honours

• Alfredo Griffin , American League Rookie of the Year Award
• Alfredo Griffin, Player of the Month Award, September

All-Star Game

• Dave Lemanczyk , reserve ^[9]

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Syracuse Chiefs	International League	Vern Benson
A	Kinston Eagles	Carolina League	Duane Larson
A	Dunedin Blue Jays	Florida State League	Denis Menke
A-Short Season	Utica Blue Jays	New York–Penn League	John McLaren
Rookie	Medicine Hat Blue Jays	Pioneer League	Dennis Holmberg

^[10]

Notes

1. Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p. 125, Penguin Books, ISBN   0-14-023978-2
2. "1979 Toronto Blue Jays Trades and Transactions". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
3. Diamond Dreams, p. 136
4. "1979 Toronto Blue Jays Trades and Transactions". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
5. "1979 Toronto Blue Jays Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft".
6. Ron Shepherd at Baseball Reference
7. Ron Romanick at Baseball-Reference
8. Andre Robertson at Baseball-Reference
9. Blue Jays All-Stars | bluejays.com: History
10. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN   978-0-9637189-8-3.

External links

• 1979 Toronto Blue Jays at Baseball Reference
• 1979 Toronto Blue Jays at Baseball Almanac