1983 Toronto Blue Jays | ||
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League | American League | |
Division | East | |
Ballpark | Exhibition Stadium | |
City | Toronto | |
Record | 89–73 (.549) | |
Divisional place | 4th | |
Owners | Labatt Breweries, Imperial Trust, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce | |
General managers | Pat Gillick | |
Managers | Bobby Cox | |
Television | CFTO-TV (Don Chevrier, Tony Kubek, Fergie Olver) | |
Radio | CJCL (AM) (Jerry Howarth, Tom Cheek) | |
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The 1983 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's seventh season of Major League Baseball. For the first time in team history, Toronto avoided a last place finish in their division and recorded a winning record. The Blue Jays finishing fourth in the American League East with a record of 89 wins and 73 losses, starting a streak of 11 consecutive winning seasons. It was the team's first season to use the song "OK Blue Jays" in the seventh-inning stretch.
Transactions by the Toronto Blue Jays during the off-season before the 1983 season. [1]
October 27 | Purchased Tucker Ashford from the New York Yankees. |
November 1 | Signed amateur free agent Nelson Liriano. |
November 5 | Acquired Cliff Johnson from the Oakland Athletics for Alvis Woods. |
November 10 | Wayne Nordhagen granted free agency. |
December 6 | Drafted Jim Acker from the Atlanta Braves in the 1982 MLB Rule 5 draft. |
December 9 | Acquired Dave Collins, Fred McGriff, Mike Morgan and cash from the New York Yankees for Tom Dodd and Dale Murray. |
December 10 | Glenn Adams granted free agency. Acquired Don Cooper from the Minnesota Twins for Dave Baker. |
January 18 | Player rights of Jerry Garvin sold to the St. Louis Cardinals. |
January 31 | Signed amateur free agent Enrique Burgos. |
February 4 | Acquired Jorge Orta from the New York Mets for Steve Senteney. |
February 5 | Acquired Cecil Fielder from the Kansas City Royals for Leon Roberts. |
February 15 | Signed free agent Randy Moffitt from the Houston Astros to a contract. |
February 16 | Signed amateur free agent Tony Castillo to a contract. |
February 23 | Signed free agent Mickey Klutts from the Oakland Athletics to a contract. |
Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
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Baltimore Orioles | 98 | 64 | .605 | — | 50–31 | 48–33 |
Detroit Tigers | 92 | 70 | .568 | 6 | 48–33 | 44–37 |
New York Yankees | 91 | 71 | .562 | 7 | 51–30 | 40–41 |
Toronto Blue Jays | 89 | 73 | .549 | 9 | 48–33 | 41–40 |
Milwaukee Brewers | 87 | 75 | .537 | 11 | 52–29 | 35–46 |
Boston Red Sox | 78 | 84 | .481 | 20 | 38–43 | 40–41 |
Cleveland Indians | 70 | 92 | .432 | 28 | 36–45 | 34–47 |
Sources: | ||||||||||||||
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Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
Baltimore | — | 8–5 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 11–2 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 7–6 |
Boston | 5–8 | — | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 7–6 |
California | 5–7 | 6–6 | — | 3–10 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 |
Chicago | 5–7 | 6–6 | 10–3 | — | 8–4 | 8–4 | 9–4 | 4–8 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 8–5 | 12–1 | 8–5 | 5–7 |
Cleveland | 7–6 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 4–8 | — | 5–8 | 7–5 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 3–9 | 4–9 |
Detroit | 8–5 | 9–4 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 8–5 | — | 7–5 | 6–7 | 9–3 | 5–8 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 6–7 |
Kansas City | 4–8 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 5–7 | — | 6–6 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 8–5 | 8–5–1 | 6–6 |
Milwaukee | 2–11 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 6–6 | — | 8–4 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 8–5 |
Minnesota | 4–8 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 6–6 | 3–9 | 7–6 | 4–8 | — | 4–8 | 4–9 | 9–4 | 5–8 | 5–7 |
New York | 7–6 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 8–4 | — | 8–4 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 7–6 |
Oakland | 4–8 | 4–8 | 8–5 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 4–8 | — | 9–4 | 2–11 | 6–6 |
Seattle | 4–8 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 1–12 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 4–9 | — | 6–7 | 4–8 |
Texas | 3–9 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 9–3 | 4–8 | 5–8–1 | 4–8 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 11–2 | 7–6 | — | 4–8 |
Toronto | 6–7 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 8–4 | — |
Transactions for the Toronto Blue Jays during the 1983 regular season. [4]
April 5 | Returned Tucker Ashford to the New York Yankees following previous purchase. |
June 21 | Signed free agent Doyle Alexander from the New York Yankees to a contract. |
July 7 | Signed free agent Alvis Woods from the Oakland Athletics to a contract. |
July 10 | Released Hosken Powell. |
September 4 | Signed amateur free agent Gerónimo Berroa to a contract. |
1983 Toronto Blue Jays | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
| Catchers
Infielders | Outfielders
Other batters
| Manager Coaches
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1983 Game Log | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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April: 8–10 (Home: 4–4; Away: 4–6)
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May: 18–9 (Home: 12–6; Away: 6–3)
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June: 14–12 (Home: 6–3; Away: 8–9)
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July: 15–12 (Home: 8–8; Away: 7–4)
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August: 15–19 (Home: 7–5; Away: 8–12)
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September: 16–10 (Home: 10–5; Away: 6–5)
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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 |
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C | Ernie Whitt | 123 | 344 | 53 | 88 | 15 | 2 | .256 | 17 | 56 | 1 |
1B | Willie Upshaw | 160 | 579 | 99 | 177 | 26 | 7 | .306 | 27 | 104 | 10 |
2B | Dámaso García | 131 | 525 | 84 | 161 | 23 | 6 | .307 | 3 | 38 | 31 |
3B | Rance Mulliniks | 129 | 364 | 54 | 100 | 34 | 3 | .275 | 10 | 49 | 0 |
SS | Alfredo Griffin | 162 | 528 | 62 | 132 | 22 | 9 | .250 | 4 | 47 | 8 |
LF | Dave Collins | 118 | 402 | 55 | 109 | 12 | 4 | .271 | 1 | 34 | 31 |
CF | Lloyd Moseby | 151 | 539 | 104 | 170 | 31 | 7 | .315 | 18 | 81 | 27 |
RF | Jesse Barfield | 128 | 388 | 58 | 98 | 13 | 3 | .253 | 27 | 68 | 2 |
DH | Cliff Johnson | 142 | 407 | 59 | 108 | 23 | 1 | .265 | 22 | 76 | 0 |
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 |
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Barry Bonnell | 121 | 377 | 49 | 120 | 21 | 3 | .318 | 10 | 54 | 10 |
Garth Iorg | 122 | 375 | 40 | 103 | 22 | 5 | .275 | 2 | 39 | 7 |
Jorge Orta | 103 | 245 | 30 | 58 | 6 | 3 | .237 | 10 | 38 | 1 |
Buck Martinez | 88 | 221 | 27 | 56 | 14 | 0 | .253 | 10 | 33 | 0 |
George Bell | 39 | 112 | 5 | 30 | 5 | 4 | .268 | 2 | 17 | 1 |
Hosken Powell | 40 | 83 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 0 | .169 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
Mickey Klutts | 22 | 43 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 0 | .256 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
Tony Fernández | 15 | 34 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 1 | .265 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Mitch Webster | 11 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .182 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Geno Petralli | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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 |
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Dave Stieb | 36 | 36 | 278.0 | 17 | 12 | 3.04 | 105 | 94 | 93 | 187 |
Jim Clancy | 34 | 34 | 223.0 | 15 | 11 | 3.91 | 115 | 97 | 61 | 99 |
Luis Leal | 35 | 35 | 217.1 | 13 | 12 | 4.31 | 113 | 104 | 65 | 116 |
Jim Gott | 34 | 30 | 176.2 | 9 | 14 | 4.74 | 103 | 93 | 68 | 121 |
Doyle Alexander | 17 | 15 | 116.2 | 7 | 6 | 3.93 | 55 | 51 | 26 | 46 |
Matt Williams | 4 | 3 | 8.0 | 1 | 1 | 14.63 | 13 | 13 | 7 | 5 |
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 |
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Jim Acker | 38 | 5 | 97.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 4.33 | 52 | 47 | 38 | 44 |
Mike Morgan | 16 | 4 | 45.1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5.16 | 26 | 26 | 21 | 22 |
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 |
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Randy Moffitt | 45 | 57.1 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 3.77 | 27 | 24 | 24 | 38 |
Joey McLaughlin | 50 | 64.2 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 4.45 | 33 | 32 | 37 | 47 |
Roy Lee Jackson | 49 | 92.0 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 4.50 | 48 | 46 | 41 | 48 |
Dave Geisel | 47 | 52.1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 4.64 | 28 | 27 | 31 | 50 |
Stan Clarke | 10 | 11.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.27 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 |
Don Cooper | 4 | 5.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.75 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
The 1985 American League Championship Series was played between the Kansas City Royals and the Toronto Blue Jays from October 8 to 16. Major League Baseball decided to extend the Championship Series in both leagues from its best-of-five (1969–1984) to the current best-of-seven format starting with this year, and it proved pivotal in the outcome of the ALCS. The Blue Jays seemingly put a stranglehold on the Series, earning a three games to one lead over the Royals after four games. However, Kansas City staged an improbable comeback, winning the next three games to win the American League Championship Series four games to three. The Royals would proceed to defeat their cross-state rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, in the World Series four games to three.
The 1980 Minnesota Twins season was a season in American baseball. The Twins finished 77–84, third in the American League West. 769,206 fans attended Twins games, the lowest total in the American League.
The 2000 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 24th season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing third in the American League East with a record of 83 wins and 79 losses. It was the team's first season with new mascots Ace and Diamond.
The 1999 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 23rd season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing third in the American League East with a record of 84 wins and 78 losses. The team set a franchise record for most runs scored in a season (883) and hits in a season (1,580). The previous Blue Jays records for most runs scored and most hits in a season were set in 1993 when the Jays scored 847 runs and collected 1,556 hits. Conversely, the Blue Jays pitching staff gave up the most runs of any Blue Jays team since 1979. It was the team's final season with original mascot BJ Birdy.
The 1992 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 16th season of Major League Baseball. Toronto finished first in the American League East for the fourth time with a record of 96 wins and 66 losses, closing the season with an attendance record of 4,028,318. Toronto was not swept in a single series all year, becoming the first team in 49 years to accomplish the feat.
The 1990 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 14th season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing second in the American League East with a record of 86 wins and 76 losses. It was their first full season in the SkyDome, where an MLB attendance record of 3,885,284 was set that year. The Blue Jays led the division by 1½ games over the Boston Red Sox with one week left in the season. However, they then proceeded to drop six of their last eight games, losing the division title to the Red Sox by a two-game margin.
The 1989 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 13th season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing first in the American League East with a record of 89 wins and 73 losses. The Blue Jays' ace pitcher Dave Stieb led the staff with 17 victories, and the team was offensively buoyed by the league's home run king Fred McGriff. Toronto won the AL East pennant in the final weekend of the season against the favored Baltimore Orioles. The Blue Jays lost the ALCS in five games to the eventual World Series champion Oakland Athletics. It was the team's last season at Exhibition Stadium, before moving to SkyDome halfway into the season. The Blue Jays hit eight grand slams, the most in MLB in 1989.
The 1988 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 12th season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing in fourth in the American League East with a record of 87 wins and 75 losses. This was their last full season at Exhibition Stadium before moving to their new home in June of the following year.
The 1987 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 11th season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing second in the American League East with a record of 96 wins and 66 losses. They had been in first place by 3½ games over the Detroit Tigers with a week left to play, but they dropped their next seven games in a row, capped off by a sweep at the hands of Detroit at Tiger Stadium on the last weekend of the season, and lost the division by two games.
The 1986 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's tenth season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing fourth in the American League East with a record of 86 wins and 76 losses.
The 1985 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's ninth season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing first in the American League East with a record of 99 wins and 62 losses. The win total of 99 is a franchise record, and the division title was the franchise's first.
The 1984 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's eighth season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing second in the American League East with a record of 89 wins and 73 losses.
The 1982 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's sixth season of Major League Baseball. Although the Blue Jays once again finished last in the seven team American League East their record of 78 wins and 84 losses was by far the best in team history to date. Toronto finished 17 games behind the American League Champion Milwaukee Brewers. Bobby Cox became the third field manager in team history.
The 1981 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's fifth season competing in Major League Baseball. Games were suspended for 50 days due to the 1981 Major League Baseball strike, causing a split season. The Blue Jays finished both halves of the season in seventh place in the seven-team American League East. Managed by Bobby Mattick, the Blue Jays played their home games at Exhibition Stadium and had an overall record of 37 wins and 69 losses.
The 1980 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's fourth season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing seventh in the American League East with a record of 67 wins and 95 losses. The season represented a turning point as Bobby Mattick became the second field manager in franchise history.
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.
The 1978 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's second season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing seventh in the American League East with a record of 59 wins and 102 losses.
The 1983 Baltimore Orioles won the Major League Baseball World Series after finishing first in the American League East with a record of 98 wins and 64 losses, The Orioles won the championship by beating the Philadelphia Philles, 4–1, in the 1983 World Series. The season was the Orioles' first in nearly 15 years without manager Earl Weaver, who retired after the Orioles missed the playoffs in the final game of the 1982 season. The Orioles replaced the future Hall of Famer Weaver with Joe Altobelli. The World Series victory was the Orioles' first championship since 1970 and their most recent to date.
The 1993 Chicago White Sox season was the White Sox' 94th season. They finished with a record of 94–68, good enough for first place in the American League West, which they won on September 27, eight games ahead of the second-place Texas Rangers. However, they lost the American League Championship Series in six games to the eventual World Series champion Toronto Blue Jays. It would be the last year the Sox would compete in the American League West, as they would join the newly formed American League Central in 1994.