1988 Toronto Blue Jays season

1988  Toronto Blue Jays
League	American League
Division	East
Ballpark	Exhibition Stadium
City	Toronto
Record	87–75 (.537)
Divisional place	4th
Owners	Labatt Breweries, Imperial Trust, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
General managers	Pat Gillick
Managers	Jimy Williams
Television	CFTO-TV (Don Chevrier, Tony Kubek, Fergie Olver) The Sports Network (Fergie Olver, Buck Martinez)
Radio	CJCL (AM) (Jerry Howarth, Tom Cheek)
←  1987 Seasons 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 (tie-breaker went to Milwaukee) 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.

Transactions

Transactions by the Toronto Blue Jays during the off-season before the 1988 season. ^[1]

October 1987

October 6	Player rights to Tom Filer sold to the Milwaukee Brewers.
October 15	Odell Jones granted free agency. José Segura granted free agency.
October 23	Released Charlie Moore.

November 1987

November 9	Garth Iorg granted free agency.
November 22	Craig McMurtry granted free agency.

December 1987

December 7

Joe Johnson drafted by the California Angels in the 1987 MLB Rule 5 draft.

January 1988

January 22	Juan Beníquez granted free agency.
January 25	Re-signed free agent Juan Beníquez to a one-year, $400,000 contract.
January 26	Signed amateur free agent Graeme Lloyd to a contract.

February 1988

February 22

Signed free agent Mark Ross from the Pittsburgh Pirates to a contract.

March 1988

March 24	Signed free agent Sal Butera from the Minnesota Twins to a one-year, $100,000 contract.
March 25	Player rights of Willie Upshaw sold to the Cleveland Indians.

Regular season

• April 4, 1988: George Bell set a major league record for the most home runs hit on Opening Day, with three. ^[2] Bell accomplished this in a game versus the Kansas City Royals.
• September 24 and 30, 1988: Dave Stieb had two consecutive no-hitters broken up in the ninth inning with two outs and two strikes.

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

AL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Boston Red Sox	89	73	.549	—	53‍–‍28	36‍–‍45
Detroit Tigers	88	74	.543	1	50‍–‍31	38‍–‍43
Milwaukee Brewers	87	75	.537	2	47‍–‍34	40‍–‍41
Toronto Blue Jays	87	75	.537	2	45‍–‍36	42‍–‍39
New York Yankees	85	76	.528	3½	46‍–‍34	39‍–‍42
Cleveland Indians	78	84	.481	11	44‍–‍37	34‍–‍47
Baltimore Orioles	54	107	.335	34½	34‍–‍46	20‍–‍61

Record vs. opponents

1988 American League record v t e Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	4–9	5–7	4–7	4–9	5–8	0–12	4–9	3–9	3–10	4–8	7–5	6–6	5–8
Boston	9–4	—	8–4	7–5	8–5	6–7	6–6	10–3	7–5	9–4	3–9	6–6	8–4	2–11
California	7–5	4–8	—	9–4	8–4	5–7	5–8	3–9	4–9	6–6	4–9	6–7	8–5	6–6
Chicago	7–4	5–7	4–9	—	3–9	3–9	7–6	6–6	4–9	3–9	5–8	9–4	8–5	7–5
Cleveland	9–4	5–8	4–8	9–3	—	4–9	6–6	9–4	5–7	6–7	4–8	5–7	6–6	6–7
Detroit	8–5	7–6	7–5	9–3	9–4	—	8–4	5–8	1–11	8–5	4–8	9–3	8–4	5–8
Kansas City	12–0	6–6	8–5	6–7	6–6	4–8	—	3–9	7–6	6–6	8–5	7–5	7–6	4–8
Milwaukee	9–4	3–10	9–3	6–6	4–9	8–5	9–3	—	7–5	6–7	3–9	8–4	8–4	7–6
Minnesota	9–3	5–7	9–4	9–4	7–5	11–1	6–7	5–7	—	3–9	5–8	8–5	7–6	7–5
New York	10–3	4–9	6–6	9–3	7–6	5–8	6–6	7–6	9–3	—	6–6	5–7	5–6	6–7
Oakland	8–4	9–3	9–4	8–5	8–4	8–4	5–8	9–3	8–5	6–6	—	9–4	8–5	9–3
Seattle	5–7	6–6	7–6	4–9	7–5	3–9	5–7	4–8	5–8	7–5	4–9	—	6–7	5–7
Texas	6–6	4–8	5–8	5–8	6–6	4–8	6–7	4–8	6–7	6–5	5–8	7–6	—	6–6
Toronto	8–5	11–2	6–6	5–7	7–6	8–5	8–4	6–7	5–7	7–6	3–9	7–5	6–6	—

Transactions

Transactions for the Toronto Blue Jays during the 1988 regular season. ^[3]

April 1988

April 7

Signed free agent Doug Bair from the Philadelphia Phillies to a contract. Signed free agent Frank Wills from the Cleveland Indians to a contract.

May 1988

May 31

Released Juan Beníquez.

1988 Draft

• June 1, 1988: David Weathers was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 3rd round of the 1988 amateur draft. Player signed June 4, 1988.

Roster

1988 Toronto Blue Jays
Roster
Pitchers 40 Doug Bair 27 Tony Castillo 55 John Cerutti 18 Jim Clancy 38 Mark Eichhorn 46 Mike Flanagan 50 Tom Henke 22 Jimmy Key 13 Jeff Musselman 45 José Núñez 21 Mark Ross 37 Dave Stieb 16 Todd Stottlemyre 31 Duane Ward 36 David Wells 44 Frank Wills		Catchers 10 Pat Borders 26 Sal Butera 12 Ernie Whitt Infielders  1 Tony Fernández 17 Kelly Gruber 14 Alexis Infante  4 Manuel Lee  2 Nelson Liriano 19 Fred McGriff		Outfielders 29 Jesse Barfield 11 George Bell  6 Sil Campusano 20 Rob Ducey  9 Rick Leach 15 Lloyd Moseby 28 Lou Thornton Other batters 21 Juan Beníquez 23 Cecil Fielder  5 Rance Mulliniks		Manager  3 Jimy Williams Coaches 54 Galen Cisco (assistant pitching) 43 Cito Gaston (hitting) 57 Winston Llenas (bench) 24 John McLaren (third base) 42 Billy Smith (first base)  8 John Sullivan (bullpen) 41 Al Widmar (pitching)

Game log

1988 Game Log
April: 9–13 (Home: 4–9; Away: 5–4) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 1 April 4 @ Royals 5–3 Key (1–0) Saberhagen (0–1) Henke (1) 40,648 1–0 2 April 6 @ Royals 11–4 Flanagan (1–0) Leibrandt (0–1) 18,938 2–0 3 April 7 @ Royals 7–4 Gubicza (1–0) Clancy (0–1) 29,070 2–1 4 April 8 @ Twins 6–3 Blyleven (1–0) Stieb (0–1) Reardon (1) 53,067 2–2 5 April 9 @ Twins 10–0 Key (2–0) Lea (0–1) Ward (1) 49,451 3–2 6 April 10 @ Twins 4–2 Viola (1–1) Stottlemyre (0–1) Reardon (2) 40,086 3–3 7 April 11 Yankees 17–9 Wells (1–0) Rhoden (1–1) 45,185 4–3 8 April 12 Yankees 12–3 Candelaria (1–0) Clancy (0–2) 24,116 4–4 9 April 13 Yankees 5–1 Dotson (2–0) Stieb (0–2) 24,105 4–5 10 April 14 Yankees 7–3 Leiter (2–0) Key (2–1) 24,524 4–6 -- April 15 Twins Postponed (cold weather)Rescheduled for August 4 11 April 16 Twins 3–2 Berenguer (1–2) Wells (1–1) Reardon (4) 26,095 4–7 12 April 17 Twins 2–0 Flanagan (2–0) Straker (0–1) Henke (2) 37,532 5–7 13 April 19 Royals 12–3 Clancy (1–2) Saberhagen (1–2) 21,231 6–7 14 April 20 Royals 3–0 Stieb (1–2) Leibrandt (1–3) Henke (3) 20,202 7–7 15 April 22 @ Yankees 6–4 (12) Wells (2–1) Stoddard (1–1) Henke (4) 33,314 8–7 16 April 23 @ Yankees 3–2 Cerutti (1–0) Candelaria (1–2) Henke (5) 24,046 9–7 17 April 24 @ Yankees 5–3 Hudson (2–0) Eichhorn (0–1) 52,073 9–8 18 April 26 Athletics 6–1 Davis (2–1) Stieb (1–3) Eckersley (9) 21,280 9–9 19 April 27 Athletics 5–3 Young (1–0) Flanagan (2–1) Honeycutt (2) 20,236 9–10 20 April 28 Athletics 6–2 Stewart (6–0) Stottlemyre (0–2) Honeycutt (3) 21,178 9–11 21 April 29 Angels 9–5 Harvey (1–0) Wells (2–2) 23,483 9–12 22 April 30 Angels 6–1 Finley (2–3) Cerutti (1–1) 29,091 9–13
May: 13–16 (Home: 6–5; Away: 7–11) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 23 May 1 Angels 6–4 Stieb (2–3) Witt (1–3) Henke (6) 36,115 10–13 24 May 2 @ Mariners 7–5 Trout (3–2) Flanagan (2–2) Solano (2) 13,197 10–14 25 May 3 @ Mariners 9–2 Stottlemyre (1–2) Campbell (2–3) Ward (2) 9,970 11–14 26 May 4 @ Athletics 3–2 Welch (4–2) Clancy (1–3) Eckersley (11) 21,401 11–15 27 May 5 @ Athletics 8–5 Plunk (3–1) Núñez (0–1) 16,998 11–16 28 May 6 @ Angels 3–2 Stieb (3–3) Witt (1–4) Henke (7) 29,237 12–16 29 May 7 @ Angels 9–4 Flanagan (3–2) Fraser (3–2) Wells (1) 32,630 13–16 30 May 8 @ Angels 8–1 McCaskill (2–3) Stottlemyre (1–3) 29,026 13–17 31 May 10 Mariners 4–2 Langston (3–3) Clancy (1–4) 28,290 13–18 32 May 11 Mariners 9–3 Stieb (4–3) Moore (2–4) 27,575 14–18 33 May 12 Mariners 8–2 Flanagan (4–2) Swift (2–1) 30,334 15–18 34 May 13 @ White Sox 4–1 Pérez (3–0) Stottlemyre (1–4) 10,583 15–19 35 May 14 @ White Sox 7–5 LaPoint (4–2) Cerutti (1–2) Long (2) 23,532 15–20 36 May 15 @ White Sox 6–5 (11) Thigpen (1–3) Eichhorn (0–2) 13,948 15–21 37 May 16 @ White Sox 5–1 Stieb (5–3) Horton (3–6) 8,310 16–21 38 May 17 Rangers 7–6 (14) Mohorcic (2–0) Eichhorn (0–3) 25,170 16–22 39 May 18 Rangers 4–0 Hayward (3–0) Stottlemyre (1–5) 25,029 16–23 40 May 20 @ Brewers 3–1 Clancy (2–4) Wegman (4–5) Wells (2) 19,539 17–23 41 May 21 @ Brewers 4–0 Stieb (6–3) Bosio (6–4) Henke (8) 38,124 18–23 42 May 22 @ Brewers 7–1 Birkbeck (2–3) Flanagan (4–3) 37,658 18–24 43 May 23 @ Brewers 9–7 Jones (2–0) Stottlemyre (1–6) Plesac (9) 10,523 18–25 44 May 24 @ Rangers 13–2 Cerutti (2–2) Hayward (3–1) Henke (9) 26,408 19–25 45 May 25 @ Rangers 5–1 Russell (3–0) Clancy (2–5) Mohorcic (4) 13,528 19–26 46 May 26 @ Rangers 8–7 Williams (1–1) Henke (0–1) 13,035 19–27 47 May 27 White Sox 4–3 Ward (1–0) Thigpen (1–5) 31,454 20–27 48 May 28 White Sox 3–2 Pérez (5–1) Stottlemyre (1–7) Thigpen (8) 42,420 20–28 49 May 29 White Sox 4–2 Cerutti (3–2) LaPoint (4–4) Wells (3) 42,057 21–28 50 May 30 Brewers 4–1 Higuera (4–3) Clancy (2–6) Plesac (11) 27,275 21–29 51 May 31 Brewers 9–0 Stieb (7–3) Bosio (6–6) 28,446 22–29
June: 17–11 (Home: 10–4; Away: 7–7) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 52 June 1 Brewers 7–2 Flanagan (5–3) Birkbeck (2–5) Ward (3) 31,012 23–29 53 June 2 @ Red Sox 5–4 Wells (3–2) Hurst (6–3) Eichhorn (1) 32,144 24–29 54 June 3 @ Red Sox 6–3 Stottlemyre (2–7) Boyd (5–4) Henke (10) 32,292 25–29 55 June 4 @ Red Sox 10–2 Clancy (3–6) Clemens (8–3) Ward (4) 33,067 26–29 56 June 5 @ Red Sox 12–4 Ward (2–0) Smithson (1–2) 33,756 27–29 57 June 6 @ Indians 6–3 Farrell (6–3) Flanagan (5–4) Jones (13) 9,550 27–30 58 June 7 @ Indians 5–3 Bailes (6–4) Wells (3–3) 21,696 27–31 59 June 8 @ Indians 4–2 Yett (5–3) Clancy (3–7) Jones (14) 10,571 27–32 60 June 10 Red Sox 3–0 Stieb (8–3) Sellers (0–6) Henke (11) 35,201 28–32 61 June 11 Red Sox 4–3 (10) Ward (3–0) Lamp (1–2) 40,461 29–32 62 June 12 Red Sox 8–2 Boyd (6–5) Cerutti (3–3) 40,123 29–33 63 June 13 Indians 8–6 Black (3–1) Clancy (3–8) Jones (15) 31,133 29–34 64 June 14 Indians 3–2 Ward (4–0) Candiotti (6–6) 31,433 30–34 65 June 15 Indians 15–3 Stieb (9–3) Swindell (10–4) 45,472 31–34 66 June 16 @ Tigers 13–5 Flanagan (6–4) Morris (6–8) 22,927 32–34 67 June 17 @ Tigers 12–5 Hernández (4–2) Wells (3–4) 36,274 32–35 68 June 18 @ Tigers 6–1 Terrell (3–3) Clancy (3–9) 42,186 32–36 69 June 19 @ Tigers 6–4 Ward (5–0) Henneman (1–2) Henke (12) 35,639 33–36 70 June 20 Orioles 5–2 Stieb (10–3) Boddicker (3–10) Henke (13) 28,301 34–36 71 June 21 Orioles 4–2 Peraza (1–2) Flanagan (6–5) Niedenfuer (7) 28,259 34–37 72 June 22 Orioles 4–2 Cerutti (4–3) Ballard (3–4) Ward (5) 28,395 35–37 73 June 23 Orioles 5–2 Clancy (4–9) Tibbs (2–4) Wells (4) 28,259 36–37 74 June 24 Tigers 6–3 Stottlemyre (3–7) Terrell (3–4) Henke (14) 40,533 37–37 75 June 25 Tigers 7–2 Alexander (7–4) Stieb (10–4) 45,091 37–38 76 June 26 Tigers 4–1 Flanagan (7–5) Robinson (8–3) Henke (15) 45,278 38–38 77 June 27 @ Orioles 6–2 Ballard (4–4) Cerutti (4–4) 17,212 38–39 78 June 28 @ Orioles 7–0 Tibbs li (3–4) Clancy (4–10) Thurmond (1) 16,241 38–40 79 June 29 @ Orioles 4–2 Key (3–1) Schmidt (3–3) Henke (16) 18,059 39–40
July: 12–14 (Home: 4–8; Away: 8–6) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 80 July 1 Athletics 2–1 Stewart (11–6) Stieb (10–5) Eckersley (24) 35,243 39–41 81 July 2 Athletics 11–3 Young (6–5) Flanagan (7–6) Nelson (3) 33,511 39–42 82 July 3 Athletics 9–8 (16) Burns (1–0) Cerutti (4–5) 32,329 39–43 83 July 4 Angels 11–6 Cliburn (3–0) Clancy (4–11) 30,584 39–44 84 July 5 Angels 4–1 Key (4–1) Witt (6–9) Ward (6) 32,284 40–44 85 July 6 Angels 5–4 (10) Harvey (3–2) Wells (3–5) Moore (2) 31,312 40–45 86 July 8 Mariners 3–2 Flanagan (8–6) Swift (6–6) Ward (7) 30,247 41–45 87 July 9 Mariners 9–3 Bankhead (4–3) Stottlemyre (3–8) 31,373 41–46 88 July 10 Mariners 5–0 Key (5–1) Moore (4–9) 35,323 42–46 89 July 14 @ Athletics 7–1 Flanagan (9–6) Welch (10–6) 20,639 43–46 90 July 15 @ Athletics 1–0 Key (6–1) Stewart (12–8) 26,476 44–46 91 July 16 @ Athletics 4–1 Davis (7–4) Stieb (10–6) Eckersley (27) 33,287 44–47 92 July 17 @ Athletics 9–6 Ward (6–0) Young (6–7) Henke (17) 31,695 45–47 93 July 18 @ Angels 12–2 Musselman (1–0) Finley (5–9) Clancy (1) 24,241 46–47 94 July 19 @ Angels 7–6 Henke (1–1) Harvey (4–3) 24,131 47–47 95 July 20 @ Angels 7–6 Minton (3–1) Cerutti (4–6) Moore (4) 25,598 47–48 96 July 21 @ Mariners 6–2 Bankhead (5–4) Stieb (10–7) Schooler (7) 9,024 47–49 97 July 22 @ Mariners 10–9 (10) Schooler (2–3) Henke (1–2) 10,506 47–50 98 July 23 @ Mariners 5–2 Musselman (2–0) Trout (4–6) 17,979 48–50 99 July 24 @ Mariners 6–0 Flanagan (10–6) Langston (7–9) 10,487 49–50 100 July 25 @ Twins 5–4 Winn (1–0) Henke (1–3) 31,936 49–51 101 July 26 @ Twins 6–3 Portugal (1–1) Ward (6–1) Reardon (26) 42,185 49–52 102 July 27 @ Twins 4–1 Cerutti (5–6) Viola (16–3) Henke (18) 51,687 50–52 103 July 29 Yankees 7–1 Musselman (3–0) Dotson (8–4) 42,453 51–52 104 July 30 Yankees 3–1 Candelaria (12–6) Flanagan (10–7) Righetti (15) 45,457 51–53 105 July 31 Yankees 6–3 Rhoden (7–6) Key (6–2) Righetti (16) 41,401 51–54
August: 14–14 (Home: 7–7; Away: 7–7) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 106 August 1 Twins 3–1 Stieb (11–7) Viola (16–4) Henke (19) 33,206 52–54 107 August 2 Twins 11–1 Clancy (5–11) Lea (6–5) 30,327 53–54 108 August 3 Twins 8–3 Atherton (6–5) Musselman (3–1) Reardon (27) 31,340 53–55 109 August 4 Twins 2–1 Anderson (9–7) Flanagan (10–8) 21,140 53–56 110 August 5 Royals 7–6 Ward (7–1) Power (5–5) Henke (20) 31,357 54–56 111 August 6 Royals 11–1 Gubicza (14–6) Stieb (11–8) 34,411 54–57 112 August 7 Royals 5–1 Bannister (9–9) Clancy (5–12) 37,304 54–58 113 August 8 Royals 5–1 Musselman (4–1) Saberhagen (12–11) Henke (21) 32,234 55–58 114 August 9 @ Yankees 6–3 Flanagan (11–8) Candelaria (12–7) Ward (8) 30,089 56–58 115 August 10 @ Yankees 5–0 Key (7–2) Rhoden (7–8) Henke (22) 28,026 57–58 116 August 11 @ Yankees 6–5 (11) Ward (8–1) Righetti (3–3) 30,347 58–58 117 August 12 @ Royals 3–2 Clancy (6–12) Bannister (9–10) Henke (23) 31,858 59–58 118 August 13 @ Royals 2–0 Musselman (5–1) Saberhagen (12–12) Ward (9) 40,204 60–58 119 August 14 @ Royals 6–0 Aquino (1–0) Flanagan (11–9) 27,262 60–59 120 August 16 @ White Sox 5–4 McDowell (5–8) Key (7–3) Thigpen (26) 15,706 60–60 121 August 17 @ White Sox 5–1 Reuss (9–7) Clancy (6–13) Rosenberg (1) 14,367 60–61 122 August 19 Brewers 7–4 (10) Nieves (5–5) Ward (8–2) Plesac (29) 34,178 60–62 123 August 20 Brewers 8–1 Higuera (10–8) Flanagan (11–10) 38,315 60–63 124 August 21 Brewers 8–4 Key (8–3) August (7–6) 38,424 61–63 125 August 22 White Sox 6–3 Stieb (12–8) Reuss (9–8) 30,501 62–63 126 August 23 White Sox 7–2 Clancy (7–13) Pérez (11–8) Ward (10) 28,443 63–63 127 August 24 White Sox 6–4 Long (5–9) Musselman (5–2) Thigpen (27) 33,385 63–64 128 August 26 @ Rangers 5–1 Kilgus (11–11) Flanagan (11–11) Williams (17) 13,642 63–65 129 August 27 @ Rangers 5–3 Hough (11–14) Key (8–4) Williams (18) 21,578 63–66 130 August 28 @ Rangers 6–5 (11) Henke (2–3) McMurtry (2–2) 10,166 64–66 131 August 29 @ Brewers 6–1 Clancy (8–13) Filer (5–8) 10,207 65–66 132 August 30 @ Brewers 6–2 Higuera (12–8) Musselman (5–3) 11,876 65–67 133 August 31 @ Brewers 4–2 August (8–6) Flanagan (11–12) Crim (8) 11,993 65–68
September: 20–7 (Home: 12–3; Away: 8–4) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 134 September 1 Rangers 5–1 Key (9–4) Hough (11–15) 30,294 66–68 135 September 2 Rangers 7–6 Henke (3–3) Vande Berg (1–2) 30,181 67–68 136 September 3 Rangers 7–4 Castillo (1–0) Russell (10–7) Ward (11) 33,463 68–68 137 September 4 Rangers 9–7 Cerutti (6–6) Williams (2–5) 34,400 69–68 138 September 5 @ Tigers 5–4 (10) Stottlemyre (4–8) Hernández (5–4) Ward (12) 21,913 70–68 139 September 6 @ Tigers 7–3 Key (10–4) Alexander (11–11) Ward (13) 18,299 71–68 140 September 7 @ Tigers 4–3 Henneman (8–4) Cerutti (6–7) 21,614 71–69 141 September 9 @ Orioles 8–1 Clancy (9–13) Bautista (6–13) 14,750 72–69 142 September 10 @ Orioles 7–4 Ballard (8–11) Musselman (5–4) Williamson (2) 21,945 72–70 143 September 11 @ Orioles 4–2 Schmidt (8–4) Flanagan (11–13) Thurmond (3) 19,364 72–71 144 September 12 Tigers 6–5 Huismann (1–0) Henke (3–4) Hernández (9) 31,354 72–72 145 September 13 Tigers 9–1 Stieb (13–8) Power (5–7) 32,141 73–72 146 September 14 Tigers 3–2 Ward (9–2) Terrell (7–14) 32,469 74–72 147 September 15 Indians 3–0 Musselman (6–4) Walker (0–1) Henke (24) 28,544 75–72 148 September 16 Indians 4–3 (10) Henke (4–4) Gordon (2–4) 30,276 76–72 149 September 17 Indians 12–3 Swindell (17–13) Key (10–5) Dedmon (1) 32,067 76–73 150 September 18 Indians 4–0 Stieb (14–8) Nichols (1–5) 34,422 77–73 151 September 19 Red Sox 5–4 Clancy (10–13) Lamp (6–5) Ward (14) 28,455 78–73 152 September 20 Red Sox 13–2 Clemens (17–11) Musselman (6–5) 30,352 78–74 153 September 21 Red Sox 1–0 Flanagan (12–13) Gardner (8–5) Ward (15) 30,344 79–74 154 September 23 @ Indians 4–2 Key (11–5) Swindell (17–14) Henke (25) 7,995 80–74 155 September 24 @ Indians 1–0 Stieb (15–8) Nichols (1–6) 8,157 81–74 156 September 25 @ Indians 4–3 Bailes (9–14) Ward (9–3) 7,915 81–75 157 September 26 @ Red Sox 11–1 Musselman (7–5) Gardner (8–6) 33,953 82–75 158 September 27 @ Red Sox 15–9 Flanagan (13–13) Smithson (9–6) 34,442 83–75 159 September 28 @ Red Sox 1–0 Key (12–5) Hurst (18–6) 34,873 84–75 160 September 30 Orioles 4–0 Stieb (16–8) Ballard (8–12) 32,374 85–75
October: 2–0 (Home: 2–0; Away: 0–0) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 161 October 1 Orioles 7–3 Clancy (11–13) Tibbs (4–15) Cerutti (1) 32,637 86–75 162 October 2 Orioles 9–3 Musselman (8–5) Schilling (0–3) 34,046 87–75

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Ernie Whitt	127	398	100	.251	16	70
1B	Fred McGriff	154	536	151	.282	34	82
2B	Manuel Lee	116	381	111	.291	2	38
3B	Kelly Gruber	158	569	158	.278	16	81
SS	Tony Fernández	154	648	186	.287	5	70
LF	George Bell	156	614	165	.269	24	97
CF	Lloyd Moseby	128	472	113	.239	10	42
RF	Jesse Barfield	137	468	114	.244	18	56
DH	Rance Mulliniks	119	337	101	.300	12	48

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Nelson Liriano	99	276	73	.264	3	23
Rick Leach	87	199	55	.276	0	23
Cecil Fielder	74	174	40	.230	9	23
Pat Borders	56	154	42	.273	5	21
Sil Campusano	73	132	41	.218	2	12
Sal Butera	23	60	14	.233	1	6
Juan Beníquez	27	58	17	.293	1	8
Rob Ducey	27	54	17	.315	0	6
Alexis Infante	19	15	3	.200	0	0
Lou Thornton	11	2	0	.000	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Mike Flanagan	34	211.0	13	13	4.18	99
Dave Stieb	32	207.1	16	8	3.04	147
Jim Clancy	36	196.1	11	13	4.49	118
Jimmy Key	21	131.1	12	5	3.29	65
Todd Stottlemyre	28	98.0	4	8	5.69	67
Jeff Musselman	15	85.0	8	5	3.18	39

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
John Cerutti	46	123.2	6	7	3.13	65
José Núñez	13	29.1	0	1	3.07	18

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Tom Henke	52	4	4	25	2.91	66
Duane Ward	64	9	3	15	3.30	91
David Wells	41	3	5	4	4.62	56
Mark Eichhorn	37	0	3	1	4.19	28
Tony Castillo	14	1	0	0	3.00	14
Frank Wills	10	0	0	0	5.23	19
Doug Bair	10	0	0	0	4.05	8
Mark Ross	3	0	0	0	4.91	4

Awards and records

• George Bell , Most Home Runs hit on Opening Day (3)
• Tony Fernández , Gold Glove Award

All-Star Game

• Dave Stieb, pitcher ^[4]

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Syracuse Chiefs	International League	Bob Bailor
AA	Knoxville Blue Jays	Southern League	Barry Foote
A	Dunedin Blue Jays	Florida State League	Doug Ault
A	Myrtle Beach Blue Jays	South Atlantic League	Richie Hebner
A-Short Season	St. Catharines Blue Jays	New York–Penn League	Eddie Dennis
Rookie	Medicine Hat Blue Jays	Pioneer League	Rocket Wheeler

^[5]

References

1. "1988 Toronto Blue Jays Trades and Transactions". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
2. SI.com - Statitudes - Statitudes: Opening Day 2002, By the Numbers - Sunday March 30, 2003 01:50 AM
3. "1988 Toronto Blue Jays Trades and Transactions". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
4. Blue Jays All-Stars | bluejays.com: History
5. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

External links

• 1988 Toronto Blue Jays at Baseball Reference
• 1988 Toronto Blue Jays at Baseball Almanac