1996 Toronto Blue Jays | ||
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League | American League | |
Division | East | |
Ballpark | SkyDome | |
City | Toronto | |
Record | 74–88 (.457) | |
Divisional place | 4th | |
Owners | Interbrew, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce | |
General managers | Gord Ash | |
Managers | Cito Gaston | |
Television | CBC Television (Brian Williams, Tommy Hutton) Baton (Don Chevrier, Tommy Hutton, Fergie Olver) The Sports Network (Dan Shulman, Buck Martinez) | |
Radio | CJCL (AM) (Jerry Howarth, Tom Cheek) | |
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The 1996 Toronto Blue Jays season was the 20th season in franchise history. The season involved the Blue Jays finishing fourth in the American League East with a record of 74 wins and 88 losses. The Blue Jays had a losing record for the third consecutive season.
Transactions by the Toronto Blue Jays during the off-season before the 1996 season. [1]
October 16 | Brent Bowers granted free agency (signed with Baltimore Orioles to a contract on November 30, 1995). Darren Hall granted free agency (signed with Los Angeles Dodgers to a one-year, $175,000 contract on November 1, 1995). Wally Whitehurst granted free agency (signed with Montreal Expos to a one-year, $125,000 contract on December 1, 1995). |
October 19 | Mike Huff granted free agency (signed with Toronto Blue Jays to a one-year contract on December 20, 1995). |
October 30 | Roberto Alomar granted free agency (signed with Baltimore Orioles to a three-year, $18 million contract on December 21, 1995). |
November 1 | Danny Cox granted free agency (signed with Toronto Blue Jays to a contract on December 6, 1995). Devon White granted free agency (signed with Florida Marlins to a three-year, $9.9 million contract on November 21, 1995). |
November 2 | Lance Parrish granted free agency (signed with Pittsburgh Pirates to a contract on January 4, 1996). Duane Ward granted free agency. |
November 3 | Paul Molitor granted free agency (signed with Minnesota Twins to a two-year, $5.5 million contract on December 5, 1995). |
November 6 | Al Leiter granted free agency (signed with Florida Marlins to a three-year, $8.6 million contract on December 14, 1995). |
December 4 | Mike Coolbaugh drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 1995 MLB Rule 5 draft. |
December 6 | Re-signed free agent Danny Cox to a one-year contract. Signed Rich Rowland from the Boston Red Sox to a contract. Acquired Paul Quantrill from the Philadelphia Phillies for Howard Battle and Ricardo Jordan. |
December 7 | Signed free agent Otis Nixon from the Texas Rangers to a two-year, $4.4 million contract. |
December 14 | Signed free agent Charlie O'Brien from the Atlanta Braves to a two-year, $1.25 million contract. |
December 18 | Acquired Miguel Cairo and Bill Risley from the Seattle Mariners for Edwin Hurtado and Paul Menhart. |
December 20 | Re-signed free agent Mike Huff to a one-year contract. Re-signed Juan Guzmán to a one-year, $2.24 million contract. Re-signed Randy Knorr to a one-year, $280,000 contract. |
December 22 | Signed free agent Erik Hanson from the Boston Red Sox to a three-year, $9.4 million contract. |
January 16 | Signed free agent Juan Samuel from the Kansas City Royals to a one-year, $325,000 contract. |
January 24 | Signed free agent Rubén Amaro Jr. from the Cleveland Indians to a one-year, $109,000 contract. |
February 10 | Signed free agent Dane Johnson from the Chicago White Sox to a one-year, $125,000 contract. |
February 20 | Signed free agent Brian Bohanon from the Detroit Tigers to a one-year, $185,000 contract. |
February 22 | Signed free agent Frank Viola from the Cincinnati Reds to a one-year contract. |
March 10 | Signed free agent Wes Chamberlain from the Kansas City Royals to a contract. |
March 13 | Acquired Scott Pose from the Cleveland Indians for Joe Lis. |
March 14 | Selected Roberto Durán off of waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers. |
March 24 | Released Ben Weber. |
March 29 | Ken Robinson selected off of waivers by the Kansas City Royals. |
A new tradition would start in 1996 as the Blue Jays donned red uniforms for the first time. These uniforms would be worn only on Canada Day and would feature "Canada" on the back of their jerseys rather than a player's name. Eventual Cy Young Award winner Pat Hentgen would start the Canada Day match against the Baltimore Orioles.
The final series of the season would be embroiled in controversy. Against the American League East champion Baltimore Orioles, two events would define the Orioles season. The game on Friday, September 27, 1996, would go down as one of the most infamous events in baseball history, as former Blue Jay Roberto Alomar would spit at umpire John Hirschbeck. The Sunday game would be a coming-out party for Brady Anderson, as he would hit his 50th home run of the regular season off Pat Hentgen. The total would break Frank Robinson's team record for most home runs in a season.
1996 also marked the end of an era for the Blue Jays, as they would redesign their logo and uniforms in the following year and also radically shake up their roster.
Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
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New York Yankees | 92 | 70 | .568 | — | 49–31 | 43–39 |
Baltimore Orioles | 88 | 74 | .543 | 4 | 43–38 | 45–36 |
Boston Red Sox | 85 | 77 | .525 | 7 | 47–34 | 38–43 |
Toronto Blue Jays | 74 | 88 | .457 | 18 | 35–46 | 39–42 |
Detroit Tigers | 53 | 109 | .327 | 39 | 27–54 | 26–55 |
Sources: | ||||||||||||||
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Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
Baltimore | — | 7–6 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 11–2 | 9–3 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 3–10 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 3–10–1 | 8–5 |
Boston | 6–7 | — | 8–4 | 6–6 | 1–11 | 12–1 | 3–9 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 |
California | 6–6 | 4–8 | — | 6–6 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 5–8 | 4–9 | 7–5 |
Chicago | 8–4 | 6–6 | 6–6 | — | 5–8 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 7–5 |
Cleveland | 7–5 | 11–1 | 9–4 | 8–5 | — | 12–0 | 7–6 | 7–6 | 10–3 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 7–5 |
Detroit | 2–11 | 1–12 | 6–6 | 3–10 | 0–12 | — | 6–6 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 6–7 |
Kansas City | 3–9 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 6–6 | — | 4–9 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 5–8 |
Milwaukee | 3–9 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 9–4 | — | 9–4 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 4–9 | 6–7 | 5–7 |
Minnesota | 5–7 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 4–9 | — | 5–7 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 8–5 |
New York | 10–3 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 9–3 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 9–3 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 8–5 |
Oakland | 4–9 | 5–8 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 3–9 | — | 8–5 | 7–6 | 4–8 |
Seattle | 5–7 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 5–8 | — | 10–3 | 5–7 |
Texas | 10–3–1 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 3–10 | — | 10–2 |
Toronto | 5–8 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 2–10 | — |
1996 Game Log: 74–88 (Home: 35–46; Away: 39–42) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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April: 11–14 (Home: 5–9; Away: 6–5)
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May: 13–15 (Home: 8–5; Away: 5–10)
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June: 12–15 (Home: 5–6; Away: 7–9)
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July: 13–14 (Home: 7–7; Away: 6–7)
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August: 14–15 (Home: 5–9; Away: 9–6)
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September: 11–15 (Home: 5–10; Away: 6–5)
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Legend: = Win = Loss Bold = Blue Jays team member |
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Transactions for the Toronto Blue Jays during the 1996 regular season. [3]
May 5 | Released Rubén Amaro Jr. |
May 7 | Selected Ken Robinson off of waivers from the Kansas City Royals. |
May 15 | Acquired Jacob Brumfield from the Pittsburgh Pirates for D.J. Boston. |
May 17 | Player rights of Randy Knorr sold to the Houston Astros. |
May 24 | Signed free agent Félix José from the Boston Red Sox to a minor-league contract. |
May 27 | Released Wes Chamberlain. |
June 5 | Released Frank Viola. |
June 15 | Signed amateur free agent Luis Lopez to a contract. |
July 3 | Signed amateur free agent César Izturis to a contract. Giovanni Carrara selected off of waivers by the Cincinnati Reds. |
August 22 | Acquired Luis Andújar and Allen Halley from the Chicago White Sox for Tony Castillo and Domingo Cedeño. |
September 30 | Scott Brow selected off of waivers by the Atlanta Braves. |
1996 Toronto Blue Jays | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Infielders
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| Manager
Coaches
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1996 Game Log | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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April
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May
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June
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July
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August
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September
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= Indicates team leader |
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
Pos | Player | G | AB | R | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
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C | Charlie O'Brien | 109 | 324 | 33 | 77 | .238 | 13 | 44 | 0 |
1B | John Olerud | 125 | 398 | 59 | 109 | .274 | 18 | 61 | 1 |
2B | Tomás Pérez | 91 | 295 | 24 | 74 | .251 | 1 | 19 | 1 |
3B | Ed Sprague | 159 | 591 | 88 | 146 | .247 | 36 | 101 | 0 |
SS | Alex Gonzalez | 147 | 527 | 64 | 124 | .235 | 14 | 64 | 16 |
LF | Joe Carter | 157 | 625 | 84 | 158 | .253 | 30 | 107 | 7 |
CF | Otis Nixon | 125 | 496 | 87 | 142 | .286 | 1 | 29 | 54 |
RF | Shawn Green | 132 | 422 | 52 | 118 | .280 | 11 | 45 | 5 |
DH | Carlos Delgado | 138 | 488 | 68 | 132 | .270 | 25 | 92 | 0 |
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 |
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Jacob Brumfield | 90 | 308 | 79 | .256 | 12 | 52 |
Domingo Cedeño | 77 | 282 | 79 | .280 | 2 | 17 |
Sandy Martínez | 76 | 229 | 52 | .227 | 3 | 18 |
Robert Pérez | 86 | 202 | 66 | .327 | 2 | 21 |
Juan Samuel | 69 | 188 | 48 | .255 | 8 | 26 |
Tilson Brito | 26 | 80 | 19 | .238 | 1 | 7 |
Felipe Crespo | 22 | 49 | 9 | .184 | 0 | 4 |
Mike Huff | 11 | 29 | 5 | .172 | 0 | 0 |
Miguel Cairo | 9 | 27 | 6 | .222 | 0 | 1 |
Julio Mosquera | 8 | 22 | 5 | .227 | 0 | 2 |
Shannon Stewart | 7 | 17 | 3 | .176 | 0 | 2 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Pat Hentgen | 35 | 265.2 | 20 | 10 | 3.22 | 177 |
Erik Hanson | 35 | 214.2 | 13 | 17 | 5.41 | 156 |
Juan Guzmán | 27 | 187.2 | 11 | 8 | 2.93 | 165 |
Frank Viola | 6 | 30.1 | 1 | 3 | 7.71 | 18 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Paul Quantrill | 38 | 134.1 | 5 | 14 | 5.43 | 86 |
Marty Janzen | 15 | 73.2 | 4 | 6 | 7.33 | 47 |
Huck Flener | 15 | 70.2 | 3 | 2 | 4.58 | 44 |
Woody Williams | 12 | 59.0 | 4 | 5 | 4.73 | 43 |
Jeff Ware | 13 | 32.2 | 1 | 5 | 9.09 | 11 |
Luis Andújar | 3 | 14.1 | 1 | 1 | 5.02 | 5 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
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Mike Timlin | 59 | 1 | 6 | 31 | 3.65 | 52 |
Tim Crabtree | 53 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2.54 | 57 |
Tony Castillo | 40 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4.23 | 48 |
Paul Spoljaric | 28 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3.08 | 38 |
Bill Risley | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.89 | 29 |
Brian Bohanon | 20 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7.77 | 17 |
Scott Brow | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.59 | 23 |
Giovanni Carrara | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11.40 | 10 |
Dane Johnson | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | 7 |
José Silva | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 0 |
Patrick George Hentgen is an American former professional baseball pitcher, and currently a special assistant with the Toronto Blue Jays organization. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Blue Jays, St. Louis Cardinals, and Baltimore Orioles from 1991 to 2004. In 1996, he won the American League (AL) Cy Young Award.
The 1966 Boston Red Sox season was the 66th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished ninth in the American League (AL) with a record of 72 wins and 90 losses, 26 games behind the AL and World Series champion Baltimore Orioles. After this season, the Red Sox would not lose 90 games again until 2012.
The 2004 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 28th season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing fifth in the American League East with a record of 67 wins and 94 losses, their worst record since 1980. The Blue Jays' radio play-by-play announcer, Tom Cheek, called every Blue Jays game from the team's inaugural contest on April 7, 1977, until June 3, 2004, when he took two games off following the death of his father – a streak of 4,306 consecutive regular season games and 41 postseason games. It was the team's first season where Ace is the sole mascot, following the removal of Diamond at the end of the previous season.
The 2003 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 27th season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing third in the American League East with a record of 86 wins and 76 losses. It was the team's final season with Diamond as one of the mascots, as she was removed at the end of the season, leaving Ace as the sole mascot of the Blue Jays.
The 2001 Toronto Blue Jays was the franchise's 25th season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing third in the American League East with a record of 80 wins and 82 losses.
The 1998 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 22nd season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing third in the American League East with a record of 88 wins and 74 losses, which was their best record since their 1993 World Series-winning season; the 88 wins were not surpassed until 2015.
The 1997 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 21st season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing fifth in the American League East with a record of 76 wins and 86 losses. With a massive redesign of their logos and uniforms, the Blue Jays attempted to re-establish themselves in the American League East by signing Roger Clemens via free agency and bringing All-Stars Carlos García and Orlando Merced through trade. Although Clemens rejuvenated himself with the Blue Jays, both Garcia and Merced ended up being flops as dismal overall hitting and an inconsistent bullpen doomed the Blue Jays once again to a last-place finish. 1997 also marked the end of the road for manager Cito Gaston, being fired near the end of the season. Longtime fan-favourite Joe Carter also played in his final season for the Blue Jays, as he was released at the end of the season.
The 1994 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 18th season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing third in the American League East with a record of 55 wins and 60 losses. Cito Gaston was the manager for the American League squad at the All-Star Game. The Mid-Summer classic was played on July 12 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter were starters at the event, while Pat Hentgen and Paul Molitor were named as reserves.
The 1993 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 17th season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing first in the American League East with a record of 95 wins and 67 losses. They were shut out only once in 162 regular-season games. The Blue Jays would repeat as World Series champions and become the first back-to-back champions since the 1977–1978 New York Yankees. The American League Championship Series would see the Blue Jays play the Chicago White Sox. After defeating the White Sox in six games, the Blue Jays would beat the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series, also in six games. The team would not qualify for the postseason again until the 2015 season.
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 1991 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 15th season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing first in the American League East with a record of 91 wins and 71 losses. The team's paid attendance of 4,001,527 led the major leagues, as the Jays became the first team in MLB history to draw four million fans in a season. Toronto lost the ALCS to the eventual world champion Minnesota Twins in five games.
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 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.
The 2001 Baltimore Orioles season involved the Orioles finishing fourth in the American League East with a record of 63 wins and 98 losses. It would also be the final season for Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr.
The 1991 San Diego Padres season was the 23rd season in franchise history.
The 1996 Philadelphia Phillies season was the 114th season in the history of the franchise. The Phillies finished fifth in the National League East with a record of 67 wins and 95 losses. They also hosted the 1996 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
Joe Carter...walked out onto the sizzling Veterans Stadium turf...held his head high...and heard the boos even before he was introduced. Hard-core Philly baseball fans...(will) never forgive Carter for the dramatic ninth-inning home run that won the 1993 World Series.
As Carter took his first swing and the on-field introduction was made, the boos rained down.