2003 Toronto Blue Jays | ||
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League | American League | |
Division | East | |
Ballpark | SkyDome | |
City | Toronto, Ontario | |
Record | 86–76 (.531) | |
Divisional place | 3rd | |
Owners | Rogers; Paul Godfrey (CEO) | |
General managers | J. P. Ricciardi | |
Managers | Carlos Tosca | |
Television | The Sports Network (Pat Tabler, Rod Black) Rogers Sportsnet (Rob Faulds, Tom Candiotti, John Cerutti) | |
Radio | CJCL (AM) (Jerry Howarth, Tom Cheek) | |
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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.
Transactions by the Toronto Blue Jays during the off-season before the 2003 season. [1]
October 9 | Released Chris Carpenter. Brandon Lyon selected off of waivers by the Boston Red Sox. |
October 15 | Joe Lawrence granted free agency (signed with Milwaukee Brewers to a contract on December 11, 2002). Brian Lesher granted free agency (signed with Tampa Bay Devil Rays to a contract on December 18, 2002). Chad Mottola granted free agency (signed with Tampa Bay Devil Rays to a contract on November 1, 2002). Luke Prokopec granted free agency (signed with Los Angeles Dodgers to a one-year, $390,000 contract on November 4, 2002). Pedro Swann granted free agency (signed with Baltimore Orioles to a one-year contract on February 3, 2003). Scott Winchester granted free agency (signed with Los Angeles Dodgers to a one-year contract on January 29, 2003). |
October 23 | Signed free agent Doug Linton from the Atlanta Braves to a one-year, $350,000 contract. |
October 28 | Félix Heredia granted free agency (signed with Cincinnati Reds to a one-year, $600,000 contract on January 7, 2003). Steve Parris granted free agency (signed with Tampa Bay Devil Rays to a one-year, $400,000 contract. |
October 29 | Signed free agent Doug Creek from the Seattle Mariners to a one-year, $700,000 contract. Esteban Loaiza granted free agency (signed with Chicago White Sox to a one-year, $500,000 contract on January 24, 2003). |
November 1 | Signed free agent Jeff Tam from the Oakland Athletics to a one-year, $600,000 contract. |
November 12 | Signed free agent Howie Clark from the Baltimore Orioles to a contract. |
November 13 | Signed free agent Trever Miller from the Cincinnati Reds to a one-year, $305,000 contract. |
November 16 | Acquired Cory Lidle from the Oakland Athletics for Mike Rouse and Chris Mowday. |
November 17 | Signed free agent Mike Moriarty from the Baltimore Orioles to a contract. |
November 18 | Signed free agent Rob Ryan from the Boston Red Sox to a contract. |
November 19 | Signed free agent Tim Young from the Cleveland Indians to a contract. |
November 24 | Signed free agent Josh Towers from the Baltimore Orioles to a contract. |
December 5 | Signed free agent Bruce Aven from the Philadelphia Phillies to a one-year contract. |
December 15 | As part of four-team trade: traded Felipe López to the Cincinnati Reds. Received a player to be named later from the Oakland Athletics (Jason Arnold on December 16, 2002). In addition, Arizona Diamondbacks sent Erubiel Durazo to the Oakland Athletics; and the Cincinnati Reds sent Elmer Dessens and cash to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Re-signed Dave Berg to a two-year, $1.5 million contract. |
December 16 | Drafted Jason Dubois from the Chicago Cubs in the 2002 MLB Rule 5 draft. Matt Ford drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2002 MLB Rule 5 draft. Drafted Aquilino López from the Seattle Mariners in the 2002 MLB Rule 5 draft. Frank Gracesqui selected by the Florida Marlins in the 2002 Minor League Draft. Drafted Gary Majewski from the Chicago White Sox in the 2002 Minor League Draft. Signed free agent Greg Myers from the Oakland Athletics to a one-year, $800,000 contract. |
December 20 | Signed free agent Mike Bordick from the Baltimore Orioles to a one-year, $1 million contract. |
December 21 | José Cruz Jr. granted free agency (signed with San Francisco Giants to a one-year, $2.5 million contract on January 28, 2003). Signed free agent Tanyon Sturtze from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to a one-year, $1 million contract. |
December 23 | Signed free agent Mike Colangelo from the Oakland Athletics to a one-year contract. |
December 28 | Signed free agent Frank Catalanotto from the Texas Rangers to a one-year, $2.2 million contract. |
January 15 | Re-signed Chris Woodward to a one-year, $775,000 contract. |
January 17 | Re-signed Cliff Politte to a one-year, $845,000 contract. Re-signed Roy Halladay to a one-year, $3.8 million contract. |
January 27 | Acquired John-Ford Griffin from the Oakland Athletics for a player to be named later (Jason Perry on June 23, 2003). |
January 31 | Re-signed Kelvim Escobar to a one-year, $3.9 million contract. |
February 18 | Re-signed Shannon Stewart to a one-year, $6.2 million contract. |
March 11 | Released Pasqual Coco. |
March 15 | Returned Jason Dubois to the Chicago Cubs. |
March 17 | Returned Gary Majewski to the Chicago White Sox. Re-signed Eric Hinske to a five-year, $14.75 million contract. Re-signed Vernon Wells to a five-year, $14.7 million contract. |
March 27 | Signed free agent Dan Reichert from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to a one-year contract. |
March 28 | Selected Kevin Frederick from the Minnesota Twins off of waivers. |
The 2003 season was a surprise to both team management and baseball analysts. After a poor April, the team had its most successful month ever in May. The offense was mainly responsible for the stunning turnaround. Delgado took over the major league lead in runs batted in, followed closely by Wells. The middle infield positions remained a gametime decision – Bordick played shortstop and third base, Dave Berg second base and third base, Chris Woodward shortstop and Orlando Hudson second base. Minor league call-up Howie Clark entered the mix as a utility player after Hinske underwent surgery to repair a broken hamate bone in his right hand, which he had tried to play through for the first six weeks.
Despite their hitting successes, poor pitching continued to plague the team. Roy Halladay was spectacular in winning his first Cy Young Award, going 22–7, with a 3.25 ERA, but he didn't get much help from his fellow pitchers, although he had a poor start himself. Rookie Aquilino López was a pleasant surprise out of the bullpen. Kelvim Escobar and former NBA player Mark Hendrickson were inserted into the rotation with their places in the bullpen filled by waiver acquisitions Doug Davis and Josh Towers, who went 8–1 after being called up from Triple-A Syracuse. The closer role was a season-long revolving door, with nobody able to take hold of the reins. Trade speculation had focussed on the acquisitions of pitching at the expense of hitters, but in the end the team simply divested itself of impending free agent Shannon Stewart without getting a pitcher in return. Instead Bobby Kielty, another outfielder with a much lower batting average than Stewart's, was obtained from the Minnesota Twins and later traded in November 2003 to the Oakland Athletics for starter Ted Lilly. The top four pitchers for the projected 2004 rotation would include Halladay, Lilly, free agent Miguel Batista, and the return of Pat Hentgen.
After the spectacular turnaround in May 2003, which helped the team move to just few games behind the wildcard leading Boston Red Sox, team performance slowly returned to reality, as predicted by team management. Carlos Delgado was second in the voting for the American League MVP Award, although the Jays were in third place in their division. The Jays also announced that a new logo, and new uniforms, would be used as of January 1, 2004.
Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
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New York Yankees | 101 | 61 | .623 | — | 50–32 | 51–29 |
Boston Red Sox | 95 | 67 | .586 | 6 | 53–28 | 42–39 |
Toronto Blue Jays | 86 | 76 | .531 | 15 | 41–40 | 45–36 |
Baltimore Orioles | 71 | 91 | .438 | 30 | 40–40 | 31–51 |
Tampa Bay Devil Rays | 63 | 99 | .389 | 38 | 36–45 | 27–54 |
Sources: | |||||||||||||||
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Team | ANA | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TB | TEX | TOR | NL |
Anaheim | — | 1–8 | 3–6 | 3–4 | 6–3 | 6–1 | 6–3 | 5–4 | 3–6 | 8–12 | 8–11 | 6–3 | 9–10 | 2–7 | 11–7 |
Baltimore | 8–1 | — | 9–10 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 3–4 | 3–4 | 6–13–1 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 8–11 | 7–2 | 8–11 | 5–13 |
Boston | 6–3 | 10–9 | — | 5–4 | 4–2 | 8–1 | 5–1 | 2–4 | 9–10 | 3–4 | 5–2 | 12–7 | 5–4 | 10–9 | 11–7 |
Chicago | 4–3 | 4–2 | 4–5 | — | 11–8 | 11–8 | 11–8 | 9–10 | 4–2 | 4–5 | 2–7 | 3–3 | 3–4 | 6–3 | 10–8 |
Cleveland | 3–6 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 8–11 | — | 12–7 | 6–13 | 9–10 | 2–5 | 3–6 | 3–6 | 5–2 | 4–5 | 2–4 | 6–12 |
Detroit | 1–6 | 3–3 | 1–8 | 8–11 | 7–12 | — | 5–14 | 4–15 | 1–5 | 3–6 | 1–8 | 2–4 | 1–6 | 2–7 | 4–14 |
Kansas City | 3–6 | 4–3 | 1–5 | 8–11 | 13–6 | 14–5 | — | 11–8 | 2–4 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 4–3 | 7–2 | 1–5 | 9–9 |
Minnesota | 4–5 | 4–3 | 4–2 | 10–9 | 10–9 | 15–4 | 8–11 | — | 0–7 | 8–1 | 3–6 | 6–0 | 5–4 | 3–3 | 10–8 |
New York | 6–3 | 13–6–1 | 10–9 | 2–4 | 5–2 | 5–1 | 4–2 | 7–0 | — | 3–6 | 5–4 | 14–5 | 4–5 | 10–9 | 13–5 |
Oakland | 12–8 | 7–2 | 4–3 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 6–3 | 7–2 | 1–8 | 6–3 | — | 7–12 | 6–3 | 15–4 | 5–2 | 9–9 |
Seattle | 11–8 | 5–4 | 2–5 | 7–2 | 6–3 | 8–1 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 4–5 | 12–7 | — | 4–5 | 10–10 | 3–4 | 10–8 |
Tampa Bay | 3–6 | 11–8 | 7–12 | 3–3 | 2–5 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 0–6 | 5–14 | 3–6 | 5–4 | — | 3–6 | 11–8 | 3–15 |
Texas | 10–9 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 4–3 | 5–4 | 6–1 | 2–7 | 4–5 | 5–4 | 4–15 | 10–10 | 6–3 | — | 5–4 | 4–14 |
Toronto | 7–2 | 11–8 | 9–10 | 3–6 | 4–2 | 7–2 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 9–10 | 2–5 | 4–3 | 8–11 | 4–5 | — | 10–8 |
Transactions for the Toronto Blue Jays during the 2003 regular season. [3]
April 30 | Doug Davis selected off of waivers from the Texas Rangers. |
June 12 | Released Tim Young. |
June 16 | Selected Scott Service off of waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks. |
June 17 | Signed free agent Juan Acevedo from the New York Yankees to a contract. |
June 19 | Released Rob Ryan. |
June 20 | Released Mike Moriarty. |
July 8 | Acquired John Wasdin from the Pittsburgh Pirates for Rich Thompson. |
July 11 | Doug Davis granted free agency (signed with Milwaukee Brewers to a contract on July 14, 2003). |
July 16 | Acquired Bobby Kielty from the Minnesota Twins for Shannon Stewart and a player to be named later (Dave Gassner on December 15, 2003). |
July 30 | Signed amateur free agent Luis Pérez to a contract. |
August 7 | Signed free agent Anthony Sanders from the Chicago White Sox to a one-year contract. |
August 9 | Released Juan Acevedo. |
August 10 | Released Scott Service. |
September 5 | Released Jeff Tam. |
Source [4]
The 2003 MLB draft was held on June 3–4.
Round | Pick | Player | Position | College/School | Nationality | Signed |
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1 | 13 | Aaron Hill | SS | Louisiana State | 2003–06–17 | |
2 | 50 | Josh Banks | RHP | Florida International | 2003–06–04 | |
3 | 80 | Shaun Marcum | RHP | Missouri State | 2003–06–23 | |
4 | 110 | Kurt Isenberg | LHP | James Madison | – | |
5 | 140 | Justin James | RHP | Missouri | – | |
6 | 170 | Christian Snavely | OF | Ohio State | – | |
7 | 200 | Danny Core | RHP | Florida Atlantic | – | |
8 | 230 | Chad Mulholland | RHP | Missouri State | – | |
9 | 260 | Jamie Vermilyea | RHP | New Mexico | 2003–06–05 | |
11 | 320 | Tom Mastny | RHP | Furman University | ||
18 | 530 | Ryan Roberts | 3B | Texas | 2003–06–05 |
2003 Toronto Blue Jays | |||||||||
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Pitchers
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Coaches
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April: 10–17 (Home: 4–9; Away: 6–8)
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May: 21–8 (Home: 9–4; Away: 12–4)
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June: 15–11 (Home: 9–5; Away: 6–6)
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July: 8–17 (Home: 3–11; Away: 5–6)
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August: 13–15 (Home: 4–6; Away: 9–9)
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September: 19–9 (Home: 12–4; Away: 7–5)
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= Indicates team leader |
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
Player | Pos | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | Avg. | SB |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Greg Myers | C | 121 | 329 | 51 | 101 | 15 | 52 | .307 | 0 |
Carlos Delgado | 1B | 161 | 570 | 117 | 172 | 42 | 145 | .302 | 0 |
Orlando Hudson | 2B | 142 | 474 | 54 | 127 | 9 | 57 | .268 | 5 |
Chris Woodward | SS | 104 | 349 | 49 | 91 | 7 | 45 | .261 | 1 |
Eric Hinske | 3B | 124 | 449 | 74 | 109 | 12 | 63 | .243 | 12 |
Shannon Stewart | LF | 71 | 303 | 47 | 89 | 7 | 35 | .294 | 1 |
Vernon Wells | CF | 161 | 678 | 118 | 215 | 33 | 117 | .317 | 4 |
Reed Johnson | RF | 114 | 412 | 79 | 121 | 10 | 52 | .294 | 5 |
Josh Phelps | DH | 119 | 396 | 57 | 106 | 20 | 66 | .260 | 1 |
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average
Player | G | AB | H | HR | RBI | Avg. |
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Frank Catalanotto | 133 | 489 | 146 | 13 | 59 | .299 |
Mike Bordick | 102 | 343 | 94 | 5 | 54 | .274 |
Tom Wilson | 96 | 256 | 66 | 5 | 35 | .258 |
Bobby Kielty | 62 | 189 | 44 | 4 | 25 | .233 |
Dave Berg | 61 | 161 | 41 | 4 | 18 | .255 |
Kevin Cash | 34 | 106 | 15 | 1 | 8 | .142 |
Howie Clark | 38 | 70 | 25 | 0 | 7 | .357 |
Jayson Werth | 26 | 48 | 10 | 2 | 10 | .208 |
Ken Huckaby | 5 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .182 |
Note: G = Games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
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Roy Halladay | 36 | 266 | 22 | 7 | 3.25 | 204 |
Cory Lidle | 31 | 192+2⁄3 | 12 | 15 | 5.75 | 112 |
Mark Hendrickson | 30 | 158+1⁄3 | 9 | 9 | 5.51 | 76 |
Pete Walker | 23 | 55+1⁄3 | 2 | 2 | 4.88 | 29 |
Doug Davis | 12 | 54 | 4 | 6 | 5.00 | 25 |
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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Kelvim Escobar | 41 | 180+1⁄3 | 13 | 9 | 4.29 | 159 |
Tanyon Sturtze | 40 | 89+1⁄3 | 7 | 6 | 5.94 | 54 |
Josh Towers | 14 | 64+1⁄3 | 8 | 1 | 4.48 | 42 |
Corey Thurman | 6 | 15+1⁄3 | 1 | 1 | 6.46 | 11 |
John Wasdin | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 23.40 | 5 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
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Aquilino López | 72 | 73+2⁄3 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 3.42 | 64 |
Trever Miller | 79 | 52+2⁄3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4.61 | 44 |
Cliff Politte | 54 | 49+1⁄3 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 5.66 | 40 |
Jeff Tam | 44 | 44+2⁄3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5.64 | 26 |
Jason Kershner | 40 | 54 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3.17 | 32 |
Doug Creek | 21 | 13+2⁄3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.29 | 11 |
Dan Reichert | 15 | 16+1⁄3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.06 | 13 |
Scott Service | 15 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 17 |
Juan Acevedo | 14 | 12+2⁄3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4.26 | 9 |
Doug Linton | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | 7 |
Brian Bowles | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.57 | 2 |
Vinnie Chulk | 3 | 5+1⁄3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.06 | 2 |
The 2006 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 30th season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing second in the American League East with a record of 87 wins and 75 losses. For the second straight season, Blue Jays hitters combined for fewer than 1,000 strikeouts. It was the first time since the team's World Series championships in 1992 and 1993 that the Blue Jays had combined for fewer than 1,000 strikeouts in consecutive 162-game seasons, as well as the first season since 1993 that the team finished above third place in its division.
The 2005 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 29th season in 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. This was the first 162-game season since 1993 that Blue Jays hitters would combine for less than 1,000 strikeouts. This was also the team's first season as Canada's only MLB team, as the Montreal Expos relocated and became the Washington Nationals at the end of the 2004 MLB season.
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 2002 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 26th season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing third in the American League East with a record of 78 wins and 84 losses.
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 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 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 1995 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 19th season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing fifth in the American League East with a record of 56 wins and 88 losses.
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 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 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 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 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.