Matthew Wade Stairs is a Canadian former professional baseball outfielder, first baseman, and designated hitter, who holds the record for most pinch-hit home runs in Major League Baseball (MLB) history with 23. His pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning of Game 4 in the 2008 National League Championship Series off the Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Jonathan Broxton was called "one of the most memorable home runs in Phillies history".
Frederick Stanley McGriff is an American former first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for six teams from 1986 through 2004. He was one of the most consistently productive power hitters of the 1990s, posting over 80 runs batted in (RBI) every year from 1988 through 2002, and became the first player since the dead-ball era to lead both leagues in home runs — the American League (AL) in 1989 and the National League (NL) in 1992. A five-time All-Star, he was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1994 contest after his pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the ninth inning tied the score at 7–7, with the NL winning in 10 innings. McGriff finished in the top ten in voting for his league's Most Valuable Player Award every year from 1989 through 1994, during which time he led the major leagues in home runs.
Carlos Juan Delgado Hernández is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball primarily as a first baseman, from 1993 to 2009, most prominently as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, where he was a member of the 1993 World Series-winning team, won the 2000 American League (AL) Hank Aaron Award, and was the 2003 AL RBI leader. He was also a two-time AL All-Star player and a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner during his tenure with the Blue Jays.
Octavio Antonio Fernández Castro, better known as Tony Fernández, was a Dominican baseball player who played as a shortstop in Major League Baseball (MLB) for seven teams from 1983 to 2001, most notably the Toronto Blue Jays. A five-time All-Star, Fernández was known for his defensive skills, winning four consecutive Gold Glove Awards (1986–1989). He batted over .300 four times, led the major leagues with 17 triples in 1990, collected 30 doubles six times and 20 stolen bases seven times. He also led American League shortstops in assists three times, and in putouts and fielding average twice each. After moving to the National League in a blockbuster trade following the 1990 season, he returned to the Blue Jays in a mid-season trade in 1993, and played a major role in helping the club repeat as World Series champions, batting .333 with nine runs batted in during the series.
Jorge Antonio Bell Mathey, better known as George Bell, is a Dominican former left fielder and American League MVP in Major League Baseball who played 12 seasons for the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs (1991) and Chicago White Sox (1992–1993). Bell batted and threw right-handed.
Roberto Alomar Velázquez is a Puerto Rican former second baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for sixteen seasons. He is regarded as one of the greatest second basemen and all-around players. During his career, the 12-time All-Star won more Gold Glove Awards (10) than any other second baseman in baseball history, in addition to winning four Silver Slugger Awards for his hitting. Among second basemen, he ranks third in games played (2,320), fifth in stolen bases (474), sixth in plate appearances (10,400), seventh in doubles (504) and assists (6,524), and eighth in hits (2,724), runs (1,508), at-bats (9,073), and double plays turned (1,407). In 2011, Alomar was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Leo Ernest Whitt is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), including twelve for the Toronto Blue Jays, and was the last player from the franchise's inaugural season of 1977 to remain through 1989. Whitt was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009.
The 1992 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1992 season. The 89th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven, or first to four playoff, played between the American League (AL) champion Toronto Blue Jays and the National League (NL) champion Atlanta Braves. Toronto defeated Atlanta in six games, marking the first time a team based outside the United States won the World Series. The Blue Jays became the first Canadian team to win a championship other than the NHL’s Stanley Cup, and they remain the only Canadian team to have appeared in, and won, a World Series. The 1992 World Series was the first World Series in which games were played outside the United States, as well as the first to have games played in a stadium with a retractable roof.
Charles Hugh O'Brien is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Oakland Athletics (1985), Milwaukee Brewers (1987–90), New York Mets (1990–93), Atlanta Braves (1994–95), Toronto Blue Jays (1996–97), Chicago White Sox (1998), Anaheim Angels (1998–99) and Montreal Expos (2000).
Thomas F. Cheek was an American sports commentator who is best remembered as the play-by-play radio announcer for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB), from the team's establishment in 1977 until his retirement in 2004. During that time, he covered a 27-year streak of 4,306 consecutive games plus 41 post-season games—from the first Blue Jays game on April 7, 1977, until June 3, 2004. He was inducted to the Blue Jays Level of Excellence in 2004.
Robert Earl Brenly is an American baseball sportscaster and a former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played the majority of his Major League Baseball career as a catcher with the San Francisco Giants. After retiring as a player, Brenly worked as a broadcaster with the Chicago Cubs, then as a coach with the Giants, then as a broadcaster for Fox. He was hired to manage the Arizona Diamondbacks for the 2001 season, and won the franchise's only championship his first year, becoming the fourth rookie manager to win a World Series and first since 1961. In 2004, Brenly was released by the Diamondbacks and again became a broadcaster with the Cubs until 2012. He now serves as a color commentator for Diamondbacks broadcasts.
Anthony Christopher Kubek is an American former professional baseball player and television broadcaster. During his nine-year playing career with the New York Yankees, Kubek played in six World Series in the late 1950s and early 1960s, starting in 37 World Series games. For NBC television, he later broadcast twelve World Series between 1968 and 1982, and fourteen League Championship Series between 1969 and 1989. Kubek received the Ford C. Frick Award in 2009.
Richard Joseph Hebner is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from 1968 through 1985, most prominently as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams that won five National League Eastern Division titles in six years between 1970 and 1975 and won the World Series in 1971. After his playing career, Hebner spent several years as a hitting coach at the major league and minor league levels. He also managed minor league teams in the Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles organizations.
Ricardo Adolfo Jacobo Carty, nicknamed "Beeg Boy", is a Dominican former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1963 to 1979, most prominently as a member of the Atlanta Braves where he helped the franchise win its first National League Western Division title in 1969. Carty had a career batting average of .299 and, was the 1970 National League (NL) batting champion with a .366 batting average. He earned his starting role in the 1970 All-Star Game as a write-in candidate.
Cándido Maldonado Guadarrama is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball outfielder who played from 1981 to 1995 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, and Texas Rangers. Chris Berman, a fellow ESPN analyst, nicknamed him the "Candyman". Maldonado holds the distinction of having struck the first game-winning hit outside the United States in World Series play, and was the only Giant to hit a triple in the 1989 World Series.
David Lawrence McKay is a Canadian professional baseball coach and former second baseman and third baseman who is the first base coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays, and Oakland Athletics, and has previously coached for the Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, and Chicago Cubs. He is the father of former catcher Cody McKay.
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.
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 1987 Detroit Tigers season saw the Tigers make a startling late-season comeback to win the American League East on the season's final day. The Tigers finished with a Major League-best record of 98–64, two games ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays. Detroit lost the ALCS to the Minnesota Twins in 5 games.
The 1989 Major League Baseball season saw the Oakland Athletics win their first World Series title since 1974.
