The Toronto Blue Jays are members of the American League (AL) East Division in Major League Baseball (MLB). There have been 14 different managers of the Blue Jays, the only Canadian baseball franchise in Major League Baseball. In baseball, the head coach of a team is called the manager (or more formally, the field manager). They are the only team outside the United States to win a World Series, and the first team to win a World Series in Canada. [1] John Schneider was the interim manager, until the club named him their full time manager in the off season and giving him a three year contract after, replacing Charlie Montoyo; Montoyo was fired on July 13, 2022.
Cito Gaston has both managed and won the most games of any Blue Jays manager, with 1,731 games and 894 wins. He is followed by John Gibbons in both categories, with 1,258 games and 644 wins, who surpassed Bobby Cox's marks during his second stint as manager. Gaston is the only Blue Jays manager to win a World Series in 1992 and 1993, the fourth African-American manager in MLB history, and was the first African-American manager to win a World Series. [2] [3] Cox is the only Blue Jays manager to be awarded the AL Manager of the Year Award in 1985. Mel Queen has the best winning percentage by winning 80 percent of his 5 games coached.
The first manager of the Blue Jays was Roy Hartsfield. While his tenure was marked by conflict between players and last place finishes, Hartsfield was supported by general manager Pat Gillick as they worked on the same long term management strategy: developing young players around which to build a team. [4] Following the 1979 season, the Blue Jays opted not to renew his contract but offered him a position within the organization, which he declined. [5] Bobby Mattick served as manager on subsequent one-year contracts until Bobby Cox became available. [6] As Mattick accepted an executive position in the Blue Jays organization, Cox signed a one-year contract, [7] which was extended until the 1985 season as he led the team out of last place for the first time, and into the playoffs in 1985. Shortly after Cox unexpectedly left the Blue Jays organization for the general manager position with the Atlanta Braves, third base coach Jimy Williams took over as manager. [8] [9] Following late-season collapses in 1987 and 1988, and a poor start to the 1989 season, Williams was fired and hitting coach Cito Gaston took over. [10] Gaston managed the team for nine seasons, including two World Series wins, though batting coach Gene Tenace did substitute for him for several weeks in 1991 when Gaston was hospitalized with back pains. [11]
In 1997, with the team in last place, Gaston was fired by general manager Gord Ash with 5 games remaining; pitching coach Mel Queen finished the season as manager. [12] Ash, seeking a more aggressive management style, hired Tim Johnson for his breadth of experience and communication skills. [13] Following an admission to lying about aspects of his military experience, a tactic he used to motivate players, [14] he was fired during spring training in 1999 and Jim Fregosi was signed to a two-year contract. When Rogers Communications acquired the Blue Jays organization, among other management changes, Fregosi was replaced with Buck Martinez. [15] In June 2002, as the team was struggling, new general manager J. P. Ricciardi fired Martinez and replaced him with third base coach Carlos Tosca. [16] Tosca, and his successor John Gibbons, each managed the team for several seasons but both were fired mid-season as the team struggled: Tosca in August 2004 replaced by first base coach Gibbons, and Gibbons in June 2008 replaced by former manager Gaston. Following Gaston's retirement at the end of the 2010 season, former Boston Red Sox pitching coach, John Farrell was introduced as the new manager of the Toronto Blue Jays. [17]
# | Number of coaches [a] |
GM | Regular-season games managed |
W | Regular-season wins |
L | Regular-season losses |
Win% | Regular season winning percentage |
PGM | Playoff games managed |
PW | Playoff wins |
PL | Playoff losses |
Note: Statistics are correct as of the end of the 2021 Major League Baseball regular season.
# [a] | Name | Term | GM | W | L | Win% | PGM [18] | PW [18] | PL [18] | Achievements |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Roy Hartsfield * | 1977–1979 | 484 | 116 | 318 | .240 | — | — | — | |
2 | Bobby Mattick | 1980–1981 | 268 | 104 | 164 | .388 | — | — | — | |
3 | Bobby Cox | 1982–1985 | 647 | 355 | 292 | .549 | 7 | 3 | 4 | AL East Division Championship (1985) 1985 AL Manager of the Year [19] |
4 | Jimy Williams | 1986–1989 | 522 | 281 | 241 | .538 | — | — | — | |
5 | Cito Gaston | 1989–1991 | 417 | 235 | 182 | .564 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 2 AL East Division Championships (1989, 1991) |
6 | Gene Tenace [b] | 1991 | 33 | 19 | 14 | .576 | — | — | — | |
— | Cito Gaston | 1992–1997 | 902 | 448 | 454 | .497 | 24 | 16 | 8 | 2 World Series Championships (1992, 1993) |
7 | Mel Queen | 1997 | 5 | 4 | 1 | .800 | — | — | — | |
8 | Tim Johnson | 1998 | 162 | 88 | 74 | .543 | — | — | — | |
9 | Jim Fregosi | 1999–2000 | 324 | 167 | 157 | .515 | — | — | — | |
10 | Buck Martinez | 2001–2002 | 215 | 100 | 115 | .465 | — | — | — | |
11 | Carlos Tosca | 2002–2004 | 382 | 191 | 191 | .500 | — | — | — | |
12 | John Gibbons | 2004–2008 | 610 | 305 | 305 | .500 | — | — | — | |
— | Cito Gaston | 2008–2010 | 412 | 211 | 201 | .512 | — | — | — | |
13 | John Farrell | 2011–2012 | 324 | 154 | 170 | .475 | — | — | — | |
— | John Gibbons | 2013–2018 | 972 | 488 | 484 | .502 | 20 | 10 | 10 | AL East Division Champions (2015) AL Wild Card Winner (2016) |
14 | Charlie Montoyo | 2019–2022 | 472 | 236 | 236 | .500 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
15 | John Schneider | 2022–present | 74 | 46 | 28 | .622 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games primarily at Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto.
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. He has managed the Canada national baseball team since 2004. Whitt was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009.
John Paul Ricciardi is a Major League Baseball executive currently serving as a special advisor to the president of baseball operations with the San Francisco Giants. He previously served as the general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays from 2001 to 2009.
John Michael Gibbons is an American former professional baseball player and former manager of the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Gibbons briefly played in the Major Leagues as a catcher with the New York Mets, in the mid-1980s.
Clarence Edwin "Cito" Gaston is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. His major league career as a player lasted from 1967 to 1978, most notably with the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves. He spent his entire managerial career with the Toronto Blue Jays, becoming the first African-American manager in Major League Baseball history to win a World Series title.
Fury Gene Tenace, better known as Gene Tenace, is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher and first baseman in Major League Baseball from 1969 through 1983, most notably as a member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won three consecutive World Series championships between 1972 and 1974.
James Francis Williams is an American former professional baseball infielder, coach and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was born in Santa Maria, California, and briefly appeared in two MLB seasons as a second baseman and shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals. After his playing career, he managed in the California Angels' minor league system before managing at the MLB level for the Toronto Blue Jays (1986–89), Boston Red Sox (1997–2001) and Houston Astros (2002–04), and was the American League Manager of the Year in 1999. He has also coached for Toronto, the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies.
Dwayne Keith Murphy is an American former professional baseball player who spent most of his career playing for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder.
Carlos Tosca is the current Field coach for the GCL Orioles. He is a former Major League and minor league baseball manager. He was the manager of the Toronto Blue Jays from 2002 to 2004. He succeeded Buck Martinez on June 3, 2002, served the entire 2003 season, and was replaced by John Gibbons on August 8, 2004, after compiling a 191–191 win–loss record (.500).
Roy Thomas Hartsfield was a second baseman and manager in Major League Baseball; his MLB playing and managing careers each lasted three years. Hartsfield played his entire major league career with the Boston Braves from 1950 to 1952. He was then traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers for outfielder Andy Pafko.
Marty Ashley Pevey is an American professional baseball manager and former Major League catcher and coach. He has been the manager of the Chicago Cubs' Triple-A affiliate, the Iowa Cubs of the International League, since 2013. Pevey stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 185 pounds (84 kg); he batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
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.
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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.
Peter Bavasi is an American former front-office executive in Major League Baseball.
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José Carlos Montoyo Díaz is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball second baseman and coach. He is currently the bench coach of the Chicago White Sox, and was previously the manager of the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB).
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Harry Clinton Warner was an American coach in Major League Baseball and a former first baseman and manager at the minor league level. He served as a coach for the Toronto Blue Jays during their first three seasons (1977–79) in the American League, and was a member of the Milwaukee Brewers' staff in 1982, the first and only Brewer team to win an American League pennant.
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