The Toronto Blue Jays had no hope going into the 2019 season, and finished off the year with a record of 67-95. The Jays saw a bunch of hopeful stretches with the debuts of rookies: Cavan Biggio, Bo Bichette, and the most hyped prospect in baseball Vladimir Guerrero Jr. But, it never turned into anything.
As a little run back in history, let’s look back at the top five Blue Jays of all time. Hopefully, this will relieve some pain for the fans from the North who had to endure this previous season.
Qualifications
For a player to be considered an all-time Blue Jay, they had to play with the Blue Jays during their prime. Players would’ve had to play multiple seasons with the Jays. Players who are more recognized for playing for a different team will not qualify.
The top five list will include both pitchers and hitters. So, a stat we’re going to mainly determine the rankings is WAR (wins above replacement). Another category we’ll look at is each player’s achievements.
#5. George Bell
| Major Awards | 1987 AL MVP, 1987 Player of the year, Silver slugger (1985-1987) |
| WAR With Jays | 21.3 (10th in franchise history) |
| Batting Average | .286 (8th in franchise history) |
| Career | 4883 Plate appearances (6th in franchise history) 1981-1990 |
| Home Runs | 202 (6th in franchise history) |
In the nine seasons George played with the Jays, he put together a great resume to be a top all-time player for the organization. He’s at the top of almost every single stat category for the Jays. He ranks fourth on the Jays all-time RBI list , totaling 740. Since he is a part of many of the Jays all-time lists, we classify him as a top Jay.
Bell with his 12 years spent nine years (which was during his prime) with the Jays. With Bells prime being with the Jays, this makes him qualify as an all-time Blue Jay.
His standout perk in his career is his AL MVP in 1987. Bell is one of only two Jays to ever win an MVP, which is why he is the fifth-best all-time Jay.
#4. Jose Bautista
| Major Awards | AL Hank Aaron (2010-11), Silver slugger 2010,2011,2014 |
| WAR With Jays | 37.0 (4th in franchise history) |
| Batting Average | .253 (out of top 10) |
| Career | 5272 (6th in franchise history) |
| Home runs | 288 (2nd in franchise history) |
With two Hank Aarons and three Silver sluggers, Jose Bautista has an impressive award resume but doesn’t quite compare to George Bells MVP. Even though Bautista doesn’t quite have the MVP that George has, he is the fourth all-time because of his great statistical side of play.
Bautista earns his spot at four with his great statistics, such as his crazy WAR. Bautista ranks fourth in WAR for the Jays, and has the single-season record with an 8.3 WAR. Bautista has the second-most homers in Jays history with 288.
With Bautista’s amazing statistical side, he is the fourth-best Blue Jay of all time.
#3. Roy Halladay
| Major Awards | AL Cy Young winner 2003, 2003 AL pitcher of the year, HOF |
| WAR With Jays | 48.5 (2nd in franchise history) |
| ERA | 3.43 (5th in franchise history) |
| Career (innings pitched) | 2046.2 (3rd in franchise history) |
Roy Halladay spent 12 out of his 16 years in Toronto, and had the single best season as a Jay. In 2003, he set a single-season club record of 22 wins.
Halladay won two awards as a Jay AL Cy Young and TSN AL Pitcher of the Year both in 2003.
On the statistical side, Halladay is 2nd in every category only to another player on our list. Halladay has the second-best WAR in the club’s history, and has the most single-game wins.
On most teams, Halladay would’ve been the best franchise pitcher. But, he falls second only to our next guy…
#2. Dave Stieb
| Major Awards | AL pitcher of the year 1982, 1985 pitching title |
| WAR With Jays | 57.2 (1st in franchise history) |
| ERA | 3.42 (3rd in franchise history) |
| Career (innings pitched) | 2873 (1st in franchise history) |
Dave Stieb was drafted and played 15 seasons with the Blue Jays.
The former Jays pitcher did not have the deserved recognition, only getting the AL Pitcher of the Year once, and the pitching title once. Stieb also came 4th in Cy Young votes in 1982.
Despite the horrible awarded recognition, Stieb is the best pitcher in Jays history. His stats were above all others, being ranked top in practically every Jays pitching stat. He has the an unsurpassable WAR, making it the Jays record.
Dave Stieb is a next level pitcher, and is by far the best pitcher in Jays history. Although he’s the best pitcher, there is still one more guy on this list.
#1. Roberto Alomar
| Major Awards | HOF, 1992 ALCS MVP, 1992 Silver Slugger, 1991-95 Gold Glove |
| WAR With Jays | 22.2 (8th in Blue Jays hitters) |
| Batting Average | .307 (2nd in franchise history) |
| Career | 3105 (not in top) |
| Home runs | 55 (not in top) |
Alomar only played five seasons with the Jays and is the player with the least seasons played on this list. In his five years with the Jays, he made the playoffs three times and led the team to two world series.
Although he only played five seasons with the Jays, he has the most awards from anyone else on this list. He brought the team to the many playoffs, and he won the Jays their two World Series.
Alomar was an elite defender in the league and was a threat at the plate with his .307 batting average, the 2nd best in Blue Jays history.
Alomar is also the only player besides Halladay in the top 5 in the HOF. He brought the franchise their only championships, as well as three playoffs great all-around play. What’s not to love! Alomar is without a doubt the greatest player to play for the Blue Jays.
