The best and worst moments in Blue Jays history

Scott Mitchell

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TORONTO — Over the past three weeks, we’ve toured 43 seasons of the best and worst in Toronto Blue Jays baseball.

From how the teams were built with the best trades, signings and draft picks, to the stars that emerged from those various routes of player procurement with our rundown of the best-ever Jays outfielders, infielders and pitchers.

We also took a look at the best games and seasons in franchise history, which brings us to the closer of our nine-part series: the best and worst moments in Blue Jays history.

Defining what this means is pretty simple, even if it’s not easy when it comes time to narrow them down, separate them from games and seasons, and then rank them.

In this particular piece, I’m looking for moments that meant something, had a lasting impact far beyond one particular game or season, and still invoke passionate conversation amongst fans.

Not one exhilarating game or a successful season, but the moments that brought change, good or bad, and left indelible marks that can still be seen decades later.

Most of the most important moments in club history happened 25-plus years ago, saying a lot about how good of a run the mid-1980s to early-1990s was for the franchise, and at the same time reminding everyone that the Jays resided in the murky middle of baseball mediocrity for far too long from the late-90s all the way into the decade we just left.

From 1977 in the snow to a week to forget in July of 2017, here are the best and worst moments in Blue Jays history.
 

The Best and Worst of the Blue Jays on TSN.ca:

Mon, April 6 – The five best and worst signings

Wed, April 8 – The five best and worst outfielders

Fri, April 10 – The five best and worst games

Mon, April 13 – The five best and worst trades

Wed, April 15 – The five best and worst infielders

Fri, April 17 – The five best and worst seasons

Mon, April 20 – The five best and worst draft picks

Wed, April 22 – The five best and worst pitchers

Fri, April 24 – The five best and worst moments
 

The Best Moments

5. The first game: April 7, 1977

With more than 44,000 fans braving the cold weather to see manager Roy Hartsfield pencil in the first-ever Blue Jays lineup, April 7, 1977, was a memorable afternoon in Toronto.

Bill Singer got the start against the Chicago White Sox, allowing 11 hits and three earned runs over 4.1 nondescript innings, while first baseman Doug Ault provided the punch with a pair of home runs and four RBI as part of a 3-for-4 day.

But the way the day unfolded was Canadiana at its best.

Fifteen minutes before the game, many were not only questioning if the first game in franchise history would be able to go in the snow, they were also wondering aloud if baseball in Toronto would ever work, thanks to the weather.

All of that failed to put a damper on the day, as a lively crowd and Ault’s bat helped push the Jays to a 9-5 win, one of only 54 they’d get to enjoy during the club’s inaugural season.

4. Jays clinch first AL East pennant: Oct. 5, 1985

It’s one of the most iconic images in franchise history: George Bell watching the baseball drop into his glove in left field and then dropping to his knees on the Exhibition Stadium turf to celebrate the club’s first AL East pennant and trip to the postseason.

Winners of 89 games in each of the previous two seasons, it was a day the fan base was clamouring for after the franchise had dug itself out of an early expansion hole.

The Jays won 99 games that year, still the best regular season to date, and even though the postseason was a different story altogether (more on that below), this was the official start of a decade-long run of success that still defines the franchise to this day.

Led by a strong rotation of Dave Stieb (2.48 ERA), Jimmy Key (3.00 ERA) and Jim Clancy (3.78 ERA), it was Doyle Alexander (3.45 ERA) spinning a complete game in the 5-1 win over the New York Yankees on the penultimate day of the 1985 season that sealed the team’s first trip to the playoffs.

3. SkyDome opens its gates: June 5, 1989

Playing outdoors in the elements at Exhibition Stadium for their first 12 and a half years of existence was fun and all, but no one knows how sustainable it would have been over time.

Simply put, SkyDome was absolutely essential in moving the Blue Jays franchise from fun, expansion startup to a legit AL East powerhouse drawing three million-plus fans per year.

When the Jays moved into their new digs two months into the 1989 season, it kickstarted a five-year run of drawing at least three million fans, peaking at four million-plus from 1991-93.

That’s a big difference from the approximately 2.5 million fans filing into Exhibition Stadium every season.

When you look at what happened to franchises without solid stadium situations in other MLB cities over the years, it makes you wonder what would’ve happened had winning teams and some taxpayer money not combined forces to build a baseball footprint in Toronto that could not be undone.

Sure, it has always been more entertainment complex than baseball stadium and it may be a pile of outdated concrete in need of massive renovations today, but don’t ever forget that at one point it was the standard and the first drop-top stadium any of us had ever seen.

2. Jays win first World Series: Oct. 24, 1992

Many of you were wondering why this was missing from my best games piece, instead replaced by Game 3, the first-ever World Series tilt on Canadian soil.

Well, this is why.

That was the best game in the series; this is by far the moment that matters.

Leading 4-3 in the 11th inning at Turner Field in Atlanta with the tying run on third and two outs, Jays manager Cito Gaston called on 26-year-old right-hander Mike Timlin out of the bullpen.

Mindful of the bunt with the speedy Otis Nixon at the plate, Timlin’s first offering was fouled off.

On the next pitch, Nixon squared and attempted to drag a bunt down the first-base line, but Timlin scooped it with ease and shovelled it to Joe Carter for the final out.

From the first time a World Series game had been played outside the U.S. four days earlier to the trophy itself now residing north of the border, what the Jays were able to accomplish in Georgia gave Blue Jays fans all across the country their first real reason to celebrate.

1. Touch ‘em all, Joe: Oct. 23, 1993

One year after winning in Atlanta, the Jays found themselves in position to do it again, but this time the opportunity to win a ring came in front of the home fans.

After Rickey Henderson had worked a four-pitch walk off Philadelphia Phillies closer Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams to start the bottom of the ninth and Paul Molitor delivered a single two batters later, Carter walked to the plate with a chance to live out every kid’s childhood dream.

A single might’ve scored Henderson from second to tie the game 6-6, but Carter was thinking bigger.

The 33-year-old veteran worked the count to 2-1, before taking a mighty hack through a Williams heater.

Williams decided that fastball worked so well, why not try another?

Big mistake.

From the moment Carter connected with the down-and-in heater, everyone knew something good was about to happen, and it ended up having enough carry to get over the left-field wall as Carter hopped around the bases.

The first World Series may have been more memorable to some, but it’s impossible to match the drama of a walk-off home run in your home stadium to win a World Series.

Combined with Tom Cheek’s “Touch ‘em all, Joe” call, Carter’s swing is not only the best moment in the 43-year history of Blue Jays baseball, it’s one of the best moments in baseball history.
 

The Worst Moments

5. Week of July 2-9, 2017

This might be a bit of a hazy time for some, as the latest Jays’ winner was falling apart before everyone’s eyes in the summer of 2017.

You have to remember, at this point the Jays were coming off two straight trips to the ALCS, and the roster still had a ton of big names that were a huge part of that success.

Sure, Edwin Encarnacion had been allowed to walk away in free agency, replaced by the disappointment that was Kendrys Morales, but Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Russell Martin were still around to form the core of a good offence, while Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman looked like one of the better 1-2 rotation punches in the American League.

How quickly things can change.

John Gibbons’ club stumbled out of the gates with an 8-17 record in April, before turning things around with an 18-10 month of May.

Which team was real?

Well, the Jays fell back to earth with an 11-15 record in June, and the wheels would come off completely heading into the all-star break.

By then it was clear the Jays hadn’t aged well. This team was old.

Even the guys who weren’t old, like Sanchez and the start of his blister troubles, were simply broken.

Sitting at six games under .500, the Boston Red Sox came to town July 2 and blasted the Jays by a 15-1 count on a Sunday afternoon.

The very next Friday, the Houston Astros arrived and beat up the Jays by a score of 12-2.

Two days later, the Jays were again on the wrong end of an embarrassing loss to Houston, this one a 19-1 drubbing in front of a stunned home crowd.

That was the week the Vladimir Guerrero Jr. countdown began and the rebuild was officially underway.

4. Final week of 1987 regular season

The Blue Jays’ 1987 as a whole landed at No. 1 in my worst seasons piece, but the disappointment of it all forces a double-down here in worst moments.

Some wondered how you can call a 96-win season one of the worst, but the heartbreak of the final week still resonates with anyone who followed that campaign.

After making their first postseason appearance in 1985, there were now expectations following the Jays around, making their collapse all the more embarrassing.

From 96-59 on the morning of Sunday, Sept. 27, to 96-66 a week later, the Jays choked away a 3.5-game lead to watch the Detroit Tigers walk into the playoffs as AL East champions.

Imagine the range of emotions for a fan base and a ball club gearing up to go on a postseason run, only to find themselves on the outside looking in with a long winter ahead when all was said and done.

3. Losing 2015 ALCS in six games

After I went with the Game 4 debacle at home in worst games, the day the first realistic World Series dream since 1993 ended lands here in worst all-time moments.

Part of it has to do with how long it took to get back to this point, while the fact the Jays, on paper, were the better team in many ways also plays a role in the disappointment of Game 6.

Losing the first two games of the series put the Jays in a huge hole, but they had shown enough fight in Game 5 to send the series back to the Midwest, giving them a chance to steal the series with two wins in Kansas City.

But like the Royals had done in the embarrassment that was Game 4, they took an early 2-0 lead through two innings and only a Bautista homer and a late rain delay helped keep the Jays’ first ALCS appearance in 22 years on life support a little while longer.

The final couple of innings could be best described as chaotic, but the Royals eking out that win and then going on to win the World Series in just five games was a tough pill for the Jays to swallow.

Especially if you believe they were the better team.

2. Strike puts end to glory days

The strike was a terrible time for everyone involved in the sport, but it doubles as the moment the Jays’ core got old in a hurry and it became very apparent they weren’t the same juggernaut as the teams from ’92 and ’93.

It’s a similar situation to No. 5 on this list, minus the rings.

This moment actually spans two seasons.

On Aug. 12, 1994, the Jays were five games under .500 at 55-60 when the players’ strike wiped out the rest of the season and continued on into April of 1995.

Despite the obvious roster issues in ’94, the Jays were technically still defending champions when baseball restarted play on April 26, 1995, but there was one major problem.

They got worse.

Through the month of June in ’95, the Jays stumbled to a 23-35 record, as just about every key Blue Jay failed to meet individual expectations.

In the span of 18 months, the Cito Gaston-led club — GM Pat Gillick resigned late in 1994 — had gone from well-oiled World Series machine in October of 1993 to fifth-place team that was 30 games out in the AL East race.

1. The 1985 ALCS collapse

I had Game 7 of this series as the worst game in club history, but the lead up to dropping the rubber match was even worse.

The Jays had not one, not two, but three chances to finish off George Brett and the Royals, and couldn’t get it done.

To this day, it’s the biggest disappointment in franchise history.

With the fan base frothing at the mouth in the mid-80s over the prospect of playing in a World Series and the Jays meeting those expectations with a 99-win season that you read about earlier, the 1985 season provided the biggest range of emotions possible.

On Oct. 5, they clinched their first pennant.

On Oct. 13, leading the Royals 3-1 in the ALCS, they had a chance to clinch their first World Series berth.

Didn’t happen. They lost 2-0.

Then they lost 5-3 two days later.

Finally, they completed the epic collapse on Oct. 16, going out with a whimper in a 6-2 loss in Game 7, despite sending their ace, Dave Stieb, to the hill.

Adding to the heartbreak of this loss and the change that ensued was the fact that just one year earlier the ALCS was a best-of-five affair and would’ve already been over.

Just like there’s nothing better than hitting a walk-off homer to win a World Series, there’s nothing worse than falling apart at the last minute and wasting a precious opportunity to win a ring.​