Glory Days B aseball has been played in Canada nearly as long as it has in the United States Yet it was not until the 1960s that Major League Baseball placed teams north of the U S border In 1977 the Blue Jays joined the American League AL They became the second Canadian club in the big leagues The Montreal Expos started play before them in the National League NL Ever since the Expos moved to Washington D C and became the Nationals in 2005 the Blue Jays have been Canada’s only team Like all new teams the Blue Jays had to start with unwanted players from other clubs They also found unknown young players and gave them their first chance Toronto’s top stars in those early days included Bob Bailor John Mayberry Ron Fairly Roy Howell Rick Cerone 6
LEFT George Bell RIGHT Jimmy Key and Alfredo Griffin Unfortunately the Blue Jays struggled to win the team finished last in the AL East five years in a row Toronto fans were patient with their Blue Jays The team spent a lot of time and money getting young players ready for the major leagues In the 1980s those players made Toronto one of the best teams in baseball Infielders Willie Upshaw Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez combined with outfielders George Bell Lloyd Moseby and Jesse Barfield to provide powerful hitting Dave Stieb and Jimmy Key led a good pitching staff Toronto won the AL East in 1985 In 1989 the Blue Jays moved into a magnificent new ballpark called SkyDome Millions of fans came to visit the stadium The team used the money it made from ticket sales to improve its lineup In 1992 and 1993 the Blue Jays won back-to-back World Series championships Those teams were a perfect blend of young stars 7
and reliable veterans John Olerud Roberto Alomar Devon White David Wells David Cone and Pat Hentgen were just reaching their best years Jack Morris Dave Stewart Joe Carter Dave Winfield and Paul Molitor took advantage of their last chance at glory Later in the 1990s the Blue Jays looked like they were ready to capture another championship but the team came up short Toronto still gave fans plenty to cheer about Carlos Delgado Shawn Green and Shannon Stewart were three of the best hitters in the league Roger Clemens pitched two years for Toronto and led the AL in victories strikeouts and earned run average ERA each season He also won the Cy Young Award twice LEFT Dave Stieb fires a fastball He was the team’s top pitcher in the 1980s ABOVE Joe Carter was one of many experienced Toronto stars of the 1990s 9
