On September 9, 1998, shortstop Alex Gonzalez whiffed six times in a contest versus the Cleveland Indians. The six K's is a franchise record for most strikeouts in a single game by a Blue Jays player.
BJ Birdy was the Blue Jay's mascot from 1979 to 1999. For the 2000 season, BJ was replaced by Ace and Diamond. Diamond was dropped at the end of the 2003 season, leaving Ace as the sole mascot. In recent years, Ace has occasionally been joined by Junior for "Junior Jays Sundays".
Dave Collins hit .271 and .308 in his two seasons in Toronto, and set the Blue Jays single season stolen base record with 60 steals in 1984.
In 1986, Jesse Barfield collected career-highs in batting average (.289), 40 home runs, 108 RBI, 107 runs, 170 hits, 35 doubles, and wRC+ (147). His 40 homers led the major leagues and set a team record that lasted one year.
Roger Clemens was dominant in his two seasons with the Blue Jays, winning the pitching Triple Crown and the Cy Young Award in both seasons. In 1997, he set a team record with 292 strikeouts.
Shortstop Alfredo Griffin made an immediate impact in 1979, sharing the American League Rookie of the Year Award with Minnesota Twins third baseman John Castino.
In 1998, after a five-year hiatus from baseball, Dave Stieb returned to the Blue Jays and pitched in 19 games. He recorded one win and two saves, and started three games.
One pick after the New York Mets nabbed Darryl Strawberry with the first-overall pick, the Jays decided to go with a shortstop out of Herbert Hoover High School in San Diego named Garry Harris. Sent to their Alberta affiliate in Medicine Hat, Harris was fine at the plate, batting .272 as a rookie, but his glove was a different story. He led the league with a comical 54 errors and holds the distinction of being one of four second-overall picks in the 20th century to never make the majors.
The Jays shocked the baseball world in 1986 when they traded away Doyle Alexander who had won 17 games in back-to-back seasons. Ward was a complete unknown at the time, but that would soon change, as he joined forces with Tom Henke to form one of the best bullpens in baseball. From 1988-92, Ward tossed at least 100 innings out of the 'pen and saved 45 games for the World Series champions in '93.
From 1985 to 1993, they were an AL East powerhouse, winning five division championships in nine seasons, including three consecutive from 1991 to 1993. During that run, the team also became back-to-back World Series champions in 1992 and 1993, led by a core group of award-winning All-Star players, including Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar, Joe Carter, John Olerud, and Devon White.
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