Toronto Blue Jays Top Ten: North of the Border Power
By Tab Bamford
Even before Joey Bats flipped, “Robbie” Alomar made gold-glove plays, swiped bases, or led off big rallies, or Juan Guzman threw his blazing fastballs pass opposing hitters, the Blue Jays had a Latino flavor to their roster.
An expansion team in 1977, Toronto regulars included Mexican-born shortstop Hector Tórres and outfielder Otto Vélez from Puerto Rico. Latino all-stars came soon after, developed out of the Jays farm system, with a focus on the Dominican Republic and smart trades to acquire young Latino talent.
In the 1980s, Toronto’s double-play combination featured the Dominican duo of Damaso García and Alfredo Griffin while fellow countryman George Bell provided the pop from the middle of the lineup. This influx from their Dominican talent pipeline transformed the Blue Jays from also-ran to playoff contenders.
Indeed, Latino talent proved a key part of Toronto’s formula for success, with Roberto Alomar, Tony Fernández and Juan Guzman as valuable parts of the back-to-back World Series titles claimed in 1992 and 1993.
This season, La Vida Baseball continues its celebration of the greatest Latino players in the history of all 30 major league organizations.
We now turn our attention north of the U.S. border to Toronto. A reminder that we figured out the Top 10 for each tea by keeping it simple by basing the rankings on WAR as calculated by Baseball-Reference.com.
Let’s take a look to see where Roberto Alomar, Joey Bats, and your other favorite Latinos on the Blue Jays landed on their all-time Top 10 list.
Toronto Blue Jays
1. Tony Fernández
12 years with Toronto, 37.5 WAR, four-time All-Star, 1993 World Series champion
Dominican Republic
Not very often do you have four of the best players in a franchise’s history traded for each other, but that was the case on December 5, 1990 when Toronto traded Fernández and Fred McGriff to San Diego for Joe Carter and Robbie Alomar. Before the trade, Fernández won four Gold Gloves and appeared in three All-Star Games on behalf of the Jays. He led the league with 17 triples in 1990. Fernández would get traded back to Toronto by the Mets in 1993 and would come back again as a free agent in 1997. He was 37 in 1999 when he appeared in his fourth and final All-Star Game as a member of the Jays. In 1,450 games as a member of the Blue Jays, Fernández posted an impressive .353 on-base percentage.
2. José Bautista
10 years with Toronto, 37.0 WAR, six-time All-Star, three Silver Sluggers
Dominican Republic
Bautista was claimed off waivers, sold and traded three times before he finally got regular playing time in Toronto in 2008. Over the decade that followed, Bautista was a monster for the Jays. He appeared in six consecutive All-Star Games and led the league in home runs twice (54 in 2010 and 43 in 2011). In 1,235 games with Toronto, Bautista hit 288 home runs, drove in 766 and scored 790 times with a .878 OPS.
3. Carlos Delgado
12 years with Toronto, 36.8 WAR, two-time All-Star, three Silver Sluggers
Puerto Rico
In the late 1990s and early 2000s there weren’t many hitters more feared than Delgado. He drove in more than 100 runs in six consecutive seasons (1998-2003) and led the league with 145 RBI in 2003. Delgado also led the league with 57 doubles and 378 total bases in 2000, which was perhaps his best season. Over 1,423 games as a member of the Blue Jays, Delgado slashed .282/.392/.556 with 336 home runs, 343 doubles, 1,058 RBI and 889 runs scored. Only two players born in Puerto Rico have driven in more than 1,500 runs in their careers: Delgado and Carlos Beltrán.
4. Edwin Encarnación
Eight years with Toronto, 24.3 WAR, three-time All-Star
Dominican Republic
The Reds traded Edwin and his parrot to Toronto for Scott Rolen in 2009 and Encarnación emerged as a middle-of-the-order run producer. In eight years with the Jays, Encarnación appeared in 999 games, hitting 239 home runs and driving in 679 runs with a .878 OPS. Unfortunately for Jays fans, his best season in Toronto was 2016 – his final season with the club. He tied his career-high 42 home runs and drove in a league-leading 127 runs (which is his career best).
5. Roberto Alomar
Five years with Toronto, 22.3 WAR, five-time All-Star, five Gold Gloves, two-time World Series champion
Puerto Rico
It feels like Alomar was in Toronto a lot longer than five years, but that’s because he made such an enormous impact while he was playing at the SkyDome. He appeared in the All-Star Game and won a Gold Glove Award in each season he was with Toronto and led the team to two World Series Championships, building the foundation of his Hall of Fame credentials. In 703 games with the Jays Alomar slashed .307/.382/.451 with 206 stolen bases and 451 runs scored. On his way to winning the 1992 ALCS MVP Award, Alomar hit .423 with 11 hits, two homers and five stolen bases in six games against Oakland.
6. George Bell
Nine years with Toronto, 21.3 WAR, 1987 AL MVP, two-time All-Star
Dominican Republic
Bell made history in 1987 when he became the first Dominican-born player to win a Most Valuable Player Award. He earned it that season, hitting 47 homers and driving in a league-leading 134 runs with a career-high .957 OPS. Bell scored 641 times and drove in 740 runs in 1,181 games with Toronto.
7. Juan Guzmán
Eight years with Toronto, 21.1 WAR, one All-Star Game, two-time World Series champion
Dominican Republic
When Guzmán showed up in Toronto, he was as scary as it gets on the mound. He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 1991 and then appeared in his only All-Star Game in 1992, his best season in the big leagues. On his way to winning the World Series, Guzmán posted a 16-5 record with 165 strikeouts in 180.2 innings. In eight years with the Jays, Guzmán won 76 times and struck out 1,030 in 1,215.2 innings.
8. Álex Ríos
Six years with Toronto, 20.2 WAR, two-time All-Star
Puerto Rico
Ríos appeared in consecutive All-Star Games in 2006-07, seasons in which he drove in 82 and 85 runs, respectively. Over his six seasons with the Jays, Ríos appeared in 809 games in which he stole 112 bags, scored 451 runs and drove in 395.
9. José Cruz, Jr
Six years with Toronto, 11.5 WAR
Puerto Rico
Cruz is the second second-generation star to make the list (with Robbie Alomar). He finished runner-up to Nomar for the AL Rookie of the Year Award in 1997, an impressive feat when you consider he was traded from Seattle to Toronto in the middle of his rookie season. Cruz spent six seasons with the Jays, hitting 122 homers with 355 RBI and 396 runs scored in 698 games.
10. Luis Leal
Six years with Toronto, 10.7 WAR
Venezuela
Only the second pitcher to make the top ten, Leal’s finest season came in 1982 when he threw a career-high 249.2 innings including ten complete games en route to a 5.1 WAR campaign. He threw more than 217 innings in three consecutive seasons (1982-84) and won 13 games twice (1983-84). His entire six-year career was played with the Jays, finishing with 491 strikeouts in 165 appearances.
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