Blue Jays History

In 2000, the Blue Jays introduced their new mascots, Ace and Diamond. Despite of losing Sean Green, the Blue Jays were still a powerhouse. Carlos Delgado, the winner of Hank Aaron award led the lineup. David Wells won 20 games on the mound took the Jays in playoff contention again. In September, Todd Greene hit his 4th home run and the club's 134th at home and set a new AL club record for most home runs in one season at home. Also, Rogers Communications Inc. in association with the Labatt Brewing Company Ltd. bought 80% and 20% hold of the baseball club respectively, while Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce surrendered it 10% of share. The Blue Jays finished the season with a franchise record and 2000 AL high 244 home runs, but all in all again fell short with an 83-79 record. Long-time Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez joined the team as their new manager.

Moreover David Wells was also traded to the Chicago White Sox for pitcher Mike Sirotka and OF Brian Simmons, but they never played for the team. Under Manager Buck Martinez, the Jays finished the 2001 season at 80-82, with mediocre pitching and hitting, which was further complicated by the fact Mike Sirotka, who missed the entire season due to an injury. Jay Carlos Delgado once again led the team with 39 home runs and 102 RBI. The highlights of the season were the young prospects that helped the team to finish the season on a satisfactory note. In 2002, J.P. Ricciardi became the general manager of the team. During the off-season he traded or let go several regular players, including Alex S. Gonzalez, Paul Quantrill and closer Billy Koch to introduce a new a faster line-up. Third base coach Carlos Tosca replaced Buck Martinez. Roy Halladay emerged as the team's top pitcher, finishing the season with a 19-7 record and a 2.93 ERA. He also represented the Jays at the All-Star Game. Carlos Delgado once again anchored the pitching and young players like Mike Bordick, Frank Catalanotto and Tanyon Sturtze were assigned key duties.

Rookie of the Year Eric Hinske registered his first 100 RBI season. In 2003, the Blue Jays forcefully traded free agent to be Shannon Stewart to the Minnesota Twins after the All-Star Break, which led to a decline in their performance. However, players like Halladay and Delgado were strong enough. Halladay finished with a 22-7 record to claim the Cy Young award and Delgado finished second in MVP. After a flash of success, when the team trailed just few games behind the wildcard winners Boston Red Sox, the team’s performance retained its normalcy and finished the season in 3rd place with an 86-76 record. In 2004, the Jays adopted a new logo and wore new uniforms. Though they entered the new season with full determination, they finished the season on a disappointing note with a 12th place finish in the American League and in last place in their division with a 67-94 record. The following season the franchise became the only team located in a Canadian province. The Blue Jays joined the AL as an expansion team in 1977. The team came into existence, when the San Francisco Giants dropped their ides to move to Toronto. The Jays played their first game ever on April 7, 1977 against the Chicago White Sox. The Jays rose to prominence after registering six straight last place finishes losing above 100 games in three of those seasons. In 1985, the team won its first East Division title under manager Bobby Cox. In the ALCS, Toronto finished the postseason with four straight losses to the Kansas City Royals despite of having a three-game lead. The following season the team failed to defend its victory, even though Barfield topped the AL with 40 home runs. In 1987, the Jays lost an exhilarating division title chase to the Detroit Tigers. Bell was named AL most valuable player (MVP) in 1987 after driving in an AL-best 134 runs.

In 1989, Gaston replaced Cox as manager. The main highlight of the season was Fred McGriff's American League leading 34 home runs and Dave Stieb back-to-back starts in which he lost a no-hitter. Gaston guided the team to win the American League East by 2 games. In the ALCS, The Jays were swept by the Oakland Athletics. From 1991 through 1993, the Jays won three straight division titles with two World Series victories in 1992 and 1993. Outfielder Carter, starting pitcher Morris, and designated hitter Dave Winfield formed the core of the line-up in 1992; and first baseman Olerud, designated hitter Molitor, and second baseman Alomar helped the team to win the subsequent title. Following back-to-back championships, the Jays fans expected more from their team. But, the hopes went in vain when the Jays recorded their first losing season since 1982 with a 55-60 record. 1995 proved to be even worse for the Blue Jays, as they finished the season with a 56-88 record. In 1997, the Jays signed Red Sox ace Roger Clemens. For his outstanding pitching he won the pitcher's Triple Crown. However, they ended the season with a record of 76-86. Following the season, Gaston was replaced with Tim Johnson. Under Johnson, the Jays finished the season in third place with an 88-74 record. The same season they traded Roger Clemens to the Yankees in exchange for starting pitcher David Wells, second baseman Homer Bush and relief pitcher Graeme Lloyd; and fired Tim Johnson to be replaced with Jim Fregosi. Without Clemens the team’s pitching suffered in 1999, and ended the season with an 84-78 record. The team’s logo has an aggressive looking Blue Jay's head coming out of a stylized white and silver "Jays. The Jays play their home games in the Rogers Centre, previously known as SkyDome