The Greatest Toronto Blue Jays players by position in their history

I am continuing my list of the greatest players for each team in the last 50 years by position (1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, CF, RF, C, right-handed, and left-handed starting pitchers, relief pitchers and DH). Criteria is players must have played at least (5) years on team since the 1973 season. Note players who started prior to 1973 can be included, however only what they accomplished since the 73 season will be considered. There were many factors in the selection process. Were they Hall of Famers? Were they consistent, league leaders? Did they win any awards (MVPs, Cy Youngs gold gloves)? And how much post season success did they have? I will be doing 1 team a week. Starting with teams in the American League East. This week’s team is the Toronto Blue Jays. Here is my list of greatest Blue Jays players in their history (since they began play in 1976) by position. Note the time and accomplishments are listed only with Blue Jays.

First Base- Carlos Delgado (1993-2004)- Holds Blue Jays all-time records for doubles, HRs, and RBI.

Second Base- Roberto Alomar (1991-1995)- HOF, ALCS MVP, 5X Gold Glove award winner (with Blue Jays).

Third Base- Kelly Gruber (1984-1992)- Gold Glove award winner.

Shortstop- Tony Fernandez (1983-1990, 1993)- 4X Gold Glove award winner.

Left Field- George Bell (1981-1990)- MVP.

Centerfield- Devon White (1991-1995) – 5X Gold Glove Award winner (with Blue Jays).

Right Field- Jose Bautista (2009-2017)- 2X HR leader.  

Catcher- Pat Borders (1988-1994) – WS MVP.

Designated Hitter- Edwin Encarnacion (2010-2016)- Team record for most HR and RBI in a month.

Right-handed starting pitcher- Roy Halladay (1998-2009)- HOF, Cy Young award winner. Finished 4X in top 5 Cy Young voting.

Left-handed starting pitcher- Jimmy Key (1984-1992)- ERA champion, 2 World Series wins.

Relief pitcher- Tom Henke (1985-1992)- Blue Jays all-time saves leader.

Notes. The Blue Jays had a lot of terrific players. Most from this list were part of the 1992, and 93 championship teams. Wanted to select Josh Donaldson at third base. He won an MVP for the Blue Jays. However, he only played 4 seasons for Toronto, so did not meet the criteria. Toughest choice was selecting the right-handed starting pitcher. Dave Stieb has the most wins in Blue Jays history. Was a terrific pitcher for a long time. However, I had to pick Halladay. Although his career was shorter, he had more great seasons than Stieb, including a Cy Young award.

Next up we will move to the American League Central Division with the Chicago White Sox.

The Greatest Tampa Bay Rays players by position in their history

Today I am continuing my list of the greatest players for each team in the last 50 years by position (1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, CF, RF, C, right-handed, and left-handed starting pitchers, relief pitchers and DH). Criteria is players must have played at least (5) years on team since the 1973 season. Note players who started prior to 1973 can be included, however only what they accomplished since the 73 season will be considered. There were many factors in the selection process. Were they Hall of Famers? Were they consistent, league leaders? Did they win any awards (MVPs, Cy Youngs gold gloves)? And how much post season success did they have? I will be doing 1 team a week. Starting with teams in the American League East. This week’s team is the Tampa Bay Rays. Here is my list of greatest Rays players in their history by position (since they began play in 1998, no need to look at 50 years). Note the time and accomplishments are listed only with Rays.

First Base- Carlos Pena (2007-2010, 2012)- HR champion. Gold glove award winner.

Second Base- Ben Zobrist (2006-2015)- 2X all-star.

Third Base- Evan Longoria (2008-2017)- Rookie of the Year. 3X Gold glove award winner.

Shortstop- Julio Lugo (2003-2006)- Rays all-time hits leader for shortstops.

Left Field- Carl Crawford (2002-2010)- Gold glove award winner. 4x stolen base leader.

Centerfield- Kevin Kiermaier (2015-2022)- 3X Gold glove award winner.

Right Field- Matt Joyce (2009-20014)- 1X All Star.

Catcher- Toby Hall (2000-2006)- Played most games as catcher in Rays history.

Designated Hitter- Jonny Gomes (2003-2008)- Finished 3^rd in Rookie of the Year voting.

Right-handed starting pitcher- James Shields (2006-2012)- Finished 3^rd in Cy Young voting.

Left-handed starting pitcher- David Price (2008-2014)- Cy Young award winner.

Relief pitcher- Alex Colome (2013-2018)- 1X saves leader.

Notes. Since the Rays have only been in existence since 1998, this was one of the more challenging lists to put together. Shortstop a very difficult position to pick. No shortstop in Rays history meet the criteria of playing at least 5 full seasons. I took Lugo based on his time and having the most hits by any Rays SS. Gomes played the most games at DH. There were not many great relief pitchers. I took Colome since he was the only Rays reliever who led the league in saves. Finally, Longoria is the greatest TB Rays player of all time, without question.

Next up will be the Toronto Blue Jays.