In honour of Sportsnet Magazine’s The Big Book of Sports Lists, we look back at the 10 greatest moments in Toronto Blue Jays history.
Examine the moments below then vote on your favourite.
The Sportsnet special, Sportsnet Magazine’s The Big Book of Sports Lists: The greatest Blue Jays moments of all-time, debuts Wednesday on Sportsnet ONE at 11:00 p.m. ET, and on Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific at 11:30 p.m. local time.
First Pitch in club history: While the snow fell onto the field during pre-game warm-ups and at least one player from the visiting White Sox jokingly slid across the outfield using pads as cross-country skis and bats as the poles, more than 44,600 fans jammed Exhibition Stadium to witness history. And when Bill Singer, a 33 year-old veteran in his final season, stepped onto the mound and threw the first pitch it was official: Major League Baseball had a home in Toronto.
Dave Stieb no-hitter: Every no-no is special, but what made Dave Stieb’s so memorable were the times he came oh so close to achieving the feat before. Two seasons earlier, in back-to-back starts no less, Stieb took a no-hitter into the ninth inning, only to have it broken up with two out and two strikes on both occasions. So when he finally no-hit the Cleveland Indians in September 1990, it was more than a beautifully pitched game. It was redemption two years in the making.
First Division Title: The Blue Jays had failed to make the playoffs in their eight-year history, but that all changed in 1985, when the club won its first AL East title. It was the season George Bell and Tony Fernandez starred and a 21-year old Cecil Fielder made his big-league debut. The same season that Dave Stieb pitched 26 straight scoreless innings and when Bobby Cox took home Manager of the Year honours. Most of all, the division title confirmed what the rest of baseball had come to suspect after strong seasons in the immediate years prior: the Blue Jays weren’t just the new kids in town anymore.
Touch ’em all, Joe: As if there was ever any doubt this would top our list. Joe Carter’s shot isn’t just the best moment in Blue Jays history, it may be the most important hit in the history of baseball. The stakes were that high. Think about it: Down a run. Two-out. Two strikes. Facing a pitcher, Mitch Williams, he had never managed a hit off, in front of a rowdy home crowd with the World Series on the line? Carter’s bomb will live on well after we’re all gone. After all, this is what we watch for. Why we care. For moments like this. [cue the music.]
Delgado’s Big Night: As his first hit of the night left his bat-a towering moonshot off the old Windows restaurant at Rogers Centre-you could sense it was the start of something special. With each trip to the plate, the Blue Jays slugger went yard, a remarkable four home runs in four at-bats during a late September game against the division-rival Tampa Bay Rays. And the Jays needed every one of ’em. Delgado’s last bomb, his longest of the night at 445 feet, tied the game in the 8th inning and set the table for a 10-8 comeback win.
Doug Ault’s 2 HR Game: The expansion Blue Jays offered first baseman Doug Ault the chance to be an everyday player for a major league ball club. In return, Ault provided the franchise with its first highlight performance, hitting two home runs in front of a packed Exhibition Stadium crowd braving a snowstorm during the first game in franchise history in 1977. They were also the first two homers of Ault’s career.
Bautista’s 50th HR: George Bell never did it. Neither did Carlos Delgado, Jose Canseco, or any other slugger to have worn a Blue Jays uniform. Jose Bautista had already broken Bell’s single-season home run mark by notching his 48th long bomb five games earlier at Fenway Park, but on Sept. 23, 2010 at home against the Seattle Mariners, “Joey Bats” reached the vaunted half-century mark with a shot to left-centre. He finished the season with a major-league best 54.
Alomar ALCS HR: To that point it was easily the greatest moment in franchise history. The Blue Jays, in their first ALCS and up 2-1 in the series versus the loaded Oakland A’s, were down two in top of the ninth with legendary closer Dennis Eckersley on the mound. Devon White’s single got him on base, setting the stage for Robbie Alomar. When Alomar connected on a two-two pitch from Eckersley, he knew right away and raised his arms in celebration. The Jays won that game, and the series, and Robbie Alomar never had to pay for a meal in Toronto again.
Devo’s catch: You know a play is iconic when it’s remembered byt its nickname. “The Catch” wasn’t the most spectacular grab in a career full of them, but it’s certainly the one we’ll remember Devon White for most. With Deion Sanders and Terry Pendleton on base in the fourth inning of game three of the ’92 World Series, White tracked a long fly off the bat of David Justice and snagged the ball at the exact moment he hit the centre field wall for one of the defining moments of the Series.
’92 Final Play: With Joe Carter out of position at first base and Mike Timlin coming in from the bullpen to relieve Jimmy Key, Atlanta Braves speedster Otis Nixon came to the plate with his team down two runs in the bottom of the 11th inning in Game 6 of the ’92 World Series. Carter, who had roomed with Nixon when they played together in Cleveland, told Timlin that Nixon would bunt. He did, and Timlin was ready. He fielded the ball and flipped it to Carter. And Canada finally had a World Series champion of our own.
[polldaddy poll=7305488]
Click here to buy Sportsnet Magazine’s The Big Book of Sports Lists now.
