On April 7, the Toronto Blue Jays celebrated the 40th anniversary of their first game in Major League Baseball.
In honour of that, Sportsnet launched a tool allowing you to choose your top 40 Blue Jays of all time.
But we also made a list of our own with the help of 22 MLB and Blue Jays insiders. Now that list has been revealed. For numbers 40 to 31, click here. For numbers 30 to 21, click here.
And read on for the top 20 of Sportsnet’s 40 greatest Blue Jays of all time:
Years of service: 1980–1989
Blue Jays stat line: 768 R, 1,319 H, 149 HR, 255 SB, .746 OPS
Awards and achievements: All-star (1986), Silver Slugger (1983)
Years of service: 1997–1998
Blue Jays stat line: 67 G, 41-13, 2.33 ERA, 563 SO
Awards and achievements: Two-time Cy Young winner (1997 and 1998)
Years of service: 1986–1990
Blue Jays stat line: 348 R, 540 H, 125 HR, 21 SB, .919 OPS
Awards and achievements: Silver Slugger (1989)
Years of service: 1993–1995
Blue Jays stat line: 270 R, 508 H, 51 HR, 54 SB, .871 OPS
Awards and achievements: World Series MVP (1993), World Series champion (1993)
Years of service: 1981–1989
Blue Jays stat line: 530 R, 919 H, 179 HR, 55 SB, .817 OPS
Awards and achievements: All-star (1986), two-time Gold Glove winner (1986 and 1987), Silver Slugger (1986)
Years of service: 1991–1995
Blue Jays stat line: 452 R, 733 H, 72 HR, 126 SB, .760 OPS
Awards and achievements: All-star (1993), five-time Gold Glove winner (1991–1995), two-time World Series champion
Years of service: 1989–1996
Blue Jays stat line: 464 R, 910 H, 109 HR, 3 SB, .866 OPS
Awards and achievements: All-star (1993), two-time World Series champion
Years of service: 2009–2016
Blue Jays stat line: 593 R, 977 H, 239 HR, 37 SB, .878 OPS
Awards and achievements: Three-time all-star (2013, 2014 and 2016)
Years of service: 1985–1992
Blue Jays stat line: 446 G, 217 SV, 2.48 ERA, 644 SO
Awards and achievements: All-star (1987), World Series champion (1992)
Years of service: 1991–1999, 2004
Blue Jays stat line: 270 G, 107-85, 4.28 ERA, 1,028 SO
Awards and achievements: Three-time all-star (1993, 1994 and 1997), Cy Young winner (1996), two-time World Series champion
Years of service: 2015–present
Blue Jays stat line: 281 R, 417 H, 95 HR, 14 SB, .936 OPS
Awards and achievements: Two-time all-star and Silver Slugger (2015 and 2016), American League MVP (2015)
Years of service: 1984–1992
Blue Jays stat line: 317 G, 116-81, 3.51 ERA, 944 SO
Awards and achievements: Two-time all-star (1985 and 1991), World Series champion (1992)
Years of service: 1991–1997
Blue Jays stat line: 578 R, 1,051 H, 203 HR, 78 SB, .781 OPS
Awards and achievements: Five-time all-star (1991–1994, 1996), two-time Silver Slugger (1991 and 1992), two-time World Series champion
Years of service: 1981–1990
Blue Jays stat line: 641 R, 1,294 H, 202 HR, 59 SB, .811 OPS
Awards and achievements: Two-time all-star (1987 and 1990), three-time Silver Slugger (1985–1987), American League MVP (1987)
Years of service: 1983–1990, 1993, 1998–1999, 2001
Blue Jays stat line: 704 R, 1,583 H, 60 HR, 172 SB, .765 OPS
Awards and achievements: Four-time all-star (1986, 1987, 1989, 1999), World Series champion (1993)
Years of service: 2008–present
Blue Jays stat line: 772 R, 1,077 H, 285 HR, 56 SB, .890 OPS
Awards and achievements: Six-time all-star (2010–2015), three-time Silver Slugger (2010, 2011, 2014)
Years of service: 1993–2004
Blue Jays stat line: 889 R, 1,413 H, 336 HR, 9 SB, .949 OPS
Awards and achievements: Two-time all-star (2000, 2003), three-time Silver Slugger (1999, 2000, 2003), World Series champion (1993)
Years of service: 1998–2009
Blue Jays stat line: 313 G, 148-76, 3.43 ERA, 1,495 SO
Awards and achievements: Six-time all-star (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009), Cy Young winner (2003)
Years of service: 1979–1992
Blue Jays stat line: 439 G, 175-134, 3.42 ERA, 1,658 SO
Awards and achievements: Seven-time all-star (1980, 1981, 1983–1985, 1988, 1990), World Series champion (1992)
Years of service: 1991–1995
Blue Jays stat line: 451 R, 832 H, 55 HR, 206 SB, .833 OPS
Awards and achievements: Five-time all-star, five-time Gold Glove winner, Silver Slugger (1992), ALCS MVP (1992), two-time World Series champion
Click here for Stephen Brunt’s story on Sportsnet’s greatest Blue Jay.
This list was created around the April 7 anniversary, and it combines the rankings of 22 MLB and Blue Jays insiders, including: Kevin Barker; Jeff Blair; Stephen Brunt; Jamie Campbell; Tommy Craig; Shi Davidi; Jerry Howarth; William Humber; Jonah Keri; Arash Madani; Hazel Mae; Buck Martinez; Larry Millson; Ben Nicholson-Smith; Dave Perkins; Dan Shulman; Joe Siddall; Pat Tabler; Tom Valcke; Mike Wilner; and Arden Zwelling.
Is our panel’s amalgamated list on the right track? Let us know in the comments or check out the ranking tool to create and share a list of your own.
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