Toronto Blue Jays need to learn from their ‘Glory Days’
The Toronto Blue Jays limp into the Major League Baseball All-Star Break in Cincinnati with a first half win-loss total of 45-46 over the team’s first 91 games.
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As the season is put on hold, with the focus now on the All-Star Game in Cincinnati, the Toronto Blue Jays have a time to assess where they go from here for the second half of the season. They have 71 games left. It is suggested that you need 90 wins at least to win the American League East. That would mean that the team would have to go at least 45-26 the rest of the way.
The July 31 non-waiver trade deadline is coming and teams will be scrambling to add to their rosters to bolster their chances to make the playoffs. The Toronto Blue Jays won the 1992 and 1993 World Series. If Toronto is to add at the deadline and put themselves into the playoffs, it would be the first time since those World Series victories.
The Rogers Communication management team and the team management will come up with excuse after excuse as to why they cannot catch the ‘big fish’ in the middle of the season. Some recent excuses have been that they cannot keep up with the New York Yankees’ or the Boston Red Sox’s financial strengths. The Toronto Blue Jays certainly can keep up with these two financially strengthened teams. Another year it might be injuries as their excuse why they couldn’t add. Well, the other 29 teams also face injuries over a 162 game season and they get by. Toronto’s no different.
Toronto is considered a ‘forgotten’ market. Nobody wants to come north of the border to play in Canada because they have not been to the playoffs since 1993. Toronto appears to be milking the fact that they have had back-to-back World Series titles in the early 90s. Well, that’s almost a quarter of a century ago. There is a whole new generation of fans who have never seen Toronto as a dominant threat.
On December 5, 1990 the team threw caution into the wind. They dealt former star shortstop Tony Fernandez and first baseman Fred McGriff to the San Diego Padres for outfielder Joe Carter and second baseman Roberto Alomar. The team also signed free agent pitcher Jack Morris and outfielder/designated hitter Dave Winfield. On August 27, 1992, they traded prospect Jeff Kent and Ryan Thompson to the New York Mets for pitcher David Cone. They were willing to take a gamble and add to its roster. They finished the year with 96 wins and a World Series victory over the Atlanta Braves in six games.
During the 1993 season, the team once again changed the culture of the team. They replaced aging Dave Winfield with hall of famer Paul Molitor to manage the designated hitter role. They signed pitcher Dave Stewart as a free agent. On July 31, 1993, they once again went out and bolstered their all-star lineup. They sent prospect pitcher Steve Karsay and another prospect to the Oakland Athletics for one of the greatest players in the game, Rickey Henderson. Henderson was a fantastic player with the Athletics and the New York Yankees. Adding his speed to Molitor’s bat proved deadly for the opposition. The team was on fire that year and went on to win the division with 95 wins, beat the Chicago White Sox in the American League Championship and then beat the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.
The fact of the matter is that the American League East division has probably been the easiest to win since the turn of the century. Every team in the division has made the playoffs since 2000 except the Toronto Blue Jays. Each divisional opponent has issues that need addressing. Questions remain as to who will act first and acquire an asset as well as who will be the acquiring the prized jewel.
The sports teams in Toronto have been in constant struggles. Nobody has figured out how to win. The Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL have only made the playoffs once in the past 10 years. They also haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 1967 and currently hold the longest streak of not winning the Stanley Cup. The Toronto Raptors have been in the NBA since 1995 and have only made it into the second round once in 20 years.
Toronto Blue Jays fans can be very fickle and while the team has had a couple of seasons where they have thrown in the chips with an attempt to win, they have not really acquired their big ticket player to push them into the playoffs.
In 2006, they brought in former greats Frank Thomas and B.J. Ryan with little success. In the 2012 offseason, they went to work again and bolstered their lineup. They brought in current players Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and R.A. Dickey but still didn’t finish the two seasons together with their championship.
General Manager Alex Anthopoulos needs to learn from the page of his predecessor, Pat Gillick. He needs to build a successful team and not be so timid to make a move.