Toronto Blue Jays: The time Brad Fullmer had a career year

Brad Fullmer was a bulked-up, hulk of a man who had a serviceable major league career and his statistics skyrocketed in his time with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Had Toronto Blue Jays slugger Brad Fullmer played during the Steroids Era he could have given Barry Bonds a run for his money for the face of the game at the time.  Wait, he did play during the time frame and the image of his muscular body is burned into the mind of many.

While Fullmer was never mentioned in the Mitchell Report or even tied to steroids, the speculators continue to speculate.

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Fullmer had a cup of coffee with the Montreal Expos in 1997 and established himself the following year as an offensive threat when he had 44 doubles and 73 runs batted in as a rookie. He really broke onto the scene in 2000 when he crushed 32 home runs while driving in 104 and hitting .295.  All of this was done in 133 games for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Offensive production in the league was up in 2000 as seven Blue Jays players hit over 20 home runs, tying the record for most players on one team to accomplish the feat. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions that performance-enhancing drugs were involved, maybe the Jays lineup was just built to hit, and hit for power.

Brad Fullmer and his increased, chiseled body mass, sure did look the part though.

Fullmer played the following season in a Blue Jays uniform and even though he played in more games, his power numbers were down. At season’s end, he was traded to the Anaheim Angles for a pitcher no one had ever heard of, ultimately winning a World Series ring his first year with the team. Two years later he was out of the league.

The numbers Brad Fullmer put up in 2000 were remarkable and even though they fell off a little the following year, one wonders if the Toronto Blue Jays gave up on him too soon. Or if they had inside information on him and tried to get what they could on the trade market.

One thing is for sure, the bat looked like a toothpick in his hands, and he could wield it.