Toronto Blue Jays: The franchise all-time bracket
By Bill Felber
Toronto Blue Jays: The All-Time Bracket
No. 2 vs. 7 seed
The 1993 Blue Jays famously clinched the franchise’s second straight World Series on Joe Carter’s walk-off home run vs. the Phillies in game 6. That capped a 33-homer, 121 RBI season for Carter. DH Paul Molitor added a .332 average with 111 RBIs while first baseman John Olerud drove in 107. He also hit .363, winning the batting title.
Up the middle, Alomar batted .326 and shortstop Tony Fernandez hit. .306.
Pat Hentgen and Juan Guzman took turns being staff ace. Hentgen was 19-9 with a 3.87 ERA, while Guzman produced a 14-3 record in 33 starts. Dave Stewart, at age 36, was still up to a 12-8 record in 26 starts.
The 2016 team was largely a re-boot of 2015, but with mound adjustments. Encarnacion hit 42 home runs with 127 RBIs, Donaldson hit 37 for 99 RBIs, but Bautista fell off to 22 homers and 69 RBIs. Free-agent signee J.A. Happ paid off in a 20-4 record and 3,18 ERA in 32 starts while Aaron Sanchez, in his first full season, was 15-2.
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Game 1: The 1993 Jays had a 95-67 regular-season record, good for a .586 percentage. In 2016 the Jays were 89-73 .549, six games worse.
Game 2: The 1993 Jays won 67 percent of their post-season games. The 2016 team won a wild card game swept its division series from Texas, then lost the ALCS to Cleveland in five. That’s a.556 post-season percentage. The series stands 2-0 in favor of 1993.
Game 3: The 2016 club produced a 101 team OPS+. In 1993 the Jays carried a 110 OPS+.
Game 4: The 1993 team sends a 103 staff ERA+ in search of a sweep. But the 2016 Toronto club had a 113 ERA+…so no sweep.
Game 5: The 2016 Blue Jays accumulated 43.6 WAR. In 1993 Toronto reached 47.8.
Result: 1993 in five games