The 5 greatest outfielders in Toronto Blue Jays history

In the history of the Toronto Blue Jays, some very talented players have roamed the outfield. Which ones, however, rank as the best of the best?

Let’s look at the five greatest outfielders to ever play for the Toronto Blue Jays

For this exercise, we looked at WAR (Wins Above Replacement) according to Baseball-Reference.com, as well as individual statistics and accolades. Additionally, for players to have been considered, each had to play more than 50 percent of his games with Toronto in the outfield.

Number 5 — George Bell

We will start at number 5 with George Bell, the 1987 American League Most Valuable Player as well as a three-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger. Bell was originally drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1978, but was taken in the Rule 5 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1980. He would make his MLB debut the following season (earning 163 at-bats during that campaign), but not see regular time for Toronto until the 1984 season.

Once Bell started playing regularly, however, the American League quickly saw the skills he would bring to the plate. In his 1987 MVP season, Bell smashed 47 home runs and drove in an AL-high 134 runs while leading all of baseball with 369 total bases.

Bell would play for nine seasons in Toronto before signing as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs before the 1991 season. During his time with the Blue Jays, Bell would slash .286/.325/.486 with 202 home runs and 740 RBI.

As a note, before the 1992 season, Bell was traded from the Cubs to the Chicago White Sox in a deal that would bring Sammy Sosa to the North Side. He would retire from MLB after the 1993 campaign with 1,002 RBI in his career.

Number 3 — Vernon Wells

Selected by the Toronto Blue Jays with the fifth overall pick in the 1997 MLB draft, Wells would flash both offensive and defensive brilliance during his 12 seasons with the Blue Jays.

Winner of three Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger, in addition to earning three trips to the All-Star Game, Wells was a key component of Toronto’s lineup from 2002 through 2010. His greatest individual season came in 2003 when he finished eighth in the American League MVP balloting after pacing all of MLB with 215 hits, slashing .317/.359/.550 and driving in a career-high 117 runs.

That season, his 49 doubles and 373 total bases led the AL.

His 223 home runs in a Blue Jays jersey is fourth all-time for the franchise, while his 339 doubles are second (just four behind Carlos Delgado in that category) and his 28.7 bWAR is fifth for any Toronto positional player.

On January 21, 2011, Wells was traded to the Los Angeles Angels for Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera. Two years later, the Angels flipped him to the New York Yankees for a pair of minor leaguers.

Wells is very active on Twitter and has delivered some great one-liners through the social media platform, including about his time with the Yankees.

Number 2 — Jesse Barfield

How crazy is it to look back and think about Jesse Barfield, Lloyd Moseby, and George Bell (all members of this list) all being a part of the same Toronto Blue Jays outfield from 1984 to 1988? All played their part at the plate and in the field as well, with Bell leading of Major League Baseball in assists from his left field spot for three consecutive seasons (1985 through 1987) and Moseby pulling the feat from center field in 1985.

Speaking of 1985, all three outfielders were a big part of Toronto’s first-ever division title, known as The Drive of ’85.

While Bell and Moseby made their mark, there was perhaps no outfielder more feared for his arm during the 1980s than Barfield, who led all MLB outfielders in assists between 1985 and 1990.

Barfield also led all of MLB in 1986 with 40 home runs, part of a stat line that helped him earn an All-Star Game bid, a Silver Slugger, and fifth place in the AL MVP voting that season. He also took home his first of two consecutive Gold Gloves.

His 9.5 defensive bWAR is second all-time for the Blue Jays (behind the 12.4 put up by Tony Fernandez) and his 29.5 overall bWAR is fourth in franchise history.

Barfield would play over the course of 12 seasons for Toronto (hitting 179 home runs and driving in 527 while slashing .265/.334/.483) before spending his final four in a New York Yankees uniform.

Number 1 — Jose Bautista

Was there really any surprise who would be perched at number one on the list? After all, outside of Joe Carter, Jose Bautista has created some of the most memorable moments in Toronto Blue Jays history.

Bautista played for 10 of his 15 MLB seasons in a Blue Jays uniform, finishing his career in Toronto with the most bWAR of any Blue Jays player (38.3). Making six consecutive All-Star Game appearances between 2010 and 2015, Bautista finished in the top eight of AL MVP voting in four of those seasons.

His best year came in 2011 when he led all of baseball with 43 home runs (following a 2010 campaign where he paced MLB with 54 homers), 132 walks, an OPS of 1.052, and a 182 OPS+. He was also intentionally walked an AL-high 24 times.

Originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 20th round of the 2000 MLB draft, Bautista was a part of five other organizations before finally making his Blue Jays debut in 2008. He would see action during his 15-year career in seven different uniforms, before retiring after the 2018 season with 344 home runs and 975 RBI to his credit. From that number, 288 homers and 766 RBI came in Toronto.

Another thing not often associated with Bautista was his ability to be in the right place at the right time in the outfield. From 2010 through 2014, Bautista had the most double plays turned as a right fielder in four of those five seasons (16 in all while leading the league those years).