History


 
Blue Jays Timeline
BLUE JAYS TIMELINE
1976-1981 | 1982-1986 | 1987-1991 | 1992-1996 | 1997-Present
Timeline 1992-1996
 
The Jays became the first team to capture back-to-back World Series titles since the 1977-78 Yankees, when they downed Atlanta and Philadelphia in '92 and '93.
1992  - The 1992 Jays were a well-balanced team supplemented by the addition of Dave Winfield, Jack Morris, Alfredo Griffin and David Cone. After clinching their second consecutive A.L. East title, the Jays cruised past the Oakland A's in six games to reach the World Series for the first time.

Toronto's opponents in baseball's first international World Series were the Atlanta Braves. After an opening game loss, the Jays won three consecutive games, two of which were the result of dramatic ninth-inning come-backs. Atlanta bounced back for a win in game five, but the Jays made baseball history in game six, winning the Series with a 4-3 victory in 11 innings. The key hit was Dave Winfield's two-out double down the left field line. Two days later, Winfield unveiled the banner the city and team had been waiting 16 years to see: Toronto Blue Jays, 1992 World Series Champs.

April 6, the Blue Jays open the season in Detroit with newly acquired pitcher, Jack Morris setting a Major League record with his 13th consecutive opening day start. He tosses a complete game as Toronto wins 4-2... April 13, Toronto's six game win streak to start the season comes to an end as the Yankees down the Blue Jays 5-2... May 1, Roberto Alomar named AL Player of the Month for April (.382, 34H, 19R, 3HR, 8SB)... September 24, Dave Winfield sets a Blue Jays record for homers by a DH with his 23rd and becomes the oldest man in ML history to register 100 or more RBI in a season... October 3, Juan Guzman gets the win as the Blue Jays clinch their fourth AL East Title... October 4, with a crowd of 50,421 the Blue Jays surpass the 4-million mark in home attendance for the second straight season and set a new ML attendance record with 4,028,318 fans... October 14, Toronto defeats the Athletics in six games earning their first ever World Series berth... October 17, Toronto plays their first ever World Series game, losing 3-1 to the Braves... October 24, the Blue Jays emerge victorious over Atlanta in 11 innings capturing the World Series and thus becoming the first Canadian team to win the Commissioner's Trophy.

1993  - The BLUE JAYS entered the 1993 season with eleven new faces. John Olerud, Robbie Alomar and Paul Molitor finishing 1-2-3 in the batting race and Joe Carter added 33 HRs and 121 RBIs as the Jays captured their third consecutive A.L. East Flag.

Dave Stewart won twice as the Jays eased past the White Sox in six games to win the A.L. crown, setting up as meeting with the Phillies in the World Series. The teams split the first two in Toronto before the jays captured two of the next three on the road, including a record-setting 15-14 nail biter in game four.

In game six at Skydome, the Phillies overcame a 5-1 deficit and carried a 6-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth. After Henderson and Molitor reached base, Joe Carter then drove a slider from Mitch Williams into the left field bullpen to give the Jays their second championship. Carter's blast was only the second Series-ending home run in baseball history.

April 30, Joe Carter sets a club record for RBI in April with 25... June 11, shortstop Tony Fernandez is re-acquired in a trade with the New York Mets... July 13, at Baltimore, a record tying seven Blue Jays are selected to the All-Star team, managed by Cito Gaston (Alomar, Carter, Hentgen, Molitor, Olerud, Ward, White)... July 31, Blue Jays acquire leadoff man Rickey Henderson from the A's for the stretch run in return for minor leaguer's Steve Karsay and Jose Herrera... August 2, the last day that John Olerud would be batting .400- average dipped to a season ending .363, becoming the first ever Blue Jay to win a batting title... August 23, Joe Carter collects 3 home runs vs. the Indians for his fifth career 3 homer game; an AL record... September 26, Blue Jays break their own American League attendance record with a crowd of 50,518 to push the year's home attendance to 4,057,947... September 27, Toronto clinches AL East title with a 2-0 win in Milwaukee as Pat Hentgen wins his 19th game... October 3, Roberto Alomar goes 3-5 to move into third place (.326) in the AL batting race to finish behind teammates John Olerud (.363) and Paul Molitor (.332). It is the first time in 100 years that teammates had finished 1-2-3 in the batting race... October 12, Toronto defeats the Chicago White Sox 6-3 in the sixth game of the ALCS to win their second straight AL pennant and advance to the World Series against Philadelphia... October 23, In Game Six of the World Series, the Blue Jays led by Joe Carter's 3-run home run in the bottom of the ninth, defeat the Phillies 8-6 at SkyDome to become the first team since 1977-78 Yankees to capture back-to-back World Series Championships.

1994  - The 1994 Blue Jays struggled in May and June, and despite better results at the time play was suspended, the Jays finished under .500 for the first time since 1982.

The club started strongly. Rookie Carlos Delgado hit eight HRs in April. Joe Carter established an M.L. record with 31 RBIs in the month.

After just 18 wins in May and June, the Jays rebounded with 17 victories in July. Still, when the season ended in August, the club was 16 games back. Inconsistency and injuries had figured in the result: Both Carlos Delgado and Alex Gonzalez were returned to the minors. Juan Guzman struggled and Duane Ward underwent surgery and was unable to play.

Despite the disappointing result, there were numerous highlights. Paul Molitor hit .341. Mike Huff played 80 games in the outfield, batting .304. Veteran minor leaguer Darren Hall recorded 17 saves and Pat Hentgen contributed 13 wins and an ERA of 3.40.

April 4, club defeats the 1993 AL West Champion Chicago White Sox 7-3 as Toronto opens their 18th season... May 1, Joe Carter named AL Player of the Month after setting Major League record for RBI in April with 31... May 20, Toronto extends managerial contract of Cito Gaston through the 1996 season... Same day, team President and CEO Paul Beeston is named Canada's Baseball Man of the Year for 1993 by Toronto and Montreal BBWAA... June 7, Manager Cito Gaston receives Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from University of Toronto... July 8, Duane Ward undergoes arthroscopic surgery on right shoulder... August 11, Toronto defeats the New York Yankees 8-7 in 13 innings, in what would be the final game of 1994... August 12, Major League players strike begins... September 14, Office of the Commissioner announces that the remainder of the 1994 season will not be completed... October 14, Gord Ash named Vice-President and General Manager effective October 31... October 31, Pat Gillick steps down as General Manager of the Toronto Blue Jays.

1995  - Despite disappointing Results, 1995 contained its share of highlights. Joe Carter led the club in homers for the fifth straight season. Right fielder Shawn Green set a club rookie record with 50 extra base hits and rookie backstop Sandy Martinez jumped from AA to the major leagues mid-season and led the teams in RBIs in August. Southpaw Al Leiter posted career-highs in Wins, ERA, innings and strikeouts.

Domingo Cedeno and rookie Tomas Perez played well defensively and Ed Sprague emerged as a team leader and solid presence at third base. Also impressive was the resilience of left-hander Tony Castillo and the promising contributions of rookie pitchers Ken Robinson and Tim Crabtree.

April 6, David Cone, who pitched for the Blue Jays in the 1992 World Series, is re-acquired in a trade with Kansas City... April 26, The strike-delayed season begins at home with a 13-1 pounding of Oakland, in which the Blue Jays, in front of their only sell-out crowd of the season, set a new club record scoring 11 times in the second inning... July 4, Roberto Alomar saw his string of 484 errorless chances come to an end with an error in a game in California. The 484 chances without an error was a new Major League record and the string of 104 games without an error established a new American League standard... July 13, Seattle turns the third ever triple play against the Blue Jays, in the ninth inning of their game in the Kingdome... July 28, David Cone was traded to the New York Yankees in exchange for minor league pitchers Marty Janzen, Jason Jarvis and Mike Gordon... October 1, The Blue Jays lose their fifth straight game to close out the 1995 season with a 56-88 record and finish in last place for the first time since 1979.

1996  - The Blue Jays 20th Season was highlighted by Pitcher Pat Hentgen, who became the first member of the club to win the Cy Young Award after posting a 20-10 record and leading the A.L. with 10 complete games and 265.2 innings pitched. Ed Sprague also had a big year with 36 home runs and 101 RBIs, while Joe Carter rebounded from a poor 1995 season to top 30 homers and 100 RBIs for the ninth time in his career. Juan Guzman also returned to form and led the A.L with a 2.93 ERA. Robert Perez led the team with a .327 average, while given a chance to play every day, and the result was an 18-win improvement over 1995.

January 16, Blue Jays Howard Starkman awarded Robert O. Fishel Award for Public Relations excellence in Major League Baseball... April 1, Blue Jays begin 20th season of play with a 9-6 win over Oakland in Las Vegas... April 9, Blue Jays honour George Bell and Dave Stieb as the first two players enshrined on the "Level of Excellence" as part of 20th season home opening festivities... April 16, Blue Jays promote Moose Johnson and Gord Lakey to Special Assistants to the Vice-President and General Manager... May 1, Juan Guzman named the AL Pitcher of the Month for April... August 26, Vice President, Baseball Al LaMacchia resigns to accept a position with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays... September 14, Blue Jays present first annual Bobby Mattick and Al LaMacchia Awards for excellence in Player Development and Scouting respectively. Rocket Wheeler captured the inaugural Bobby Mattick Award while Duane Larson captured the Al LaMacchia Award... September 3, Pat Hentgen captures consecutive AL Pitcher of the Month Awards, winning in July and August... September 30, Juan Guzman becomes the third Blue Jay to lead the AL in ERA posting a 2.93 mark... November 14, Blue Jays complete largest trade in club history, a nine player deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates in which the club acquires IF Carlos Garcia, OF Orlando Merced and LHP Dan Plesac... November 12, Pat Hentgen is named the American League Cy Young Award winner... November 19, Toronto Blue Jays unveil their new logo and uniforms, the first logo change in club history... December 9, Signed free agent catcher Benito Santiago to a two year deal... December 13, Blue Jays sign free agent pitcher Roger Clemens to a three-year deal.

1976-1981 | 1982-1986 | 1987-1991 | 1992-1996 | 1997-Present