Platooning was an important part of Cox's strategy. He utilized Garth Iorg and Rance Mulliniks at third and the tandem of Ernie Whitt and Buck Martinez behind the plate.

Dave Stieb led the league in innings pitched and complete games while winning a club-record 17 games. Jim Clancy was 16-14, and Luis Leal gave the Jays a reliable third starter with a 12-15 record. Dale Murray was the relief ace, going 8-7 with a 3.16 ERA and recording 11 saves.

July 22, N.E. Hardy appointed Chief Executive Officer... July 30, beer is sold at Exhibition Stadium for the first time, each one cost $1.75... September 11, Blue Jays set a new club mark for road attendance, surpassing the previous mark of 1,285,409... October 3, Blue Jays set new club marks for best home (44-37) and road (34-47) records... Club establishes an American League record for the fewest games behind an American league leader for a last place club (17) since divisional play started in 1969... Toronto wins 78th game to tie Cleveland for sixth place, the first season that the club did not finish in 7th place.

Lloyd Moseby, who became the first Jay to score more than 100 runs, hit .315 with 18 home runs, 81 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. Willie Upshaw became the first Jay to record 100 RBIs, hitting 27 homers to share player of the year honors with Moseby. Damaso Garcia had another strong year, finishing at .307 with 31 stolen bases. The outfield featured Jesse Barfield, who hit 27 home runs, and newly-acquired Dave Collins, who platooned with Barry Bonnell and George Bell. Bonnell hit .318.

The pitching staff consisted of Stieb (17-12), Clancy (15-11), Leal (13-12), Jim Gott (9-14) and Doyle Alexander (7-6), who had been released by the Yankees in June. The 1983 season marked Toronto's first exposure to pennant fever.

May 23, Lloyd Moseby becomes third consecutive Blue Jays player to capture AL Player of the Week honours (others being Luis Leal and Dave Stieb) marking only the second time in league history that one club had captured the honour for three consecutive weeks... July 4, Blue Jays lead the AL East at the All-Star break, a club first... July 25, Blue Jays are tied for first place, setting a new mark for the latest date that the club was ever in first place... August 2, 45,102 fans (a new record) see Blue Jays sweep TN-DH from the Yankees... September 19, Lloyd Moseby becomes first Blue Jays player to score 100 runs... September 20, Willie Upshaw becomes first Blue Jay player to drive in 100 runs... October 2, Blue Jays finish season at 89-73, good for 4th place, 9 games back, and also the first time the franchise had finished with an above .500 record.

After a streak of 19 one-run victories in the first half of the season, the Jays dropped 25 of 40 one-run games over the rest of the schedule. They finished with 89 wins, finishing in second place behind the Detroit Tigers.

Dave Collins won Player of the Year honors with 41 extra base hits and 60 stolen bases. Lloyd Moseby hit .280 with 18 homers and 39 stolen bases. Rance Mulliniks hie .324, the best mark on the club.

Doyle Alexander had a great year on the mound, going 17-6 with 262 innings pitched and 11 complete games. Stieb had another fine year at 16-8 with an ERA of 2.83. Jim Clancy and Luis Leal each won 13 games.

For the first time in franchise history, more than two million fans made their way to Exhibition Stadium. The Jays were a good team, but a piece or two was still missing from the championship puzzle.

April 17, Blue Jays set a new team record with 9,104 season tickets sold... April 28, Blue Jays gain sole possession of second place, a position they would never relinquish... May 27, Alfredo Griffin has his major league leading consecutive game streak snapped at 392 games... June 2, Blue Jays win their 19th one-run game in a row... August 5, Blue Jays steal seven bases in a 5-3 win at Baltimore... August 5, Cliff Johnson sets a new major league record with his 19th career pinch-hit home run... September 2, Blue Jays reach 22-games over .500 (79-57) for the first time in club history... September 19, Blue Jays become the 18th major league franchise to surpass the two million mark in home attendance... September 23, Blue Jays draw 2,110,009 at home, a new franchise mark... September 29, Blue Jays clinch second place, their highest standing ever.

Newcomers included relief ace Bill Claudill, and lefthander Gary Lavelle. Dennis Lamp moved to middle relief and compiled an 11-0 record. Jimmy Key, who went 14-6, joined the starting rotation, while Bell, Barfield, and Fernandez were now everyday players. Tom Henke became the closer in July.

The Jays' bullpen had 47 saves and a 35-20 won-lost record, with Henke saving 13 of 15 games. Bell hit 28 Hrs, Barfield hit 27 and Ernie Whitt had 19. Garth Iorg hit .313. Tony Fernandez hit .289.

April 16, Blue Jays place an 11,500 ceiling on season tickets... May 1, Jimmy Key becomes the club's first starting LHP to win a game since Oct. 4, 1980 (614-games)... May 20, Blue Jays gain sole possession of 1st place, a position they would not relinquish for the remainder of the season... June 8-9, Blue Jays draw back-to-back 40,000 fan home crowds for the first time ever... June 27, Blue Jays surpass one million mark in home attendance, the earliest date ever... July 21, Blue Jays win their 10th straight home game and push their first place lead to a club record 9.5-games... July 27, Blue Jays average home attendance, surpasses the 30,000 mark for the first time ever... September 12-15, Blue Jays and Yankees set an AL record for a 4-game series with 214,510 fans in attendance... September 29, Blue Jays move to a club record 41-games over .500 (98-57)... October 4, 47,686 see the Blue Jays play New York - a new club attendance mark... October 5, Blue Jays captured first division title (American League East)... October 6, Blue Jays draw 2,468,925 fans at home - a new club mark... October 25, Jimy Williams succeeds Bobby Cox as manager.

Inconsistency plagued the starting staff. Jim Clancy lost his final seven decisions while Dave Stieb lost his first six decisions to finish at 7-12. Lefthander Jimmy Key, also winless in his first starts, finished at 11-11. Mark Eichhorn, who won 14 games and set the club record for lowest ERA at 1.72 was selected as rookie relief pitcher of the year by The Sporting News. Tom Henke continued as the team's top stopper, finishing with a club record 27 saves.

Blue Jays place a ceiling of 14,000 on season tickets in celebrating their 10th anniversary season... April 15, Club's first home rainout since July 4, 1983. The game vs. the Orioles was made up the next day ... May 6, Jesse Barfield cracks 2 home runs vs. Oakland to become the club's all-time franchise leader at 93... June 20, Cliff Johnson homers vs. Detroit for his major league leading 20th career pinch-hit home run... June 27, Damaso Garcia ties a major league record with four doubles vs. New York... July 10, Damaso Garcia becomes the first player to register 1000 hits in a Blue Jays uniform... July 28, Jim Clancy becomes the first pitcher to record 100 wins in a Blue Jays uniform... September 22, Tony Fernandez becomes the first Blue Jays player to reach the 200 hit mark in one season, while he and Jesse Barfield become the first Blue Jays to win a Rawlings Gold Glove for defensive excellence.