1990 Toronto Blue Jays season
The 1990 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 14th season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing second in the American League East with a record of 86 wins and 76 losses. It was their first full season in the SkyDome, where an MLB attendance record of 3,885,284 was set that year.[1] The Blue Jays led the division by 1½ games over the Boston Red Sox with one week left in the season. However, they then proceeded to drop six of their last eight games, losing the division title to the Red Sox by a two-game margin.
| 1990 Toronto Blue Jays | |
|---|---|
| Major League affiliations | |
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| Location | |
| Results | |
| Record | 86–76 (.531) |
| Divisional place | 2nd |
| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Labatt Breweries, Imperial Trust, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce |
| General manager(s) | Pat Gillick |
| Manager(s) | Cito Gaston |
| Local television | CFTO-TV (Don Chevrier, Tommy Hutton, Fergie Olver) The Sports Network (Jim Hughson, Buck Martinez) |
| Local radio | CJCL (AM) (Jerry Howarth, Tom Cheek) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
Offseason
- December 4, 1989: 1989 rule 5 draft
- Sil Campusano was drafted from the Blue Jays by the Philadelphia Phillies.[2]
- Steve Wapnick was drafted from the Blue Jays by the Detroit Tigers.[3]
- December 5, 1989: Mike Maksudian was drafted by the Blue Jays from the Miami Miracle in the 1989 minor league draft.[4]
- December 7, 1989: José Núñez was traded by the Blue Jays to the Chicago Cubs for Paul Kilgus.[5]
- December 17, 1989: Ernie Whitt and Kevin Batiste were traded by the Blue Jays to the Atlanta Braves for Ricky Trlicek.[6]
- January 10, 1990: Tilson Brito was signed as an amateur free agent by the Blue Jays.[7]
- January 29, 1990: Jim Eppard was signed as a free agent by the Blue Jays.[8]
Regular season
The 1990 season belonged to third baseman Kelly Gruber. He had career highs in home runs and RBIs, with 31 and 118, respectively. Along with outfielder George Bell and pitcher Dave Stieb, Gruber was named an American League All-Star, stealing two bases in the All-Star Game on July 10 at Chicago's Wrigley Field. A finalist for the American League MVP Award, at season's end he was named the AL's Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Award winner at third base.
The Blue Jays were involved in two no-hitters during the 1990 season. On June 29, Dave Stewart of the Oakland Athletics no-hit them by a score of 5–0. On September 2, Jays ace Dave Stieb finally got the no-hitter that had eluded him, blanking the Cleveland Indians 3–0.
Opening Day starters
- George Bell, OF
- Junior Felix, OF
- Tony Fernández, SS
- Kelly Gruber, 3B
- Nelson Liriano, 2B
- Fred McGriff, 1B
- Greg Myers, C
- John Olerud, DH
- Dave Stieb, P
- Mookie Wilson, OF
Season standings
| AL East | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox | 88 | 74 | 0.543 | — | 51–30 | 37–44 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 86 | 76 | 0.531 | 2 | 44–37 | 42–39 |
| Detroit Tigers | 79 | 83 | 0.488 | 9 | 39–42 | 40–41 |
| Cleveland Indians | 77 | 85 | 0.475 | 11 | 41–40 | 36–45 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 76 | 85 | 0.472 | 11½ | 40–40 | 36–45 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 74 | 88 | 0.457 | 14 | 39–42 | 35–46 |
| New York Yankees | 67 | 95 | 0.414 | 21 | 37–44 | 30–51 |
Record vs. opponents
1990 American League Records Sources: | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 4–9 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 8–3 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 3–9 | 8–4 | 5–8 |
| Boston | 9–4 | — | 7–5 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 9–4 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 10–3 |
| California | 5–7 | 5–7 | — | 5–8 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 5–8 | 8–5 | 7–5 |
| Chicago | 6–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | — | 5–7 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 10–2 | 7–6 | 10–2 | 8–5 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 5–7 |
| Cleveland | 7–6 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 7–5 | — | 5–8 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 4–9 |
| Detroit | 7–6 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 8–5 | — | 5–7 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 5–8 |
| Kansas City | 3–8 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 4–8 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 4–9 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 5–7 |
| Milwaukee | 6–7 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 2–10 | 4–9 | 10–3 | 8–4 | — | 4–8 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 7–6 |
| Minnesota | 6–6 | 8–4 | 4–9 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 8–4 | — | 6–6 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 5–8 | 3–9 |
| New York | 7–6 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 2–10 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 6–6 | — | 0–12 | 9–3 | 3–9 | 5–8 |
| Oakland | 8–4 | 8–4 | 9–4 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 12–0 | — | 9–4 | 8–5 | 7–5 |
| Seattle | 9–3 | 4–8 | 8–5 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 4–9 | — | 7–6 | 6–6 |
| Texas | 4–8 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 9–3 | 5–8 | 6–7 | — | 7–5 |
| Toronto | 8–5 | 3–10 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 9–3 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–7 | — |
Notable transactions
- May 1, 1990: Steve Wapnick was returned to the Blue Jays by the Detroit Tigers.[3]
- May 8, 1990: Mike Flanagan was released by the Blue Jays.[9]
- June 4, 1990: 1990 Major League Baseball draft
- Steve Karsay was drafted by the Jays in the 1st round (22nd pick).[10]
- Future Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke was drafted by the Blue Jays. Player signed August 20, 1990.[11]
- Felipe Crespo was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 3rd round. Player signed September 22, 1990.[12]
- Howard Battle was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 4th round. Player signed June 6, 1990.[13]
- Ricardo Jordan was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 37th round.[14]
- June 18, 1990: Kenny Williams was selected off waivers by the Blue Jays from the Detroit Tigers.[15]
- July 27, 1990: Nelson Liriano and Pedro Muñoz were traded by the Blue Jays to the Minnesota Twins for John Candelaria.[16]
- September 16, 1990: Mauro Gozzo and players to be named later were traded by the Blue Jays to the Cleveland Indians for Bud Black. The Blue Jays completed the trade by sending Steve Cummings to the Indians on September 21 and Alex Sanchez to the Indians on September 24.[17]
- September 24, 1990: Rich Butler was signed as an amateur free agent by the Blue Jays.[18]
- September 24, 1990: Rob Butler was signed as an amateur free agent by the Blue Jays.[19]
Eric Lindros
The hype around Eric Lindros during his early career led to an exclusive deal with sports card manufacturer SCORE. Attempting to leverage this arrangement as much as possible, he was even featured on a baseball card showing him as a third baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays, although he never actually played baseball. He was only there taking batting practice one day.[20]
Roster
| 1990 Toronto Blue Jays | |||||||||
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Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters
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Manager
Coaches
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Game log
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April
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May
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June
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July
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August
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September
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Player stats
Starters by position
Note: Pos = position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| = Indicates team leader |
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Pat Borders | 125 | 346 | 99 | .286 | 15 | 49 |
| 1B | Fred McGriff | 153 | 557 | 167 | .300 | 35 | 88 |
| 2B | Manuel Lee | 117 | 391 | 95 | .243 | 6 | 41 |
| 3B | Kelly Gruber | 150 | 592 | 162 | .274 | 31 | 118 |
| SS | Tony Fernández | 161 | 635 | 175 | .276 | 4 | 66 |
| LF | George Bell | 142 | 562 | 149 | .265 | 21 | 86 |
| CF | Mookie Wilson | 147 | 588 | 156 | .265 | 3 | 51 |
| RF | Junior Félix | 127 | 463 | 122 | .263 | 15 | 65 |
| DH | John Olerud | 111 | 358 | 95 | .265 | 14 | 48 |
Other batters
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glenallen Hill | 84 | 260 | 60 | .231 | 12 | 32 |
| Greg Myers | 87 | 250 | 59 | .236 | 5 | 22 |
| Nelson Liriano | 50 | 170 | 36 | .212 | 1 | 15 |
| Rance Mulliniks | 57 | 97 | 28 | .289 | 2 | 16 |
| Mark Whiten | 33 | 88 | 12 | .273 | 2 | 7 |
| Luis Sojo | 33 | 80 | 18 | .225 | 1 | 9 |
| Kenny Williams | 49 | 72 | 14 | .194 | 0 | 8 |
| Rob Ducey | 19 | 53 | 16 | .302 | 0 | 7 |
| Tom Lawless | 15 | 12 | 1 | .083 | 0 | 1 |
| Jim Eppard | 6 | 5 | 1 | .200 | 0 | 0 |
| Ozzie Virgil | 3 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Carlos Diaz | 9 | 3 | 1 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Quinlan | 1 | 2 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 0 |
Starting pitchers
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Stieb | 33 | 208⅔ | 18 | 6 | 2.93 | 125 |
| Jimmy Key | 27 | 154⅔ | 13 | 7 | 4.25 | 88 |
| Todd Stottlemyre | 33 | 203 | 13 | 17 | 4.34 | 115 |
| John Cerutti | 30 | 140 | 9 | 9 | 4.76 | 49 |
| Mike Flanagan | 5 | 20⅓ | 2 | 2 | 5.31 | 5 |
Other pitchers
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Wells | 43 | 189 | 11 | 6 | 3.14 | 115 |
| Willie Blair | 27 | 68.2 | 3 | 5 | 4.06 | 43 |
| John Candelaria | 13 | 21.1 | 0 | 3 | 5.48 | 19 |
| Bud Black | 3 | 15.2 | 2 | 1 | 4.02 | 3 |
| Steve Cummings | 6 | 12.1 | 0 | 0 | 5.11 | 4 |
Relief pitchers
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Henke | 61 | 2 | 4 | 32 | 2.17 | 75 |
| Duane Ward | 73 | 2 | 8 | 11 | 3.45 | 112 |
| Jim Acker | 59 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3.83 | 54 |
| Frank Wills | 44 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4.73 | 72 |
| Paul Kilgus | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.06 | 7 |
| Al Leiter | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 5 |
| Bob MacDonald | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| Tom Gilles | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6.75 | 0 |
| Rick Luecken | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 0 |
Award winners
- Kelly Gruber, Player of the Month Award, September
- Kelly Gruber, Silver Slugger Award
- Kelly Gruber, Gold Glove Award
- George Bell, OF
- Kelly Gruber, 3B
- Dave Stieb, P [21]
Farm system
References
- "BLUE JAYS TIMELINE (1990–1999)". The Official Site of The Toronto Blue Jays. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
- Sil Campusano at Baseball Reference
- Steve Wapnick at Baseball Reference
- Mike Maksudian at Baseball Reference
- Paul Kilgus at Baseball Reference
- Ricky Trlicek at Baseball Reference
- Tilson Brito at Baseball Reference
- Jim Eppard at Baseball Reference
- Mike Flanagan at Baseball Reference
- Baseball Draft: 1st Round of the 1990 June Draft Baseball-Reference.com
- Chris Weinke News – The New York Times – Narrowed by 'TORONTO BLUE JAYS'
- Felipe Crespo at Baseball Reference
- Howard Battle at Baseball Reference
- Ricardo Jordan at Baseball Reference
- Kenny Williams at Baseball Reference
- John Candelaria at Baseball Reference
- Bud Black at Baseball Reference
- Rich Butler at Baseball Reference
- Rob Butler at Baseball Reference
- Archived July 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, The Baseball Card Project, accessed August 31, 2006
- Blue Jays All-Stars | bluejays.com: History
- Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007
External links
- 1990 Toronto Blue Jays at Baseball Reference
- 1990 Toronto Blue Jays at Baseball Almanac
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