The On Deck Circle

This article has been submitted by Lazy Al Snyder.

Who are the best Blue Jays of all time? Using the requirement that only players who played for three years or more can be included, I developed the following list. The Jays don’t have the richest history, but they can put out a pretty impressive team. Who would manage? Well, I think that’s an obvious CITO, and here’s his squad:

The Lineup
C – Ernie Whitt – was never great, but was good for many years
1B – Carlos Delgado – the deepest Jays position, but Carlos is on top
2B – Roberto Alomar – the best player to play in Toronto, bar none
SS – Tony Fernandez – amazing defensively, plus a pretty solid stick at the plate
3B – Kelly Gruber – I never really liked the guy, but he was their top player for half a decade
OF – Joe Carter – well, we all know about Joe
OF – Jesse Barfield – an absolute cannon arm in RF, he had a stellar bat to go with it
OF – George Bell – was their best hitter for many years and the only MVP in team history
DH – Fred McGriff – I used to love this cat, he hit the first home run in SkyDome history
Honorable Mention: Devon White, John Olderud, Vernon Wells, Lloyd Moseby

The Pitchers
SP – Dave Steib – the best pitcher in the team’s history, he is the leader in most stat categories
SP – Jimmy Key – my favorite pitcher back in the day, he has the best ERA all-time for the Jays
SP – Roy Halladay – most wins in a season ever for a Jay, and probably the best long stretch with the team
RP – Tom Henke – The Terminator was lights out for years
Honorable Mention: Duane Ward

Not a bad squad, and I didn’t develop a bench, but you get the idea – the Jays history is rich with good players, though nothing spectacular.

This article has been submitted by Lazy Al Snyder.