1989 Toronto Blue Jays season

MLB yearly infobox
name = Toronto Blue Jays
season = 1989
misc = 1989 AL East Champions

current league = American League
y1 = 1977
division = Eastern Division
y2 = 1977
Uniform logo =
ballpark = Exhibition Stadium
y4 = 1977
city = Toronto, Ontario
y5 = 1977
owners = Labatt Breweries,
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
genmanagers = Pat Gillick
managers = Jimy Williams and Cito Gaston
television = CFTO-TV
(Don Chevrier, Tony Kubek, Fergie Olver)
The Sports Network
(Buck Martinez, Fergie Olver)
radio = CJCL (AM)
(Jerry Howarth, Tom Cheek)|The by|1989 Toronto Blue Jays season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Blue Jays finishing first in the American League East with a record of 89 wins and 73 losses. They lost the ALCS in five games to the eventual world champion Oakland Athletics.

Offseason

*October 9, 1988: Carlos Delgado was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays as an amateur free agent. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/d/delgaca01.shtml]
*December 22, 1988: Cecil Fielder was purchased from the Blue Jays by the Hanshin Tigers (Japan Central). [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/f/fieldce01.shtml Cecil Fielder page at Baseball Reference] ]
*December 24, 1988: Mike Flanagan was signed as a free agent by the Blue Jays. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/f/flanami01.shtml Mike Flanagan page at Baseball Reference] ]
*January 18, 1989: Bob Brenly was signed as a free agent by the Blue Jays. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/brenlbo01.shtml Bob Brenly page at Baseball Reference] ]

Regular season

The regular season would represent a turning point for the Blue Jays in many different ways. The Blue Jays started the 1989 season in Kansas City. Behind the pitching of Jimmy Key, the Jays won the first game of the season 4-3. Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.230, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2 ] The rest of the month would result in a losing record for the Jays. After the first month of the season, the Blue Jays had 10 wins and 20 losses and sat 6.5 games behing the Baltimore Orioles in the standings. The result was that Pat Gillick made his first trade in 605 days. On April 30, Gillick sent Jesse Barfield to the New York Yankees in exchange for Al Leiter. The reason for the deal was that management was convinced that Rob Ducey was ready to be an everyday outfielder (Ironically, the spot eventually went to surprising Junior Felix that year, and Ducey never became the everyday player that the Jays imagined him to be).

Traditionally, the Blue Jays had never fired a manager in the middle of the season. After the Jays were swept by the Minnesota Twins in a three game series, including a 13-1 loss in the final game of the series, the Jays had 12 wins and 24 losses. Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.231, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2 ] The Jays had also lost 15 of their last 19 games. Gillick decided that a change was needed. On Monday, May 15, Jimy Williams had become the first Jays manager to be fired in mid-season. Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.232, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2 ] Williams would be replaced by Cito Gaston, the first black manager in the history of the franchise.

The team would move into the brand new Skydome and leave Exhibition Stadium behind. Their last game at Exhibition Stadium would be against the first team they played there, the Chicago White Sox. From there, the Blue Jays would open up the Skydome in a loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Besides clinching the American League East Division Title, another season highlight was Kelly Gruber hitting for the cycle against the Kansas City Royals on April 16.

Notable Games

* April 16, 1989 - Blue Jays third baseman Kelly Gruber hits for the cycle in a 15-8 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

* May 4, 1989 – In a game versus the California Angels, Junior Felix hits a home run in his first Major League at-bat, becoming only the 60th Major Leaguer to achieve the feat.

* May 28, 1989 – The Blue Jays play their final game at Exhibition Stadium, a 7-5 10-inning win over the Chicago White Sox. Coincidentally, the White Sox had been the Jays' opponents in their first game at Exhibition Stadium (also the first game in franchise history) twelve years before.

* June 5, 1989 - The Blue Jays play their first game in the brand-new SkyDome, a 5-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

* September 30, 1989 - In the next-to-last game of the regular season, the Blue Jays clinch their second American League East division title. Tom Henke strikes out Baltimore Orioles pinch-hitter Larry Sheets for the final out.

Opening Day Starters

* Jesse Barfield
* George Bell
* Pat Borders
* Bob Brenly
* Kelly Gruber
* Jimmy Key
* Manuel Lee
* Nelson Liriano
* Fred McGriff
* Lloyd Moseby

eason standings

Notable transactions

* March 9, 1989: Cliff Young was traded by the Blue Jays to the California Angels for De Wayne Buice. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/y/youngcl01.shtml Cliff Young page at Baseball Reference] ]
* June 5, 1989: John Olerud was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 3rd round of the 1989 amateur draft. Player signed August 26, 1989. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/o/olerujo01.shtml John Olerud page at Baseball Reference] ]
*June 12, 1989: Dane Johnson was released by the Blue Jays. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/j/johnsda05.shtml Dane Johnson page at Baseball Reference] ]
* July 31, 1989: Jeff Musselman and Mike Brady (minors) were traded by the Blue Jays to the New York Mets for Mookie Wilson. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/musseje01.shtml Jeff Musselman page at Baseball Reference] ]
* July 31, 1989: Lee Mazzilli was selected off waivers by the Blue Jays from the New York Mets. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/mazzile01.shtml Lee Mazzilli page at Baseball Reference] ]
* August 24, 1989: Tony Castillo and Francisco Cabrera were traded by the Blue Jays to the Atlanta Braves for Jim Acker. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/a/ackerji01.shtml Jim Acker page at Baseball Reference] ]
*August 26, 1989: Paul Spoljaric was signed by the Blue Jays as an amateur free agent. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/spoljpa01.shtml Paul Spoljaric page at Baseball Reference] ]

Roster

[ http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/TOR/1989.shtml]

Other batters

Relief pitchers

Game 3

October 6, 1989 at SkyDome

Award Winners

* George Bell, Player of the Month Award, August
* Fred McGriff, Player of the Month Award, April
* Fred McGriff, American League Leader in Home Runs (36)
* Fred McGriff, Silver Slugger Award

All-Star Game
* Kelly Gruber, Third Base
* Tony Fernandez, Shortstop [ [http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/tor/history/all_stars.jsp Blue Jays All-Stars | bluejays.com: History ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/TOR/1989.shtml 1989 Toronto Blue Jays team page at Baseball Reference]
* [http://baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1989&t=TOR 1989 Toronto Blue Jays team page at www.baseball-almanac.com]

succession box
title = AL East Championship Season
years = 1989
before =Boston Red Sox
1988
after = Boston Red Sox
1990