1991_Toronto_Blue_Jays_season

1991 Toronto Blue Jays season

1991 Toronto Blue Jays season

Major League Baseball team season


The 1991 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 15th season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing first in the American League East with a record of 91 wins and 71 losses. The team's paid attendance of 4,001,527 led the major leagues, as the Jays became the first team in MLB history to draw four million fans in a season. Toronto lost the ALCS to the eventual world champion Minnesota Twins in five games.

Quick Facts Toronto Blue Jays, League ...

Offseason

On December 4, 1990, the San Diego Padres and Blue Jays made one of the biggest blockbuster deals of the decade. The Padres traded second baseman Roberto Alomar and outfielder Joe Carter to the Blue Jays in exchange for first baseman Fred McGriff and shortstop Tony Fernández. Blue Jays GM Pat Gillick and Padres GM Joe McIlvaine originally talked about just trading Joe Carter for Fred McGriff.[1] The Padres were losing Jack Clark and needed a new first baseman. The Blue Jays had John Olerud ready to take over at first base but were losing outfielder George Bell. Gillick decided to up the ante by trying to get Alomar. Gillick figured that with Garry Templeton in the twilight of his career, Fernández would be an adequate replacement.[1] Alomar feuded with Padres manager Greg Riddoch and the thinking was that Bip Roberts and Joey Cora could platoon at second base.[1] Over the next two seasons, Alomar and Carter would help the Blue Jays win the 1992 and 1993 World Series.

Transactions

Transactions by the Toronto Blue Jays during the off-season before the 1991 season.[2]

October 1990

October 15 José Escobar granted free agency.
Webster Garrison granted free agency.
Tom Gilles granted free agency.
October 24 Released Jim Eppard.
October 26 Released Rick Luecken.

November 1990

November 5 George Bell granted free agency (signed with Chicago Cubs on December 6, 1990 to a three-year, $9.8 million contract).
Bud Black granted free agency (signed with San Francisco Giants on November 9, 1990 to a four-year, $10 million contract).
John Candelaria granted free agency (signed with Los Angeles Dodgers on March 25, 1991 to a one-year, $830,000 contract).
Rance Mulliniks granted free agency (signed with Toronto Blue Jays to a two-year, $1.5 million contract on December 4, 1990).
November 6 Acquired Alex Sanchez from the Cleveland Indians for Willie Blair.
November 26 Signed free agent Ken Dayley from the St. Louis Cardinals to a three-year, $6.3 million contract.

December 1990

December 2 Acquired Willie Fraser, Marcus Moore and Devon White from the California Angels for Junior Félix, Luis Sojo and a player to be named later (Ken Rivers on December 4, 1990).
December 4 Signed free agent Ravelo Manzanillo from the Chicago White Sox to a one-year contract.
Re-signed free agent Rance Mulliniks to a two-year, $1.5 million contract.
December 5 Signed free agent Pat Tabler from the Kansas City Royals to a two-year, $1.6 million contract.
Acquired Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter from the San Diego Padres for Tony Fernández and Fred McGriff.
December 10 Signed amateur free agent Carlos Almanzar to a contract.
Signed amateur free agent Edwin Hurtado to a contract.
Signed free agent Dilson Torres to a contract.
December 14 Acquired Mickey Weston from the Baltimore Orioles for Paul Kilgus.
December 20 John Cerutti granted free agency (signed with Detroit Tigers to a one-year, $800,000 on January 14, 1991).

January 1991

January 15 Acquired Rene Gonzales from the Baltimore Orioles for Rob Blumberg.

February 1991

February 8 Re-signed Roberto Alomar to a one-year, $1.25 million contract.

Regular season

  • May 1, 1991: The Blue Jays were part of baseball history, as Nolan Ryan threw his seventh and last no-hitter against them in Arlington.
  • July 1, 1991: Joe Carter was named the AL Player of the Month for the month of June.
  • August 13, 1991: After making 25 consecutive save opportunities, Tom Henke picked up a blown save after Paul Molitor hit a home run in the ninth.
  • October 2, 1991: The Blue Jays clinched the American League East title in a 6-5 walk-off win over the California Angels. Joe Carter hit the game-winning single. The Jays also became the first team to have their season attendance pass the 4 million mark.

Opening Day starters

Season standings

More information W, L ...

Record vs. opponents

More information Team, BAL ...

Transactions

Transactions for the Toronto Blue Jays during the 1991 regular season.[3]

May 1991

May 16 Signed amateur free agent Freddy García to a contract.
Signed amateur free agent Julio Mosquera to a contract.

June 1991

June 4 Kenny Williams selected off of waivers by the Montreal Expos.
June 26 Willie Fraser selected off of waivers by the St. Louis Cardinals.
June 27 Acquired Tom Candiotti and Turner Ward from the Cleveland Indians for Denis Boucher, Glenallen Hill, Mark Whiten and cash.

July 1991

July 3 Selected Efraín Valdez off of waivers from the Cleveland Indians.
July 14 Acquired Cory Snyder from the Chicago White Sox for Shawn Jeter and a player to be named later (Steve Wapnick on September 4, 1991).

August 1991

August 9 Acquired Candy Maldonado from the Milwaukee Brewers for Bob Wishnevski and a player to be named later (William Suero on August 14, 1991).

September 1991

September 14 Signed free agent Dave Parker from the California Angels to a contract.

1991 MLB Draft

  • June 3, 1991: 1991 Major League Baseball draft
    • Shawn Green was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 1st round (16th pick). Player signed September 25, 1991.[4]
    • Jeff Ware was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 1st round (35th pick). Player signed August 25, 1991.[5]
    • Dante Powell was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 1st round (42nd pick), but did not sign.[6]
    • Chris Stynes was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 3rd round. Player signed June 4, 1991.[7]
    • Alex Gonzalez was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 14th round. Player signed June 12, 1991.[8]

Roster

1991 Toronto Blue Jays
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Manager Cito Gaston was sidelined with a herniated disc [9] from August 21 to September 25. Gene Tenace served as the team's interim manager,[10] going 19–14 and keeping the Jays in first place in the AL East for the duration of Gaston's absence.

Game log

More information #, Date ...
More information #, Date ...

All-Star game

The Blue Jays hosted the 1991 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. It was the 62nd Midsummer Classic and was played on July 9 at SkyDome. Roberto Alomar was voted in as the starting second baseman for the American League, while pitcher Jimmy Key and outfielder Joe Carter were named as reserves on the AL team. Key got the win as the American League's All-Stars triumphed over the National League All-Stars, 4-2.

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

More information Pos, Player ...

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

More information Player, G ...

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

More information Player, G ...

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

More information Player, G ...

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

More information Player, G ...

ALCS

Game 1

October 8, Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome

More information Team, R ...

Game 2

October 9, Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome

More information Team, R ...

Game 3

October 11, Skydome

More information Team, R ...

Game 4

October 12, Skydome

More information Team, R ...

Game 5

October 13, Skydome

More information Team, R ...

Award winners

All-Star Game

Farm system

[12][13]


References

  1. Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p.261, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2
  2. "1991 Toronto Blue Jays Trades and Transactions". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  3. "1991 Toronto Blue Jays Trades and Transactions". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  4. Shawn Green at Baseball Reference
  5. Jeff Ware at Baseball Reference
  6. Dante Powell at Baseball Reference
  7. Chris Stynes at Baseball Reference
  8. Alex Gonzalez at Baseball Reference
  9. "Jays' Manager Is Hospitalized". The New York Times. Associated Press. August 22, 1991. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  10. "Gene Tenace". www.retrosheet.org. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  11. "All-Stars". MLB.com. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  12. "1991 Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Affiliates". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  13. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article 1991_Toronto_Blue_Jays_season, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.