1977 Toronto Blue Jays season

The 1977 Toronto Blue Jays season was the first season of Major League Baseball played by the Toronto-based expansion franchise. The Blue Jays finished seventh in the American League East with a record of 54 wins and 107 losses, 45½ games behind the World Champion New York Yankees.

1977 Toronto Blue Jays
LeagueAmerican League
DivisionEast
BallparkExhibition Stadium
CityToronto
Record54–107 (.335)
Divisional place7th
OwnersLabatt Breweries,
Imperial Trust,
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
General managersPeter Bavasi
ManagersRoy Hartsfield
TelevisionCBC Television
(Don Chevrier, Tony Kubek, Tom McKee)
RadioCKFH
(Early Wynn, Tom Cheek)
Seasons 1978 →

Offseason

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Transactions

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Transactions by the Toronto Blue Jays during the off-season before the 1977 season.[1]

October 1976

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October 21 Acquired Phil Roof from the Chicago White Sox for a player to be named later (Larry Anderson on January 5, 1977).
October 22 Purchased Dave Roberts from the San Diego Padres.
Purchased Dave Hilton from the San Diego Padres.
Purchased John Scott from the San Diego Padres.

November 1976

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November 5 Participated in the 1976 Major League Baseball expansion draft

Players acquired, in order of draft:


Bob Bailor from the Baltimore Orioles
Jerry Garvin from the Minnesota Twins
Jim Clancy from the Texas Rangers
Gary Woods from the Oakland Athletics
Rico Carty from the Cleveland Indians
Butch Edge from the Milwaukee Brewers
Al Fitzmorris from the Kansas City Royals
Alvis Woods from the Minnesota Twins
Mike Darr from the Baltimore Orioles
Pete Vuckovich from the Chicago White Sox
Jeff Byrd from the Texas Rangers
Steve Bowling from the Milwaukee Brewers
Dennis DeBarr from the Detroit Tigers
Bill Singer from the Minnesota Twins
Jim Mason from the New York Yankees
Doug Ault from the Texas Rangers
Ernie Whitt from the Boston Red Sox
Mike Weathers from the Oakland Athletics
Steve Staggs from the Kansas City Royals
Steve Hargan from the Texas Rangers
Garth Iorg from the New York Yankees
Dave Lemanczyk from the Detroit Tigers
Larry Anderson from the Milwaukee Brewers
Jesse Jefferson from the Chicago White Sox
Dave McKay from the Minnesota Twins
Tom Bruno from the Kansas City Royals
Otto Velez from the New York Yankees
Mike Willis from the Baltimore Orioles
Sam Ewing from the Chicago White Sox
Leon Hooten from the Oakland Athletics

November 5 Purchased Chuck Hartenstein from the San Diego Padres.
Acquired Alan Ashby and Doug Howard from the Cleveland Indians for Al Fitzmorris.

December 1976

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December 6 Acquired Rick Cerone and John Lowenstein from the Cleveland Indians for Rico Carty.

Source[2][3]

January 1977

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January 1 Signed free agent Lloyd Allen from the St. Louis Cardinals to a contract.
January 3 Signed free agent Pedro García from the Detroit Tigers to a contract.
January 5 Sent Larry Anderson to the Chicago White Sox to complete the October 21 trade for Phil Roof.

February 1977

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February 16 Acquired Jerry Johnson from the San Diego Padres for Dave Roberts.
February 24 Acquired Ron Fairly from the Oakland Athletics for Mike Weathers and cash.

March 1977

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March 21 Purchased Ken Reynolds from the San Diego Padres.
March 29 Acquired Héctor Torres from the Cleveland Indians for John Lowenstein.
Released Lloyd Allen, Leon Hooten and Doug Howard.
March 31 Released Ken Reynolds.

Spring training

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The team had announced on August 26, 1976 that they had selected Dunedin, Florida as its base for spring training. Dunedin was a 30-minute drive from the Tampa airport with daily flights to and from Toronto, and was near other spring training sites including the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater, the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals in St. Petersburg, the Cincinnati Reds in Tampa, and the Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton.

Dunedin's Grant Field was located near the downtown and had been used in the 1950s and 1960s by AAA minor league clubs for spring training. The city improved the ballpark with new seats, fences, and clubhouses, increasing seating from approximately 1,200 to 2,000.[4]

The Blue Jays' first exhibition game was scheduled for March 10, 1977 against the Philadelphia Phillies, but was cancelled due to rain. Instead, the first game was March 11, 1977 against the New York Mets. Wire services reported, "Spectators who arrived too late to purchase tickets inhabited areas down both foul lines, outside the outfield fences and some even took seats in the Babe Ruth League grandstand located down the right field line, some 500 feet away from home plate." Bill Singer started the game for the Blue Jays and surrendered a lead off home run to the Mets' Lee Mazzilli. However, the Blue Jays came back and won 3-1 in front of 1,988 fans.[5]

The first two times they played the Montreal Expos, the Blue Jays were triumphant as well. Perhaps the highlight of spring training was a game against the Cincinnati Reds. The Blue Jays defeated the defending World Series champions with the Reds missing only one regular starter from their lineup.[6] After spring training, the Blue Jays 25-man roster was set. Ron Fairly, who had previously played for the Montreal Expos, was one of the most recognizable players on the nascent team. The only marquee name was Bill Singer, a pitcher who won 20 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1969 and threw a no-hitter in 1970. Pat Gillick had worked out a deal with the New York Yankees to trade Singer for promising young left-hander Ron Guidry.[6] Blue Jays president Peter Bavasi vetoed the deal, as Singer was part of his plan to market and promote the team.[6]

Regular season

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The first game

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A ticket from the Blue Jays' first regular season game.

On April 7, 1977, 44,649 fans attended the first game in Toronto Blue Jays franchise history, as the squad hosted the Chicago White Sox.[7] Notables in attendance that day included Metro Toronto chairman Paul Godfrey, Toronto mayor David Crombie, legendary NHL broadcaster Foster Hewitt, and country singer Anne Murray.[8] Besides the snow that adorned the field, hundreds of fans missed the first pitch because they were stuck in traffic. An enduring image was the Chicago catcher, Jim Essian, using his shin pads to ski around on the field by their dugout with bats used as poles before the game started.

The umpires for the game included crew chief Nestor Chylak, Joe Brinkman, Rich Garcia, and 27-year-old Steve Palermo, who was making his major-league debut.[9] The game was broadcast on the CBC with Tom McKee (host), Don Chevrier (play-by-play) and New York Yankees legend Whitey Ford providing the commentary and analysis. McKee was the initial face and voice to appear on that inaugural Blue Jays telecast. The Blue Jays would appear on the CBC only 16 times that first season.[8] Tom Cheek and analyst Early Wynn called the game on the radio, this being the first of 4,306 consecutive games Cheek would call.

As the snow was squeegeed off the field (via a Zamboni on loan from the Toronto Maple Leafs), the 48th Highlanders marched onto the field to perform the Star Spangled Banner. Canadian country star Murray, wearing a red parka, then sang O Canada.[9]

The fans chanted "We want beer," because Toronto's Exhibition Stadium was the only ballpark in the major leagues to not serve beer.[10] This was essentially a political protest, since all Ontario stadia were forbidden by law at that time from selling alcoholic beverages. It would take more than five years of lobbying and petitioning from Blue Jays owners Labatt and other interested parties before the Legislative Assembly of Ontario legalized beer sales in the middle of the 1982 season.

Bill Singer threw the first pitch in Toronto Blue Jays history to Ralph Garr of the White Sox, a high fastball called for a strike.[10] From an 0–2 count, Garr battled back to 3–2, then drew a walk. Afterwards, Garr stole second base, advancing to third when catcher Rick Cerone's throw went into centre field.[10] Shortstop Alan Bannister then hit a fly ball for the first out of the game. Jorge Orta followed with a sacrifice fly to cash in Garr, who scored the first run in Exhibition Stadium history.[10] Richie Zisk then hit the first home run at The Ex, making the score 2–0, White Sox. Blue Jays manager Roy Hartsfield went to the mound to talk to Singer as reliever Jerry Johnson started warming up in the bullpen. Singer was able to compose himself, getting Eric Soderholm to hit into a fielder's choice to end the inning.[10]

Outfielder John Scott was the first Blue Jays player to have an at bat, facing White Sox pitcher Ken Brett, taking a strike on the first pitch thrown to him.[8] He struck out, as did the next batter, Héctor Torres. Up came first baseman Doug Ault, a 27-year-old career minor-leaguer with only nine games' experience in the majors with the Texas Rangers and the Blue Jays' 16th pick in the expansion draft.[8] On a 1–1 pitch, Ault slugged the first home run (and first hit) in Blue Jay history deep to left-centre. The score was now 2–1, Chicago.

The Chisox scored two runs in the top of the second, increasing their lead to 4-1. In the bottom of the second, Gary Woods bunted for a single, stole second, and scored on a single to right field by Pedro García. In the third inning, Torres singled and Ault was back at the plate. With the count 1–1, Ault hit his second home run down the right field line, and the game was tied at 4 runs apiece.[8] Toronto took their first lead in the fourth when Dave McKay singled in García from second base.[11]

Singer struck out Chet Lemon to start the fifth inning, but Brian Downing and Ralph Garr singled off him.[11] Hartsfield came out to the mound to make a pitching change. Singer left to a standing ovation as Jerry Johnson entered the game.[11] Johnson recorded the final two outs of the fifth. In his first major-league at bat, Al Woods pinch hit for Steve Bowling in the bottom of the fifth.[11] With Otto Vélez at second base, Woods homered to right field.[11] The score was now 7–4 in favour of Toronto, the team having scored in every inning to that point.

The Sox scored a run in the sixth inning, making the score 7–5. Pete Vuckovich entered in relief of Johnson to begin the eighth. He struck out two batters, gave up a walk and a single, but got a ground ball to end the inning.[12] In the bottom of the inning, Ault returned to the plate and singled in another run to make the score 8–5. Another run scored on a double play ground out, making the score 9–5, Blue Jays.

In the top of the ninth, Vuckovich retired Jorge Orta on a ground ball, then struck out Richie Zisk. For the day, Zisk had four hits in five at bats.[12] With one out to go for the win, Jim Spencer hit a line drive to left field but Scott dropped the ball for a two-base error. Oscar Gamble subsequently grounded out to the shortstop,[12] at which the Blue Jays had won their first game in franchise history. Jerry Johnson picked up the win while Vuckovich earned the save.[12]

The heroes of opening day would not have a future with the Jays. Jerry Johnson retired after the '77 season and would end up in Hollywood working as a stuntman. At the 1977 Winter Meetings, Toronto traded Vuckovich to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Tom Underwood.[12] After seeing sporadic playing time in 1978, Doug Ault spent all of 1979 in the minors.[13]

Linescore

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April 7, Exhibition Stadium, Toronto, Ontario

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Chicago 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 15 0
Toronto 1 1 2 1 2 0 0 2 0 9 16 1
W: Jerry Johnson (1–0)  L: Ken Brett (0–1)  
HRs: Doug Ault (2), Alvis Woods (1), Richie Zisk (1)

Boxscore

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Batting
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Chicago White Sox AB R H RBI Toronto Blue Jays AB R H RBI
Garr, lf 5 2 3 0 Scott, lf 5 1 1 0
Bannister, ss 5 0 1 1 Torres, ss 2 1 1 0
Nyman, ph 1 0 0 0 Mason, ph/ss 1 1 0 0
Nordbrook, ss 0 0 0 0 Ault, 1b 4 2 3 4
Orta, 2b 4 0 0 1 Vélez, dh 4 1 2 0
Zisk, rf 6 2 4 2 G. Woods, cf 5 1 1 0
Spencer, 1b 6 0 2 0 Bowling, rf 2 0 0 0
Gamble, dh 3 0 0 0 A. Woods, ph, rf 3 1 1 2
Soderholm, 3b 5 0 2 1 García, 2b 4 1 3 1
Lemon, cf 4 0 0 0 McKay, 3b 4 0 2 1
Downing, c 4 1 3 0 Cerone, c 6 0 2 0
Totals 43 5 15 5 Totals 38 9 16 8
Pitching
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Chicago White Sox IP H R ER BB SO
Brett, L (0–1) 3.0 9 5 5 0 4
Barrios 3.0 3 2 2 3 1
Hamilton 1.0 3 2 2 0 1
LaGrow 1.0 1 0 0 0 1
Totals 8.0 16 9 9 3 7
Toronto Blue Jays IP H R ER BB SO
Singer 4.1 11 4 3 3 5
Johnson W (1–0) 2.2 3 1 1 3 1
Vuckovich, SV (1) 2.0 1 0 0 1 3
Totals 9.0 15 5 4 7 9

April

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The Blue Jays finished their first homestand with a 5–2 record, sitting in first place in the American League East by 0.5 games, as the team took two of three against the Chicago White Sox and three of four from the Detroit Tigers. Pitcher Jerry Garvin picked up two of Toronto's five wins.

The Blue Jays struggled on their first road trip, as they were swept in a three-game series by the Chicago White Sox and split a four-game series with the New York Yankees, returning home with a 7–7 record.

On April 27, the Blue Jays were involved in their first extra innings game, defeating the Cleveland Indians 6–5 in 12 innings.

The Jays finished the month in fifth place with a 10–11 record, three games out of first place. Jerry Garvin had an impressive 4–0 record with a 2.14 ERA. Outfielder Otto Vélez hit .442 with five home runs and 18 RBI and was named American League Player of the Month.

On May 4, the Blue Jays scored 10 runs in a game for the first time in team history, thumping the Milwaukee Brewers 10–3 at Exhibition Stadium. The team would score 10 runs again five nights later on May 9 in a 10–4 win over their expansion cousins, the Seattle Mariners.

On May 14, the Jays allowed double digits in runs for the first time, losing 13–3 to the Minnesota Twins.

Toronto struggled during the month of May, posting a record of 8–17. Following a 6–5 loss to the Oakland Athletics on May 25, the Blue Jays fell into last place in the American League East for the first time.

June

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After losing their first two games in June, the Blue Jays would win five of their next six, the only blemish being a 2–1 loss in 13 innings to the California Angels. Following that, Toronto would win only two of their next 14 games.

On June 27, Ron Guidry of the New York Yankees was carrying a no-hitter into the fifth inning when he walked the bases loaded, then gave up a grand slam to light-hitting Hector Torres, which vaulted the Jays to a 7–6 victory. During the month, Toronto had a 10–17 record, bringing their overall record to 28–45, seventh place in the American League East.

July

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The Blue Jays played their first Canada Day game on July 1, losing to the Texas Rangers 11–8 at Exhibition Stadium.

They went into the All-Star break with a 34–58 record, 19 games out of first place. At the 1977 Major League Baseball All-Star Game held at Yankee Stadium in New York City on July 19, first baseman Ron Fairly was the only Blue Jays representative. He struck out in his only at-bat against Tom Seaver.

After the All-Star break, the Blue Jays' struggles continued, losing eight games in a row before ending the month with a win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Toronto went 7–21 in July, bringing their overall record to 35–66; 24 games out of first place.

August

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On August 9, the Blue Jays defeated the Minnesota Twins 6–2 in front of 23,450 fans at Exhibition Stadium, as the franchise broke the single-season record for attendance by an expansion team. Despite that, August proved to be another tough month for the club. Toronto went 10–18, bringing their record to 45–84 for the season, 32.5 games out of first place. The Blue Jays lost their last five games in August.

September/October

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Toronto began September with six losses in a row, bringing their overall losing streak to 11 games, before defeating the Boston Red Sox 3–2 on September 7.

On September 10, Roy Howell drove in a club record nine runs in a 19–3 win over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. This marked the Yankees worst home loss in over 50 years.

At home on September 15, the Blue Jays earned a 9–0 forfeit victory over the Baltimore Orioles when, in the fifth inning, Orioles manager Earl Weaver removed his club from the field in a dispute over a tarp on the bullpen mounds.[14] It marked the first (and still the only) time since 1914 that an MLB team has deliberately forfeited a game.

The Blue Jays inaugural season came to a close on October 2, as they split a doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians in front of 27,789 fans at Exhibition Stadium, bringing their total attendance to 1,701,052, an MLB record for an expansion team.

Toronto finished the year in last place in the American League East with a 54–107 record, 45.5 games behind the first place New York Yankees. The Blue Jays also finished 9.5 games worse than their expansion cousins, the Seattle Mariners, who went 64–98. The Blue Jays attained success far sooner than the Mariners; Toronto's first winning season took place in 1983, while Seattle failed to post a winning season until 1991.

Season standings

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AL East
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 100 62 .617 55‍–‍26 45‍–‍36
Baltimore Orioles 97 64 .602 54‍–‍27 43‍–‍37
Boston Red Sox 97 64 .602 51‍–‍29 46‍–‍35
Detroit Tigers 74 88 .457 26 39‍–‍42 35‍–‍46
Cleveland Indians 71 90 .441 28½ 37‍–‍44 34‍–‍46
Milwaukee Brewers 67 95 .414 33 37‍–‍44 30‍–‍51
Toronto Blue Jays 54 107 .335 45½ 25‍–‍55 29‍–‍52

Record vs. opponents

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Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team BAL BOS CAL CWS CLE DET KC MIL MIN NYY OAK SEA TEX TOR
Baltimore 6–8 5–6 5–5 11–4 12–3 4–7 11–4 6–4 8–7 8–2 7–3 4–6 10–5
Boston 8–6 7–3 3–7 8–7 9–6 5–5 9–6 4–6 8–7 8–3 10–1 6–4 12–3
California 6–5 3–7 8–7 6–4 4–6 6–9 5–5 7–8 4–7 5–10 9–6 5–10 6–4
Chicago 5–5 7–3 7–8 6–4 4–6 8–7 6–5 10–5 3–7 10–5 10–5 6–9 8–3
Cleveland 4–11 7–8 4–6 4–6 8–7 3–7 11–4 2–9 3–12 7–3 7–3 2–9 9–5
Detroit 3–12 6–9 6–4 6–4 7–8 3–8 10–5 5–5 6–9 5–5 5–6 2–8 10–5
Kansas City 7–4 5–5 9–6 7–8 7–3 8–3 8–2 10–5 5–5 9–6 11–4 8–7 8–2
Milwaukee 4–11 6–9 5–5 5–6 4–11 5–10 2–8 3–8 8–7 5–5 7–3 5–5 8–7
Minnesota 4–6 6–4 8–7 5–10 9–2 5–5 5–10 8–3 2–8 8–6 7–8 8–7 9–1
New York 7–8 7–8 7–4 7–3 12–3 9–6 5–5 7–8 8–2 9–2 6–4 7–3 9–6
Oakland 2–8 3–8 10–5 5–10 3–7 5–5 6–9 5–5 6–8 2–9 7–8 2–13 7–3
Seattle 3–7 1–10 6–9 5–10 3–7 6–5 4–11 3–7 8–7 4–6 8–7 9–6 4–6
Texas 6–4 4–6 10–5 9–6 9–2 8–2 7–8 5–5 7–8 3–7 13–2 6–9 7–4
Toronto 5–10 3–12 4–6 3–8 5–9 5–10 2–8 7–8 1–9 6–9 3–7 6–4 4–7


Transactions

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Transactions for the Toronto Blue Jays during the 1977 regular season.[15]

April 1977

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April 14 Signed amateur free agent Paul Hodgson.

May 1977

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May 9 Acquired Roy Howell from the Texas Rangers for Steve Hargan, Jim Mason and $200,000.

June 1977

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June 8 Purchased Doug Rader from the San Diego Padres.
June 17 Signed free agent Greg Wells from the Cleveland Indians to a contract.
June 27 Released Pedro García.

July 1977

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July 27 Purchased Tom Murphy from the Boston Red Sox.

August 1977

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August 30 Purchased Tim Nordbrook from the Chicago White Sox.

September 1977

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September 2 Claimed John Hale off of waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
September 14 Traded John Hale to the Seattle Mariners for cash.

Roster

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1977 Toronto Blue Jays
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Game log

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1977 Game Log 54–107 (Home 25–55, Away 29–52)
April: 10–11 (Home 6–4, Away 4–7)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
1 April 7 White Sox 9–5 Johnson (1–0) Brett (0–1) Vuckovic (1) 44,649 1–0
2 April 9 White Sox 3–2 Knapp (1–0) Lemanczyk (0–1) LaGrow (1) 18,214 1–1
3 April 10 White Sox 3–1 Garvin (1–0) Stone (0–1) Vuckovic (2) 17,059 2–1
4 April 11 Tigers 5–3 Hargan (1–0) Hiller (0–1) 29,132 3–1
5 April 12 Tigers 6–1 Roberts (1–1) Singer (0–1) 11,505 3–2
6 April 13 Tigers 7–6 Lemanczyk (1–1) Arroyo (0–1) Willis (1) 12,113 4–2
7 April 14 Tigers 5–3 Garvin (2–0) Hiller (0–2) 13,369 5–2
8 April 15 @ White Sox 7–5 Barrios (1–0) Johnson (1–1) 10,840 5–3
9 April 16 @ White Sox 3–2 Stone (1–1) Vuckovic (0–1) 7,467 5–4
10 April 17 @ White Sox 4–2 Brett (2–1) Singer (0–2) Del Canton (1) 14,583 5–5
11 April 18 @ Yankees 5–1 Lemanczyk (2–1) Figueroa (0–2) 9,685 6–5
12 April 19 @ Yankees 8–3 Garvin (3–0) Patterson (0–1) 9,954 7–5
13 April 20 @ Yankees 7–5 Gullett (1–2) Hargan (1–1) Lyle (2) 10,819 7–6
14 April 21 @ Yankees 8–6 Holtzman (1–0) Hartenstein (0–1) Lyle (3) 10,502 7–7
April 22 Red Sox Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for April 25
April 23 Red Sox Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for September 5
15 April 24 Red Sox 9–0 Jenkins (2–1) Singer (0–3) 29,303 7–8
16 April 25 Red Sox 4–3 Vuckovich (1–1) Campbell (0–3) 8–8
17 April 25 Red Sox 6–5 Willoughby (1–0) Vuckovic (1–2) 15,016 8–9
April 26 @ Indians Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for April 28
18 April 27 @ Indians 6–5 (12) Willis (1–0) Kern (0–1) 3,639 9–9
19 April 28 @ Indians 4–3 Fitzmorris (1–2) Jefferson (0–1) Waits (1) 2,724 9–10
20 April 29 @ Royals 6–1 Colborn (4–1) Singer (0–4) 15,523 9–11
21 April 30 @ Royals 2–1 Garvin (4–0) Splittorff (1–2) 15,301 10–11
May: 8–17 (Home 5–10, Away 3–7)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
22 May 1 @ Royals 8–2 Gura (2–0) Lemanczyk (2–2) Littell (3) 34,066 10–12
23 May 2 Brewers 3–1 Haas (1–1) Hargan (1–2) Castro (5) 17,577 10–13
24 May 3 Brewers 6–2 Cort (1–0) Jefferson (0–2) 13,148 10–14
25 May 4 Brewers 10–3 Singer (1–4) Slaton (1–2) Willis (2) 25,699 11–14
26 May 5 Brewers 9–8 Vuckovic (2–2) Castro (3–1) 12,268 12–14
27 May 6 Twins 7–2 Zahn (5–0) Lemanczyk (2–3) Schueler (1) 26,355 12–15
28 May 7 Twins 4–1 Thormodsgard (2–1) Hargan (1–3) Johnson (4) 34,091 12–16
29 May 8 Twins 5–4 Goltz (1–2) Jefferson (0–3) Johnson (5) 20,902 12–17
30 May 9 Mariners 10–4 Singer (2–4) Thomas (1–4) 11,680 13–17
31 May 10 Mariners 9–3 Garvin (5–0) Montague (3–3) 13,017 14–17
32 May 13 @ Twins 4–3 (11) Schueler (2–1) Willis (1–1) 9,667 14–18
33 May 14 @ Twins 13–3 Goltz (2–2) Singer (2–5) 10,503 14–19
34 May 15 @ Twins 5–3 Burgmeier (4–1) Garvin (5–1) Schueler (2) 11,401 14–20
35 May 17 @ Brewers 3–1 Jefferson (1–3) Haas (3–2) Johnson (1) 6,810 15–20
36 May 18 @ Brewers 3–2 (10) Castro (4–1) Vuckovic (2–3) 7,208 15–21
37 May 19 @ Brewers 5–3 Slaton (2–4) Singer (2–6) McClure (3) 8,469 15–22
38 May 20 @ Rangers 4–3 Garvin (6–1) Blyleven (4–4) 21,965 16–22
39 May 21 @ Rangers 9–6 Jefferson (2–3) Briles (2–1) Willis (3) 20,351 17–22
40 May 22 @ Rangers 7–4 Alexander (6–1) Lemanczyk (2–4) Knowles (2) 21,831 17–23
41 May 23 Athletics 3–0 Langford (4–3) Vuckovic (2–4) 27,705 17–24
42 May 25 Athletics 6–5 (10) Giusti (1–2) Garvin (6–2) 36,097 17–25
43 May 27 Angels 4–1 Ross (2–2) Johnson (1–2) Hartzell (4) 24,779 17–26
44 May 28 Angels 6–4 Jefferson (3–3) Simpson (3–4) Vuckovic (3) 30,034 18–26
45 May 29 Angels 3–2 Ryan (8–4) Lemanczyk (2–5) 30,009 18–27
46 May 30 Royals 4–1 Splittorff (4–4) Garvin (6–3) Littell (6) 20,002 18–28
June: 10–17 (Home 3–9, Away 7–8)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
47 June 1 Royals 11–3 Leonard (3–5) Singer (2–7) 33,004 18–29
48 June 3 @ Athletics 3–2 Lacey (2–2) Jefferson (3–4) 3,030 18–30
49 June 4 @ Athletics 4–2 Lemanczyk (3–5) Ellis (2–5) Vuckovic (4) 4,525 19–30
50 June 5 @ Athletics 7–3 Garvin (7–3) Blue (3–7) Johnson (2) 4,580 20–30
51 June 7 @ Angels 6–3 Willis (2–1) Hartzell (1–5) 10,239 21–30
52 June 8 @ Angels 2–1 (13) LaRoche (4–2) Bruno (0–1) 11,678 21–31
53 June 10 @ Mariners 4–3 Lemanczyk (4–5) Montague (5–4) Willis (4) 11,786 22–31
54 June 11 @ Mariners 5–4 Johnson (2–2) Romo (3–4) 21,318 23–31
55 June 12 @ Mariners 5–2 Pole (3–2) Vuckovic (2–5) 28,412 23–32
56 June 14 @ Tigers 7–2 Hiller (4–6) Jefferson (3–5) 11,808 23–33
57 June 15 @ Tigers 9–0 Arroyo (5–3) Lemanczyk (4–6) 11,349 23–34
58 June 16 @ Tigers 4–1 Fidrych (3–2) Garvin (7–4) 26,041 23–35
59 June 17 Orioles 5–3 Martínez (6–4) Vuckovic (2–6) 26,183 23–36
60 June 18 Orioles 4–2 Palmer (8–6) Jefferson (3–6) Martinez (2) 33,201 23–37
61 June 19 Orioles 7–1 Lemanczyk (5–6) Flanagan (2–7) 34,556 24–37
62 June 20 Indians 8–5 (11) Dobson (2–6) Willis (2–2) Kern (8) 24,568 24–38
63 June 21 Indians 4–0 Waits (4–0) Garvin (7–5) Kern (9) 18,039 24–39
64 June 22 Indians 7–5 (12) Kern (3–3) Johnson (2–3) Monge (4) 29,750 24–40
65 June 23 Indians 4–0 Garland (4–7) Jefferson (3–7) 16,747 24–41
66 June 24 @ Orioles 5–4 Lemanczyk (6–6) Holdsworth (0–1) Willis (5) 8,133 25–41
67 June 25 @ Orioles 5–2 Martínez (7–5) Byrd (0–1) 16,794 25–42
68 June 25 @ Orioles 3–1 Grimsley (7–3) Garvin (7–6) 16,794 25–43
69 June 26 @ Orioles 2–0 Vuckovic (3–6) Palmer (8–8) 16,761 26–43
70 June 27 Yankees 7–6 Jefferson (4–7) Guidry (5–4) Johnson (3) 29,138 27–43
71 June 28 Yankees 8–5 Lemanczyk (7–6) Clay (0–2) 40,116 28–43
72 June 28 Yankees 5–1 (11) Tidrow (6–2) Johnson (2–4) 40,116 28–44
73 June 30 Yankees 11–5 Hunter (4–3) Garvin (7–7) 33,283 28–45
July: 7–21 (Home 5–10, Away 2–11)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
74 July 1 Rangers 11–8 Alexander (7–5) Byrd (0–2) Devine (4) 21,089 28–46
75 July 2 Rangers 10–7 Vuckovic (4–6) Barker (0–1) 19,176 29–46
76 July 3 Rangers 6–3 (10) Ellis (4–7) Willis (2–3) Knowles (3) 29–47
77 July 3 Rangers 5–3 Jefferson (5–7) Knowles (2–1) 32,066 30–47
78 July 4 @ Red Sox 9–6 Campbell (6–5) Hartenstein (0–2) 21,073 30–48
79 July 6 @ Red Sox 9–5 Campbell (7–5) Vuckovic (4–7) 34,956 30–49
80 July 7 @ Red Sox 5–2 Stanley (5–3) Jefferson (5–8) Campbell (16) 32,641 30–50
81 July 8 @ Indians 11–5 Eckersley (8–7) Lemanczyk (7–7) 12,719 30–51
82 July 9 @ Indians 3–2 Garland (6–9) Garvin (7–8) 19,594 30–52
83 July 10 @ Indians 5–3 Byrd (1–2) Dobson (3–8) Vuckovic (5) 12,935 31–52
84 July 11 @ Tigers 9–7 Grilli (1–0) DeBarr (0–1) 9,057 31–53
85 July 12 @ Tigers 2–1 Crawford (3–2) Jefferson (5–9) 25,007 31–54
86 July 13 @ White Sox 6–3 Knapp (8–4) Singer (2–8) Johnson (2) 31–55
87 July 13 @ White Sox 5–3 (11) Lemanczyk (8–7) Kucek (0–1) 25,669 32–55
88 July 14 @ White Sox 2–1 Kravec (6–2) Garvin (7–9) 15,937 32–56
89 July 15 Tigers 8–6 (13) Vuckovic (5–7) Crawford (3–3) 23,749 33–56
90 July 16 Tigers 11–3 Rozema (8–4) Willis (2–4) 35,151 33–57
91 July 17 Tigers 3–2 Jefferson (6–9) Arroyo (5–9) 34–57
92 July 17 Tigers 7–6 (11) Hiller (5–9) Lemanczyk (8–8) 36,613 34–58
93 July 22 White Sox 10–3 Wood (5–2) Garvin (7–10) LaGrow (17) 33,175 34–59
94 July 23 White Sox 10–3 Kravec (7–2) Lemanczyk (8–9) 24,263 34–60
95 July 24 @ Tigers 6–2 Sykes (2–3) Jefferson (6–10) 20,177 34–61
96 July 25 @ Tigers 8–3 Wilcox (2–0) Byrd (1–3) Crawford (1) 16,911 34–62
97 July 26 Rangers 14–0 Blyleven (10–9) Clancy (0–1) 22,357 34–63
98 July 28 Rangers 3–0 Perry (9–8) Garvin (7–11) 17,512 34–64
99 July 29 Brewers 7–3 Haas (7–7) Jefferson (6–11) 14,303 34–65
100 July 30 Brewers 3–2 Slaton (8–9) Byrd (1–4) 18,639 34–66
101 July 31 Brewers 4–1 Lemanczyk (9–9) Augustine (10–12) Murphy (1) 28,110 35–66
August: 10–18 (Home 3–8, Away 7–10)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
102 August 1 Brewers 3–2 Clancy (1–1) Sorensen (2–5) 17,590 36–66
103 August 3 @ Royals 7–4 Splittorff (9–5) Garvin (7–12) Bird (1) 16,775 36–67
104 August 4 @ Royals 8–0 Gura (6–5) Jefferson (6–12) 17,661 36–68
105 August 5 @ Brewers 6–1 Byrd (2–4) Slaton (8–10) 13,609 37–68
106 August 6 @ Brewers 5–3 Lemanczyk (10–9) Augustine (10–13) Johnson (4) 12,720 38–68
107 August 7 @ Brewers 6–2 Sorensen (3–5) Garvin (7–13) McClure (4) 38–69
108 August 7 @ Brewers 7–5 Haas (8–7) Clancy (1–2) Hinds (2) 12,070 38–70
109 August 9 Twins 6–2 Jefferson (7–12) Thormodsgard (9–9) 23,450 39–70
110 August 11 Twins 7–3 Goltz (15–6) Byrd (2–5) Johnson (14) 18,430 39–71
111 August 12 Royals 9–8 Pattin (5–2) Lemanczyk (10–10) Bird (3) 19,143 39–72
112 August 13 Royals 5–3 Splittorff (10–6) Clancy (1–3) Bird (4) 25,027 39–73
113 August 14 Royals 6–3 Murphy (1–1) Leonard (12–10) Vuckovic (6) 27,430 40–73
114 August 15 Angels 7–4 Tanana (14–7) Jefferson (7–13) 18,453 40–74
115 August 16 Angels 7–2 Hartzell (6–7) Byrd (2–6) 15,424 40–75
116 August 17 @ Rangers 6–5 (10) Devine (9–6) Willis (2–5) 12,913 40–76
117 August 18 @ Rangers 8–0 Ellis (7–9) Clancy (1–4) 15,740 40–77
118 August 19 @ Angels 3–1 Garvin (8–13) Ryan (17–11) Vuckovic (7) 16,570 41–77
119 August 20 @ Angels 5–4 Vuckovic (6–7) LaRoche (7–5) 15,311 42–77
120 August 21 @ Angels 3–2 Tanana (15–7) Byrd (2–7) 12,421 42–78
121 August 22 @ Athletics 5–2 Medich (6–6) Lemanczyk (10–11) Lacey (7) 4,429 42–79
122 August 23 @ Athletics 8–1 Clancy (2–4) Umbarger (1–5) 3,797 43–79
123 August 24 @ Mariners 7–0 Garvin (9–13) Pole (7–11) 44–79
124 August 24 @ Mariners 9–3 Jefferson (8–13) Abbott (10–9) 13,253 45–79
125 August 26 Athletics 8–4 Torrealba (4–4) Byrd (2–8) 22,536 45–80
126 August 27 Athletics 9–8 Medich (7–6) Lemanczyk (10–12) Bair (2) 23,651 45–81
127 August 28 Athletics 6–2 Blue (13–15) Clancy (2–5) 24,087 45–82
128 August 29 @ Twins 7–6 (10) Schueler (7–6) Murphy (1–2) 45–83
129 August 29 @ Twins 6–5 Johnson (15–6) Willis (2–6) 10,364 45–84
September: 8–22 (Home 2–13, Away 6–9)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
130 September 2 Mariners 4–3 Abbott (11–10) Lemanczyk (10–13) 13,502 45–85
131 September 3 Mariners 6–2 Montague (7–10) Jefferson (8–14) Romo (12) 15,109 45–86
132 September 4 Mariners 7–2 Mitchell (2–5) Garvin (9–14) 17,084 45–87
133 September 5 Red Sox 8–0 Aase (4–1) Byrd (2–9) 45–88
134 September 5 Red Sox 6–0 Cleveland (9–7) Clancy (2–6) 30,373 45–89
135 September 6 Red Sox 11–2 Lee (7–3) Darr (0–1) 17,666 45–90
136 September 7 Red Sox 3–2 Lemanczyk (11–13) Jenkins (10–10) 31,684 46–90
137 September 8 Red Sox 7–2 Paxton (9–4) Jefferson (8–15) 19,163 46–91
138 September 9 @ Yankees 2–0 Torrez (16–12) Garvin (9–15) 21,145 46–92
139 September 10 @ Yankees 19–3 Clancy (3–6) Hunter (9–9) 20,296 47–92
140 September 11 @ Yankees 4–3 Tidrow (10–4) Byrd (2–10) Lyle (23) 40,905 47–93
141 September 11 @ Yankees 6–4 Murphy (2–2) Gullett (11–4) Johnson (5) 40,905 48–93
142 September 12 Orioles 6–3 Palmer (16–11) Lemanczyk (11–14) Martinez (8) 13,498 48–94
143 September 14 Orioles 6–5 Flanagan (12–10) Jefferson (8–16) McGregor (3) 19,048 48–95
144 September 14 Orioles 4–2 May (17–12) Garvin (9–16) McGregor (4) 19,048 48–96
145 September 15 Orioles 4–0 (5) † Clancy (4–6) Grimsley (13–9) 14,015 49–96
September 16 @ Indians Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for September 17
146 September 17 @ Indians 6–3 Eckersley (14–12) Byrd (2–11) Dobson (1) 49–97
147 September 17 @ Indians 6–5 Lemanczyk (12–14) Waits (8–6) Murphy (2) 5,593 50–97
148 September 18 @ Indians 7–4 Jefferson (9–16) Garland (11–19) Vuckovic (8) 4,376 51–97
149 September 19 @ Orioles 3–1 Garvin (10–16) May (17–13) 3,325 52–97
150 September 20 @ Orioles 5–2 Palmer (18–11) Clancy (4–7) 4,301 52–98
151 September 21 @ Orioles 4–0 Grimsley (14–9) Byrd (2–12) 4,237 52–99
152 September 22 @ Orioles 7–1 Flanagan (13–10) Lemanczyk (12–15) 9,261 52–100
153 September 23 Yankees 5–3 Gullett (13–4) Jefferson (9–17) 32,590 52–101
September 24 Yankees Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for September 25
154 September 25 Yankees 15–0 Guidry (16–6) Garvin (10–17) 35,117 52–102
155 September 25 Yankees 2–0 Figueroa (16–10) Clancy (4–8) Lyle (25) 35,117 52–103
September 26 @ Red Sox Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for September 27
156 September 27 @ Red Sox 6–5 Aase (6–2) Byrd (2–13) Campbell (30) 52–104
157 September 27 @ Red Sox 5–1 Tiant (12–8) Lemanczyk (12–16) Campbell (31) 23,952 52–105
158 September 28 @ Red Sox 3–2 Vuckovic (7–7) Lee (9–5) 20,362 53–105
159 September 29 @ Red Sox 7–3 Stanley (8–7) Garvin (10–18) 12,240 53–106
September 30 Indians Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for October 1
October: 1–1 (Home 1–1, Away 0–0)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
October 1 Indians Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for October 2
October 1 Indians Postponed (rain) Not rescheduled
160 October 2 Indians 2–1 (11) Lemanczyk (13–16) Andersen (0–1) 54–106
161 October 2 Indians 5–4 Camper (1–0) Clancy (4–9) Waits (2) 27,789 54–107
† Game forfeited by Baltimore.

Player stats

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Batting

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Starters by position

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Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; Avg = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases

Pos Player G AB R H 2B 3B Avg HR RBI SB
C Alan Ashby 124 396 25 83 16 3 .210 2 29 0
1B Doug Ault 129 445 44 109 22 3 .245 11 64 4
2B Steve Staggs 72 290 37 75 11 6 .259 2 28 5
3B Roy Howell 96 364 41 115 17 1 .316 10 44 4
SS Héctor Torres 91 266 33 64 7 3 .241 5 26 1
LF Al Woods 122 440 58 125 17 4 .284 6 35 8
CF Gary Woods 60 227 21 49 9 1 .216 0 17 5
RF Otto Vélez 120 360 50 92 19 3 .256 16 62 4
DH Ron Fairly 132 458 60 128 24 2 .279 19 64 0

Other batters

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Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; Avg = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases

Player G AB R H 2B 3B Avg HR RBI SB
Bob Bailor 122 496 62 154 21 5 .310 5 32 15
Doug Rader 96 313 47 75 18 2 .240 13 40 2
Dave McKay 95 274 18 54 4 3 .197 3 22 2
Sam Ewing 97 244 24 70 8 2 .287 4 34 1
John Scott 79 233 26 56 9 0 .240 2 15 10
Steve Bowling 89 194 19 40 8 1 .206 1 13 2
Pedro Garcia 41 130 10 27 10 1 .208 0 9 0
Rick Cerone 31 100 7 20 4 0 .200 1 10 0
Jim Mason 22 79 10 13 3 0 .165 0 2 1
Tim Nordbrook 24 63 9 11 0 1 .175 0 1 1
Ernie Whitt 23 41 4 7 3 0 .171 0 6 0
Phil Roof 3 5 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0

Pitching

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Starting pitchers

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Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player G GS IP W L ERA R ER BB K
Dave Lemanczyk 34 34 252.0 13 16 4.25 143 119 87 105
Jerry Garvin 34 34 244.2 10 18 4.19 127 114 85 127
Jesse Jefferson 33 33 217.0 9 17 4.31 123 104 83 114
Jeff Byrd 17 17 87.1 2 13 6.18 68 60 68 40
Jim Clancy 13 13 76.2 4 9 5.05 47 43 47 44
Bill Singer 13 12 59.2 2 8 6.79 54 45 39 33
Steve Hargan 6 5 29.1 1 3 5.22 17 17 14 11
Mike Darr 1 1 1.1 0 1 33.75 5 5 4 1

Relief pitchers

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Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L SV ERA R ER BB K
Pete Vuckovich 53 148.0 7 7 8 3.47 64 57 59 123
Mike Willis 43 107.1 2 6 5 3.94 48 47 38 59
Jerry Johnson 43 86.0 2 4 5 4.60 50 44 54 54
Tom Murphy 19 52.0 2 1 2 3.63 22 21 18 26
Dennis DeBarr 14 21.1 0 1 0 5.91 14 14 8 10
Tom Bruno 12 18.1 0 1 0 7.85 18 16 13 9
Chuck Hartenstein 13 27.1 0 2 0 6.59 22 20 6 15

Awards and honours

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All-Star Game

Franchise firsts

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Farm system

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Level Team League Manager
A-Short Season Utica Blue Jays New York–Penn League Duane Larson

[17]

Notes

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  1. ^ "1977 Toronto Blue Jays Trades and Transactions". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  2. ^ Kaplan, Jim (January 10, 1977). "Ringing in the new". Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  3. ^ Armour, Mark; Levitt, Daniel R. (April 1, 2015). In Pursuit of Pennants: Baseball Operations from Deadball to Moneyball. U of Nebraska Press. p. 308. ISBN 978-0-8032-3497-0. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  4. ^ Macleod, Robert (March 3, 2015). "Keeping the Blue Jays' annual coastal migration to Dunedin". The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ontario. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  5. ^ "Jays' opener a 3-1 success". St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Florida. March 12, 1977. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p. 91, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2
  7. ^ Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, p. 90
  8. ^ a b c d e Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, p. 94
  9. ^ a b Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, p. 92
  10. ^ a b c d e Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, p. 93
  11. ^ a b c d e Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, p. 95
  12. ^ a b c d e Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, p. 96
  13. ^ Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, p. 97
  14. ^ "September 15, 1977 – Remembering the game that Earl Weaver forfeited at Exhibition Stadium". January 23, 2013.
  15. ^ "1977 Toronto Blue Jays Trades and Transactions". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  16. ^ Blue Jays All-Stars | bluejays.com: History
  17. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

References

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