The 1979 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's third season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing seventh in the American League East with a record of 53 wins and 109 losses. The Blue Jays were the only American League East team to finish 1979 with a losing record and the loss total of 109 set the franchise mark; it is also the last time as of 2023 the team lost over 100 games in a season. Attendance for the season decreased to 1,431,651.[1]
1979 Toronto Blue Jays | ||
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League | American League | |
Division | East | |
Ballpark | Exhibition Stadium | |
City | Toronto | |
Record | 53–109 (.327) | |
Divisional place | 7th | |
Owners | Labatt Breweries, Imperial Trust, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce | |
General managers | Pat Gillick | |
Managers | Roy Hartsfield | |
Television | CBC Television (Don Chevrier, Tony Kubek, Tom McKee) CBFT (Jean-Pierre Roy, Guy Ferron) | |
Radio | CKFH (Early Wynn, Tom Cheek) | |
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Offseason
editTransactions
editTransactions by the Toronto Blue Jays during the off-season before the 1979 season.[2]
October 1978
editOctober 3 | Purchased Rico Carty from the Oakland Athletics. |
November 1978
editNovember 2 | Joe Coleman granted free agency. Rico Carty granted free agency. |
November 3 | Acquired Dave Freisleben from the Cleveland Indians for a player to be named later (Sheldon Mallory on March 27, 1979). |
November 24 | Signed amateur free agent Fred Manrique. Signed amateur free agent Toby Hernández. |
November 27 | Signed amateur free agent José Escobar. Acquired Joe Cannon, Pedro Hernández and Mark Lemongello from the Houston Astros for Alan Ashby. |
December 1978
editDecember 2 | Willie Horton became a free agent. Released Bill Singer. |
December 4 | Acquired Don Pisker from the Houston Astros for Gary Woods. Selected Bob Davis from the San Diego Padres in the 1978 MLB Rule 5 draft. Selected Ted Wilborn from the New York Yankees in the 1978 MLB Rule 5 draft. |
December 5 | Acquired Alfredo Griffin and Phil Lansford from the Cleveland Indians for Víctor Cruz. |
January 1979
editJanuary 1 | Signed amateur free agent Luis Leal. |
January 4 | Signed free agent Chuck Scrivener of the Detroit Tigers to a contract. |
January 11 | Signed free agent Rico Carty to a multi-year contract. |
January 23 | Player rights of Sam Ewing sold to Nippon-Ham Fighters of the Nippon Professional Baseball. |
March 1979
editMarch 17 | Signed free agent Steve Luebber of the Chicago White Sox to a contract. |
March 25 | Claimed Bobby Brown off of waivers from the New York Mets. |
March 29 | Released Jeff Byrd. Released Don Kirkwood. |
Regular season
editFollowing the team's poor performance, manager Roy Hartsfield was fired at the end of the season. One highlight of the season was the awarding of the American League Rookie of the Year Award to Alfredo Griffin.[3]
The end of the 1979 season marked a crossroads for the franchise. The first real talent from the minor leagues had made it to the major league roster. Such talent included pitcher Dave Stieb and third baseman Danny Ainge.[1]
Season standings
editTeam | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
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Baltimore Orioles | 102 | 57 | .642 | — | 55–24 | 47–33 |
Milwaukee Brewers | 95 | 66 | .590 | 8 | 52–29 | 43–37 |
Boston Red Sox | 91 | 69 | .569 | 11½ | 51–29 | 40–40 |
New York Yankees | 89 | 71 | .556 | 13½ | 51–30 | 38–41 |
Detroit Tigers | 85 | 76 | .528 | 18 | 46–34 | 39–42 |
Cleveland Indians | 81 | 80 | .503 | 22 | 47–34 | 34–46 |
Toronto Blue Jays | 53 | 109 | .327 | 50½ | 32–49 | 21–60 |
Record vs. opponents
editSources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] | ||||||||||||||
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Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
Baltimore | — | 8–5 | 9–3 | 8–3 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 5–6 | 8–4 | 10–2 | 6–6 | 11–2 |
Boston | 5–8 | — | 5–7 | 5–6 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 5–8 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 9–4 |
California | 3–9 | 7–5 | — | 9–4 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 7–5 |
Chicago | 3–8 | 6–5 | 4–9 | — | 6–6 | 3–9 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 9–4 | 5–8 | 11–2 | 7–5 |
Cleveland | 5–8 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 6–6 | — | 6–6 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 8–5 |
Detroit | 6–7 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 9–3 | 6–6 | — | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 9–4 |
Kansas City | 6–6 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 5–7 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 9–3 |
Milwaukee | 5–8 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 7–5 | — | 8–4 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 9–3 | 10–3 |
Minnesota | 4–8 | 3–9 | 4–9 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 4–8 | — | 7–5 | 9–4 | 10–3 | 4–9 | 11–1 |
New York | 6–5 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 4–9 | 5–7 | — | 9–3 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 9–4 |
Oakland | 4–8 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 4–9 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 3–9 | — | 8–5 | 2–11 | 4–8 |
Seattle | 2–10 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 5–8 | — | 6–7 | 8–4 |
Texas | 6–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 2–11 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 9–4 | 4–8 | 11–2 | 7–6 | — | 7–5 |
Toronto | 2–11 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 4–9 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 1–11 | 4–9 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — |
Opening Day starters
edit- Bob Bailor
- Rick Bosetti
- Rico Carty
- Rick Cerone
- Jim Clancy
- Alfredo Griffin
- Roy Howell
- John Mayberry
- Dave McKay
- Alvis Woods
Transactions
editTransactions for the Toronto Blue Jays during the 1979 regular season.[4]
April 1979
editApril 6 | Signed free agent Mike Sember from the Chicago Cubs to a contract. |
April 7 | Player rights of Mike Stanton sold to the Petroleros de Zulia of the Inter-American League. |
April 13 | Signed free agent Jackson Todd from the Philadelphia Phillies to a contract. |
April 19 | Player rights of Bobby Brown sold to the New York Yankees. |
April 23 | Signed free agent Bob Robertson from the Seattle Mariners to a contract. |
April 24 | Signed amateur free agent Tony Fernández to a contract. |
May 1979
editMay 12 | Released Tom Murphy. |
June 1979
editJune 6 | Purchased Dyar Miller from the California Angels. |
June 22 | Signed amateur free agent Steve Senteney to a contract. |
June 27 | Released Bob Robertson. |
July 1979
editJuly 25 | Purchased Craig Kusick from the Minnesota Twins. |
July 30 | Acquired Tony Solaita from the Montreal Expos for a player to be named later (Dyar Miller on October 24, 1979). |
Draft picks
edit- June 5, 1979: 1979 Major League Baseball draft
- Future NFL quarterback Jay Schroeder was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1st round, but did not sign.[5]
- Ron Shepherd was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 2nd round.[6]
- Ron Romanick was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 3rd round, but did not sign.[7]
- Andre Robertson was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 4th round.[8]
Roster
edit1979 Toronto Blue Jays | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
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
edit1979 Game Log 53–109 (Home 32–49, Away 21–60) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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April: 7–15 (Home 3–8, Away 4–7)
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May: 5–23 (Home 3–15, Away 2–8)
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June: 12–18 (Home 6–5, Away 6–13)
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July: 8–18 (Home 5–6, Away 3–12)
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August: 11–17 (Home 6–8, Away 5–9)
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September: 10–18 (Home 9–7, Away 1–11)
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Player stats
editBatting
editStarters by position
editNote: 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 |
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C | Rick Cerone | 136 | 469 | 47 | 112 | 27 | 4 | .239 | 7 | 61 | 1 |
1B | John Mayberry | 137 | 464 | 61 | 127 | 22 | 1 | .274 | 21 | 74 | 1 |
2B | Danny Ainge | 87 | 308 | 26 | 73 | 7 | 1 | .237 | 2 | 19 | 1 |
3B | Roy Howell | 138 | 511 | 60 | 126 | 28 | 4 | .247 | 15 | 72 | 1 |
SS | Alfredo Griffin | 153 | 624 | 81 | 179 | 22 | 10 | .287 | 2 | 31 | 21 |
LF | Alvis Woods | 132 | 436 | 57 | 121 | 24 | 4 | .278 | 5 | 36 | 6 |
CF | Rick Bosetti | 162 | 619 | 59 | 161 | 35 | 2 | .260 | 8 | 65 | 13 |
RF | Bob Bailor | 130 | 414 | 50 | 95 | 11 | 5 | .229 | 1 | 38 | 14 |
DH | Rico Carty | 132 | 461 | 48 | 118 | 26 | 0 | .256 | 12 | 55 | 3 |
Other batters
editNote: 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 |
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Otto Vélez | 99 | 274 | 45 | 79 | 21 | 0 | .288 | 15 | 48 | 0 |
Luis Gómez | 59 | 163 | 11 | 39 | 7 | 0 | .239 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
Dave McKay | 47 | 156 | 19 | 34 | 9 | 0 | .218 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
Joe Cannon | 61 | 142 | 14 | 30 | 1 | 1 | .211 | 1 | 5 | 12 |
Tony Solaita | 36 | 102 | 14 | 27 | 8 | 1 | .265 | 2 | 13 | 0 |
Bob Davis | 32 | 89 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 0 | .124 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
Tim Johnson | 43 | 86 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 1 | .186 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
Craig Kusick | 23 | 54 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 0 | .204 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
Bob Robertson | 15 | 29 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .103 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Ted Wilborn | 22 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Bobby Brown | 4 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pedro Hernández | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
editStarting pitchers
editNote: 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 |
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Tom Underwood | 33 | 32 | 227.0 | 9 | 16 | 3.69 | 113 | 93 | 95 | 127 |
Phil Huffman | 31 | 31 | 173.0 | 6 | 18 | 5.77 | 130 | 111 | 68 | 56 |
Dave Lemanczyk | 22 | 20 | 143.0 | 8 | 10 | 3.71 | 65 | 59 | 45 | 63 |
Dave Stieb | 18 | 18 | 129.1 | 8 | 8 | 4.31 | 70 | 62 | 48 | 52 |
Jim Clancy | 12 | 11 | 63.2 | 2 | 7 | 5.51 | 44 | 39 | 31 | 33 |
Butch Edge | 9 | 9 | 51.2 | 3 | 4 | 5.23 | 32 | 30 | 24 | 19 |
Other pitchers
editNote: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; 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 | GS | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | R | ER | BB | K |
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Balor Moore | 34 | 16 | 139.1 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 4.84 | 85 | 75 | 79 | 51 |
Jesse Jefferson | 34 | 10 | 116.0 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 5.51 | 75 | 71 | 45 | 43 |
Mark Lemongello | 18 | 10 | 83.0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 6.29 | 64 | 58 | 34 | 40 |
Relief pitchers
editNote: 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 |
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Tom Buskey | 44 | 78.2 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 3.43 | 33 | 30 | 25 | 44 |
Dave Freisleben | 42 | 91.0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4.95 | 57 | 50 | 53 | 35 |
Mike Willis | 17 | 26.2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8.44 | 27 | 25 | 16 | 8 |
Jackson Todd | 12 | 32.1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.85 | 26 | 21 | 7 | 14 |
Tom Murphy | 10 | 18.1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5.40 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 6 |
Dyar Miller | 10 | 15.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.57 | 18 | 18 | 5 | 7 |
Jerry Garvin | 8 | 22.2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.78 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 14 |
Steve Grilli | 1 | 2.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Craig Kusick | 1 | 3.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.91 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Steve Luebber | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | inf | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Awards and honours
edit- Alfredo Griffin, American League Rookie of the Year Award
- Alfredo Griffin, Player of the Month Award, September
- Dave Lemanczyk, reserve[9]
Farm system
editNotes
edit- ^ a b Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p. 125, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2
- ^ "1979 Toronto Blue Jays Trades and Transactions". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- ^ Diamond Dreams, p. 136
- ^ "1979 Toronto Blue Jays Trades and Transactions". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- ^ "1979 Toronto Blue Jays Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft".
- ^ Ron Shepherd at Baseball Reference
- ^ Ron Romanick at Baseball-Reference
- ^ Andre Robertson at Baseball-Reference
- ^ 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
References
edit- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
External links
edit- 1979 Toronto Blue Jays at Baseball Reference
- 1979 Toronto Blue Jays at Baseball Almanac