Toronto Blue Jays’ Quest for a Repeat in 1993

Financial Considerations

History clearly showed the quest to repeat as World Series champions is not easily achieved. Through 1992, the last team to win back-to-back World Series titles had been the 1977-78 New York Yankees. A repeat would require a critical assessment of the current roster to project what changes would be required to maintain a contending team within the salary budget approved by ownership. This evaluation was complicated by the fact that several key Toronto Blue Jays players were eligible for free agency after the 1992 season.

Further, despite the huge boost to attendance with the 1989 in-season move to SkyDome, the salary budget remained a pressure. A significant factor in the budget pressure was that while ticket sales and Canadian broadcast revenue were received in Canadian dollars, major expenses such as player salaries and travel expenses were paid in US dollars. On December 31, 1992, the US-Canadian dollar exchange rate was $0.791.1

The Blue Jays’ profit, despite not making the World Series, had risen from $10 million CDN in 1989 to $14 million CDN in 1990 to $17.5 million CDN in 1991.2 When considering the financial investment required to improve the team for 1992, management calculated that the achievement of maximum attendance (i.e., sell out every game) would lead to an attendance increase of only 74,000 over 1991.3 Management had made the investment for 1992, won the World Series, and made a small profit that was attributed to the $2 million CDN generated by the playoff run.4

With total 1992 attendance at 4,028,318 and a maximum attendance for 81 sellouts at 4,091,796 (50,516 tickets x 81 regular-season home games), the maximum potential attendance increase was 63,478. Blue Jays management accepted these capacity limitations and decided to increase their payroll in 1993; they were the top spenders in baseball. As a result, the Jays calculated that they broke even for the year, thanks to the playoff revenue, although Labatt Breweries, the club’s majority owner, realized profit through increased beer sales and broadcasting revenues.5

Roster Adjustments

Work on addressing the list of pending Blue Jays free agents began early in the 1992 postseason period. Of the core 14 players from the 1992 World Series (nine hitters, four starters, and the closer), seven were free agents at the end of the season: shortstop Manny Lee, left fielder Candy Maldonado, right fielder Joe Carter, designated hitter Dave Winfield, starting pitchers David Cone and Jimmy Key, and closer Tom Henke.

Of those seven, only Carter was re-signed, joining 1992 returnees catcher Pat Borders, first baseman John Olerud, second baseman Roberto Alomar, and center fielder Devon White in the projected 1993 starting lineup.

Paul Molitor was signed as a free agent, leaving the Milwaukee Brewers. His primary role in 1993 would be designated hitter to replace Dave Winfield, who signed with the Minnesota Twins. Toronto initially planned to utilize Derek Bell to be the starter in left field in place of Candy Maldonado, who had signed with the Chicago Cubs.6 However, that plan was abandoned as Bell and a minor-league player, Stoney Briggs, were dealt to the San Diego Padres on March 30, 1993, for outfielder Darrin Jackson. 

The left side of the infield was uncertain. Ed Sprague was tabbed to replace Kelly Gruber (traded to the California Angels for Luis Sojo) at third base, and the starting shortstop position was an open competition to replace Manny Lee, who had signed with the Texas Rangers.

Toronto signed Dave Stewart, leaving the Oakland Athletics, to address a gap in the projected starting rotation. Free agents David Cone had signed with the Kansas City Royals and Jimmy Key had signed with the New York Yankees. Cone and Key had started five of the 12 postseason games played by Toronto in their successful 1992 postseason. Stewart joined a projected starting rotation that included returning starters Jack Morris, Juan Guzman, and Todd Stottlemyre.

Toronto closer Tom Henke had signed with the Texas Rangers, leaving an opening in the bullpen. Henke had accounted for five of the six saves awarded to Toronto relievers in the 1992 postseason. Duane Ward, who had saved 12 games for Toronto in 1992 during the regular season, was promoted to the closer role for 1993.

The Season

The Blue Jays did not get off to a strong start in 1993. On May 13 they were in fourth place in the American League East with a 17-17 record. On that day, starting shortstop Dick Schofield, who had signed with the club on January 15, 1993, suffered a broken arm.7 Toronto searched for a replacement starting shortstop and on June 11 sent Darrin Jackson to the New York Mets in exchange for Tony Fernandez. Fernandez was well known to Blue Jays fans: His major-league career began in Toronto as a 21-year-old rookie in 1983. Fernandez was the Blue Jays’ starting shortstop from 1985 until he and Fred McGriff were traded to the San Diego Padres after the 1990 season for Joe Carter and Roberto Alomar.

Despite stabilization at the shortstop position, the Blue Jays, with a 49-40 record, had a slight half-game lead over the Detroit Tigers at the All-Star break. With the New York Yankees (one game back), Baltimore Orioles (1½ games back), and Boston Red Sox (three games back), a tight second-half pennant race appeared to be in the offing.

The Blue Jays were not struggling offensively. The top five hitters in the order were referred to as WAMCO (Devon White, Roberto Alomar, Paul Molitor, Joe Carter, John Olerud).8 The starting pitching had been below expectations, due in part to veteran Jack Morris being in decline and three starters going on the disabled list. (Juan Guzman and Pat Hentgen were the exceptions).9

At the July 31 trade deadline, the Blue Jays were tied for first at 60-45 with the Yankees, and the Red Sox were only 1½ games back. Toronto traded pitcher Steve Karsay and a player to be named later (outfielder José Herrera) to the Oakland Athletics for outfielder Rickey Henderson.

The acquisition of Henderson to play left field was a bit of a surprise. In the days prior to the trade, it had been reported that Toronto was concerned about the uncertainty in left field as well as inconsistency in the starting rotation.10 General manager Pat Gillick, in discussing the trade with the media, described the transaction as “Plan 1A.”11 Gillick added that acquisition of a pitcher would have been preferred but described Henderson as a “catalyst.”12

The acquisition of Henderson led to a change in the WAMCO portion of the batting order. Henderson was inserted in the leadoff spot, White moved to second, with Alomar batting third; Molitor sixth against right-handers; and Molitor batting third and Alomar sixth against left-handers.13

The pennant race continued and on September 9, the Blue Jays were tied for first with the Yankees at 78-63, with the Orioles a half-game back at 77-63. Toronto then went on a 13-2 streak, pulling away from the Yankees (7-9) and Orioles (5-11) over the same period. Toronto clinched the division title on September 27. The season ended with the Blue Jays at 95-67, seven games ahead of the second-place Yankees.

The Blue Jays were led by starters Juan Guzman (14-3) and Pat Hentgen (19-9) with closer Duane Ward picking up 45 saves. The other three starters (Todd Stottlemyre, Dave Stewart, and Jack Morris) were a combined 30-32.

On offense, WAMCO lived up to their name with the following batting average/home run/RBI slash lines:

• Devon White: .273/15/52
• Roberto Alomar: .326/17/93
• Paul Molitor: .332/22/111
• Joe Carter: .254/33/121
• John Olerud: .363/24/107
• Rickey Henderson: .215/4/12 (in 44 games)

The American League Championship Series matched Toronto against the 94-68 Chicago White Sox. On paper, the series appeared to be a battle between the Blue Jays offense against the White Sox pitching. The White Sox were led by a starting trio of Jack McDowell (22-10), Alex Fernandez (18-9), and Wilson Alvarez (15-8). The number four and five starters were a combined 15-10. The closer was Roberto Hernandez with 38 saves. On offense, the key hitters were first baseman Frank Thomas .317/41/128 and third baseman Robin Ventura .262/22/94.

The ALCS opened in Chicago with Guzman besting McDowell in Game One with a 7-3 victory. The Blue Jays chose 36-year-old Dave Stewart to start Game Two against Fernandez. Although Stewart (12-8) was fifth in games started during the regular season, due in part to a stint on the disabled list, the Blue Jays relied on Stewart’s postseason experience. Stewart at the time was a lifetime 8-5 in postseason appearances with the 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers and 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1992 Oakland Athletics. Further, Stewart had been named World Series MVP in 1989 and ALCS MVP in 1990.

In contrast, the number-two regular-season starter, 24-year-old Pat Hentgen, was in his third season. Hentgen had only 57 2/3 innings of major-league experience prior to the start of the 1993 season and did not pitch in the 1992 postseason for Toronto. The Blue Jays’ faith in Stewart was rewarded as he defeated the White Sox’ Fernandez in Game Two with a 3-1 victory, a save going to Ward.

With the Blue Jays returning to Toronto for the next three games, Blue Jays fans were hoping for a quick end to the series. However, the White Sox rebounded with victories in Games Three and Four by scores of 6-1 and 7-4 respectively.

With the series tied 2-2, Game Five was a rematch of Game One starters Guzman and McDowell. Guzman got his second win of the series with a 5-3 victory, the first win by a home team in the series. The ALCS shifted back to Chicago for Game Six and Toronto advanced to the World Series with a 6-3 victory. Stewart picked up his second win of the series over Fernandez with Ward picking up his second save. Stewart was named the ALCS MVP.

The World Series matched Toronto against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies were led by catcher Darren Daulton (.257/24/105), third baseman Dave Hollins (.273/18/93), and first baseman John Kruk (.316/14/85). The Phillies had a balanced five-man rotation (69-40) comprised of Curt Schilling (16-7), Danny Jackson (12-11), Tommy Greene (16-4), Terry Mulholland (12-9), and Ben Rivera (13-9). Closer Mitch Williams had 43 saves.

The World Series opened at SkyDome with the Blue Jays winning Game One, 8-5. Al Leiter got the win in relief, Duane Ward picking up a save with Curt Schilling taking the loss. Philadelphia rebounded in Game Two with Terry Mulholland defeating Dave Stewart in a 6-4 win.

The Series moved to Philadelphia and Pat Hentgen defeated Danny Jackson 10-3 in Game Three. In a wild nine-inning Game Four, the Blue Jays outlasted the Phillies 15-14. Tony Castillo got the win over Mitch Williams with Duane Ward picking up the save. Curt Schilling kept the Phillies’ hopes alive, defeating Juan Guzman 2-0 in Game Five. This was the only game in the Series where the winning team scored fewer than six runs.

Returning home to Toronto with a 3-2 Series lead, Game Six found the Blue Jays trailing 6-5 heading into the bottom of the ninth.14 Phillies closer Mitch Williams was brought in. Leadoff hitter Rickey Henderson walked. Devon White was retired on a fly out. Paul Molitor singled. With Alfredo Griffin on deck, having pinch-run for Olerud earlier in the game, Joe Carter hit a walk-off three-run homer for an 8-6 Blue Jays victory and back-to-back World Series titles for Toronto.

In summation, this was not a pitchers’ World Series. The Phillies had a Series team ERA of 7.39, the Blue Jays, 5.77. Paul Molitor was named World Series MVP, hitting .458 and driving in seven runs. However, the winning home run by Carter is arguably the most remembered play in the Series, including the call by Blue Jays play-by-play announcer, the late Tom Cheek: “Touch ‘em all, Joe. You’ll never hit a bigger home run in your life.”15

ALLEN TAIT has been a SABR member since 1976. A retired fraud investigator, he is chapter leader for the Hanlan’s Point (Toronto) chapter and a member of numerous SABR research committees.

 

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the notes, the author consulted the Baseball-Reference.com website.

 

Notes

1 https://freecurrencyrates.com/en/exchange-rate-history/CAD-USD/1992/cbr. Last referenced December 31, 2021.

2 Steven Brunt, Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball (Toronto: Viking, 1996), 234.

3 Brunt, 235.

4 Brunt, 258.

5 Brunt, 283.

6 Brunt, 261.

7 Brunt, 265.

8 Brunt, 267.

9 Brunt, 269.

10 Steve Milton, “AL East Report Toronto Blue Jays,” The Sporting News, August 2, 1993: 29.

11 Mark Newman, “One Week, One Race,” The Sporting News, August 9, 1993: 13.

12 Newman.

13 Steve Milton, “AL East Report Toronto Blue Jays,” The Sporting News, August 16, 1993: 28.

14 Brunt, 281.

15 https://baseballhalloffame.ca//hall-of-famer/tom-cheek/, last referenced January 16, 2022.