Introduction: 1992 World Champion Toronto Blue Jays, by Buck Martinez

When I was designated for assignment in Anaheim on April 30, 1981, I thought I was headed to the New York Yankees. I was the fourth-string catcher on the Milwaukee Brewers and hadn’t even played in a game that season. I didn’t catch an inning nor hit any baseballs outside of batting practice.

Ted Simmons, Charlie Moore, Ned Yost, and Buck Martinez. That was our catching lineup for the 1981 Milwaukee Brewers. Manager Buck Rodgers called me into the office, told me I was DFA’d and that was that. I made a quick call to the team hotel to tell my wife Arlene “stay put, I’m coming home.” We had sold our house in Kansas City in the offseason planning to relocate after the season. Well, that wasn’t such a good idea! Now, since we were in California, the next stop was my parents’ house in Sacramento. There, we would wait the 10-day DFA period and see what was next!

In an attempt to stay in shape, I went out running. When I came home, my wife had a bottle of champagne sitting on the table with a blue bow around it. “We are going to Toronto!” Really, not the Yankees? Well, at least we were going somewhere.

The night I arrived in Toronto at Pearson International Airport, it was early May on a cold and rainy night. Rick Amos from the front office picked me up and drove me to the “Ex” (the Blue Jays’ home ballpark, Exhibition Stadium). There I met Pat Gillick, the general manager, who told me I was there to help the young pitchers get better. I thought I would finish out the season with the Jays and head off into the sunset! After all, I had come from Kansas City through Milwaukee and Toronto wasn’t exactly the way I saw my career ending. Little did I know this would be the best move of my career. Here we are, beginning the 2022 season and I am still here in Toronto with the Jays. What a great ride it has been.

The 1981 season, of course, was interrupted by the strike for 53 days. I was heavily involved in the Players Association so once the strike hit, I was off traveling around to meetings in New York City and beyond. My wife Arlene and son Casey were “stuck” in Toronto without a car. Normally, the team annually arranges Hondas for all the players but once the work stoppage hit, the cars were gone!

After the strike, as we were getting ready to resume the season, I remember team president Peter Bavasi meeting with the players in the outfield at Exhibition Stadium with a pep talk about how the season was now spilt into two halves and “we could make the playoffs.” We players knew we weren’t very good and wondered if he was talking about us.

Well of course we didn’t win the second half nor get to the playoffs, but that offseason Bobby Cox was brought in to manage the Jays going forward. My first spring training with the Jays I was amazed how many good young players were in camp. Tony Fernandez, Damaso Garcia, Alfredo Griffin, Dave Stieb, Jim Clancy, Luis Leal, Jim Gott, Jesse Barfield, George Bell, and Lloyd Moseby. The organization was loaded. We had a great manager, some of the best coaches I have ever worked with, a team of scouts that stood above the rest and a GM that had a vision for long lasting success, Pat Gillick. This reminded me so much of my early years with the Royals. George Brett, Frank White, Hal McRae, Steve Busby, Paul Splittorff. This Jays team was going to win, win soon, and win for a long time! Well, they won the AL East Division for the first time in 1985 setting a franchise record that stands today, 99 wins, in a division that had the reigning world champion Tigers, up and coming Brewers, the Yankees, the Red Sox, and the Cleveland then-“Indians.”

I broke my leg in 1985 so I was out for the best part of the season but it was fun watching the guys bring home the division title to Canada. The 1985 season began a run of success that would set the tone for the organization for the next several years. Bobby Cox left to be the GM of the Braves, and 1986 was a disappointment, 1987 was a collapse losing the final seven games of the year going from up 3 1/2 games to losing by two to the Tigers again. But the bar had been raised with the 1985 division championship so anything less than the playoffs going forward was unacceptable.

In 1989, John Olerud was drafted in June, signed in August, joined the team in September, and never played a day in the minors. He would become a big part of the 1992 team and win a batting title in 1993.

The team in 1992 reflected Pat Gillick’s GM style. Pat didn’t have one method of building a team. He was open to anything. He had been talked out of signing Bo Jackson by his baseball staff and never forgot that. He was sure about Olerud when he was in college at Washington State. Gillick sent one of his trusted scouts, Moose Johnson, to watch Olerud in a tournament in Hawaii. Johnson followed Olerud everywhere. they ate breakfast together, talked family, baseball, and life. Johnson was one of the best. Watching the games, the scout counted all of Olerud’s swings. Fifty-four total, no misses. Olerud swung at 54 pitches and never missed. Johnson was sold. Gillick knew then he would take him in the draft and put him right in the big leagues.

The Jays in 1992 were a mixture of youth, veterans, stars, and role players. Guys on the way up and guys near the end. It was the perfect mix. Pat Borders, the catcher, was a sixth-round third baseman who was ticketed to be released in the minors, when he suggested he try catching. At one point, he was farmed out to another organization because he wasn’t on the radar with the Jays. He became the MVP of the World Series in 1992.

Joe Carter and Robbie Alomar were acquired from San Diego for two of the most popular Jays, Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez. Everyone thought Gillick had lost his mind. Alomar became a Hall of Famer and Carter a World Series hero.

Jack Morris pitched one of the best games in World Series history: Game Seven, 1991. Morris and the Twins against John Smoltz and the Braves. A 10-inning, seven-hit shutout in a 1-0 win. He could have signed anywhere as a free agent and named his price. He chose the Blue Jays because, “I wanted to play with the guys I couldn’t beat.” Pat Hentgen told me, much later, the impact the Morris signing had on the team. “When Morris walked into the clubhouse the first time, we knew we had our swagger.” Morris won 21 games.

Dave Winfield signed as a free agent and quickly became the hammer that drove the nails. Big hits in big situations, none bigger than the game-winning double in the top of the 11th in Atlanta to wrap up the championship. David Cone, the star pitcher from the Mets, was acquired near the end of August to fortify the rotation. The first night he was on the bench, the Brewers pounded the Jays 22-2 in front of 50,408. He must have thought “what have I gotten myself into?” The next day, the Brew Crew touched him up for seven runs in 6 2/3 innings but he delivered a 4-2 record in September, beat Oakland in Game Two of the ALCS, and started the clinching Game Six in Atlanta. Another subtle move by Gillick.

When you take a look back at the 1992 champs, you get a tremendous appreciation for how free-wheeling “Trader Pat” was. His catcher Borders was nearly released in the minors but worked hard and ended up the MVP of the Series. John Olerud was 23 and would become a batting champ at first base. Alomar, in his second of five years with the Jays was just beginning to write his Hall of Fame speech. Shortstop Manny Lee was a Rule 5 player who joined the team in 1985 at 19. Kelly Gruber at third base was the best pure athlete to wear the Jays’ uniform. Ed Sprague was a role player who hit a first-pitch ninth-inning home run off Braves closer Jeff Reardon in Game Two to turn a 4-3 loss into a 5-4 win. Mike Timlin who had one save during the regular season retired the only batter he faced in the bottom of the 11th of Game Six, Otis Nixon, to clinch the victory when he flipped the ball to Joe Carter at first.

Cito Gaston was the manager of this wonderful team. He was the perfect man to guide this eclectic group of ballplayers. He had a good career as a player and knew if you let the good players play, things would take care of themselves. Cito was a San Diego Padre when Winfield made his big-league debut in 1973. Cito got the best out of Devon White by putting him in the leadoff spot. “Just be yourself.” It worked magic. He handled the bullpen well and Tom Henke delivered. Cito wasn’t afraid to use any of his players and they all had their fingerprints on the trophy.

This was a great roster that featured three Hall of Famers, multiple all-stars, and Gold Glove winners. A Hall of Fame GM. A future batting champ and a future Cy Young Award winner. This book will tell you more about the people, the players and the staff that rocked the baseball world by winning the World Series for Canada.

I had a front row seat for the entire ride. I know this book will give you an inside look at what a special season 1992 was. Enjoy.

— Buck Martinez
May 2022