1988 Toronto Blue Jays season
The 1988 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 12th season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing in fourth (tie-breaker went to Milwaukee) in the American League East with a record of 87 wins and 75 losses. This was their last full season at Exhibition Stadium before moving to their new home in June of the following year.
| 1988 Toronto Blue Jays | ||
|---|---|---|
| League | American League | |
| Division | East | |
| Ballpark | Exhibition Stadium | |
| City | Toronto | |
| Record | 87–75 (.537) | |
| Divisional place | 4th | |
| Owners | Labatt Breweries, Imperial Trust, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce | |
| General managers | Pat Gillick | |
| Managers | Jimy Williams | |
| Television | CFTO-TV (Don Chevrier, Tony Kubek, Fergie Olver) The Sports Network (Fergie Olver, Buck Martinez) | |
| Radio | CJCL (AM) (Jerry Howarth, Tom Cheek) | |
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Transactions
Transactions by the Toronto Blue Jays during the off-season before the 1988 season.[1]
October 1987
| October 6 | Player rights to Tom Filer sold to the Milwaukee Brewers. |
| October 15 | Odell Jones granted free agency. José Segura granted free agency. |
| October 23 | Released Charlie Moore. |
November 1987
| November 9 | Garth Iorg granted free agency. |
| November 22 | Craig McMurtry granted free agency. |
December 1987
| December 7 | Joe Johnson drafted by the California Angels in the 1987 MLB Rule 5 draft. |
January 1988
| January 22 | Juan Beníquez granted free agency. |
| January 25 | Re-signed free agent Juan Beníquez to a one-year, $400,000 contract. |
| January 26 | Signed amateur free agent Graeme Lloyd to a contract. |
February 1988
| February 22 | Signed free agent Mark Ross from the Pittsburgh Pirates to a contract. |
March 1988
| March 24 | Signed free agent Sal Butera from the Minnesota Twins to a one-year, $100,000 contract. |
| March 25 | Player rights of Willie Upshaw sold to the Cleveland Indians. |
Regular season
- April 4, 1988: George Bell set a major league record for the most home runs hit on Opening Day, with three.[2] Bell accomplished this in a game versus the Kansas City Royals.
- September 24 and 30, 1988: Dave Stieb had two consecutive no-hitters broken up in the ninth inning with two outs and two strikes.
Season standings
| AL East | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox | 89 | 73 | 0.549 | — | 53–28 | 36–45 |
| Detroit Tigers | 88 | 74 | 0.543 | 1 | 50–31 | 38–43 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 87 | 75 | 0.537 | 2 | 47–34 | 40–41 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 87 | 75 | 0.537 | 2 | 45–36 | 42–39 |
| New York Yankees | 85 | 76 | 0.528 | 3½ | 46–34 | 39–42 |
| Cleveland Indians | 78 | 84 | 0.481 | 11 | 44–37 | 34–47 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 54 | 107 | 0.335 | 34½ | 34–46 | 20–61 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 4–9 | 5–7 | 4–7 | 4–9 | 5–8 | 0–12 | 4–9 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 5–8 |
| Boston | 9–4 | — | 8–4 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 10–3 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 2–11 |
| California | 7–5 | 4–8 | — | 9–4 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 3–9 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 6–6 |
| Chicago | 7–4 | 5–7 | 4–9 | — | 3–9 | 3–9 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 3–9 | 5–8 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 7–5 |
| Cleveland | 9–4 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 9–3 | — | 4–9 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 6–7 |
| Detroit | 8–5 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 9–4 | — | 8–4 | 5–8 | 1–11 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 5–8 |
| Kansas City | 12–0 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 4–8 | — | 3–9 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 4–8 |
| Milwaukee | 9–4 | 3–10 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 8–5 | 9–3 | — | 7–5 | 6–7 | 3–9 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 7–6 |
| Minnesota | 9–3 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 11–1 | 6–7 | 5–7 | — | 3–9 | 5–8 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 7–5 |
| New York | 10–3 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 9–3 | — | 6–6 | 5–7 | 5–6 | 6–7 |
| Oakland | 8–4 | 9–3 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 9–3 | 8–5 | 6–6 | — | 9–4 | 8–5 | 9–3 |
| Seattle | 5–7 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 4–9 | 7–5 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 4–9 | — | 6–7 | 5–7 |
| Texas | 6–6 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 5–8 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 6–5 | 5–8 | 7–6 | — | 6–6 |
| Toronto | 8–5 | 11–2 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 7–5 | 6–6 | — |
Transactions
Transactions for the Toronto Blue Jays during the 1988 regular season.[3]
April 1988
| April 7 | Signed free agent Doug Bair from the Philadelphia Phillies to a contract. Signed free agent Frank Wills from the Cleveland Indians to a contract. |
May 1988
| May 31 | Released Juan Beníquez. |
1988 Draft
- June 1, 1988: David Weathers was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 3rd round of the 1988 amateur draft. Player signed June 4, 1988.
Roster
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Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Game log
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April
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May
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June
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July
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August
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September
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Player stats
| = Indicates team leader |
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Ernie Whitt | 127 | 398 | 100 | .251 | 16 | 70 |
| 1B | Fred McGriff | 154 | 536 | 151 | .282 | 34 | 82 |
| 2B | Manuel Lee | 116 | 381 | 111 | .291 | 2 | 38 |
| 3B | Kelly Gruber | 158 | 569 | 158 | .278 | 16 | 81 |
| SS | Tony Fernández | 154 | 648 | 186 | .287 | 5 | 70 |
| LF | George Bell | 156 | 614 | 165 | .269 | 24 | 97 |
| CF | Lloyd Moseby | 128 | 472 | 113 | .239 | 10 | 42 |
| RF | Jesse Barfield | 137 | 468 | 114 | .244 | 18 | 56 |
| DH | Rance Mulliniks | 119 | 337 | 101 | .300 | 12 | 48 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nelson Liriano | 99 | 276 | 73 | .264 | 3 | 23 |
| Rick Leach | 87 | 199 | 55 | .276 | 0 | 23 |
| Cecil Fielder | 74 | 174 | 40 | .230 | 9 | 23 |
| Pat Borders | 56 | 154 | 42 | .273 | 5 | 21 |
| Sil Campusano | 73 | 132 | 41 | .218 | 2 | 12 |
| Sal Butera | 23 | 60 | 14 | .233 | 1 | 6 |
| Juan Beníquez | 27 | 58 | 17 | .293 | 1 | 8 |
| Rob Ducey | 27 | 54 | 17 | .315 | 0 | 6 |
| Alexis Infante | 19 | 15 | 3 | .200 | 0 | 0 |
| Lou Thornton | 11 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Flanagan | 34 | 211.0 | 13 | 13 | 4.18 | 99 |
| Dave Stieb | 32 | 207.1 | 16 | 8 | 3.04 | 147 |
| Jim Clancy | 36 | 196.1 | 11 | 13 | 4.49 | 118 |
| Jimmy Key | 21 | 131.1 | 12 | 5 | 3.29 | 65 |
| Todd Stottlemyre | 28 | 98.0 | 4 | 8 | 5.69 | 67 |
| Jeff Musselman | 15 | 85.0 | 8 | 5 | 3.18 | 39 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Cerutti | 46 | 123.2 | 6 | 7 | 3.13 | 65 |
| José Núñez | 13 | 29.1 | 0 | 1 | 3.07 | 18 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Henke | 52 | 4 | 4 | 25 | 2.91 | 66 |
| Duane Ward | 64 | 9 | 3 | 15 | 3.30 | 91 |
| David Wells | 41 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4.62 | 56 |
| Mark Eichhorn | 37 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4.19 | 28 |
| Tony Castillo | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | 14 |
| Frank Wills | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.23 | 19 |
| Doug Bair | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.05 | 8 |
| Mark Ross | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.91 | 4 |
Awards and records
- George Bell, Most Home Runs hit on Opening Day (3)
- Tony Fernández, Gold Glove Award
- Dave Stieb, pitcher[4]
Farm system
References
- "1988 Toronto Blue Jays Trades and Transactions". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
- SI.com - Statitudes - Statitudes: Opening Day 2002, By the Numbers - Sunday March 30, 2003 01:50 AM
- "1988 Toronto Blue Jays Trades and Transactions". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
- 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
External links
- 1988 Toronto Blue Jays at Baseball Reference
- 1988 Toronto Blue Jays at Baseball Almanac