Despite joining MLB in just 1977, the Blue Jays have managed to become one of the seven franchises to manage back-to-back World Series championships, and, along with the Marlins, are one of just two teams with both multiple titles and no World Series defeats. Their relative youth, though, has meant that they’ve had less time to develop their all-time roster than some older organizations.
You wouldn’t know that by looking at who has come through Toronto, however: what the Blue Jays lack in ballplayers wearing their cap into Cooperstown, they make up for with plenty of the top names in modern baseball — the era of free agency, wild cards and expanded playoffs.
Manager: Cito Gaston
Cito Gaston, the Blue Jays’ hitting coach during their successful 1980s run, was also the manager of their World Series-winning 1992 and 1993 squads He’s the first-ever African-American manager to win the World Series, and ranks second in games managed in franchise history with 902, behind only John Gibbons, the next-most successful skipper in Toronto’s history. The second half of Gaston’s run with the Jays was much worse — a .444 winning percentage from 1994-1998 compared to .574 from 1989 through 1993 — but that had more to do with a gutted Toronto roster transitioning to the next phase than with Gaston himself.
(Photo by John Williamson/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Starting pitcher: Roy Halladay
He threw a perfect game and won a Cy Young with the Phillies, and made it to the postseason multiple times in their uniform, but he was still Roy Halladay with the Blue Jays. He spent 12 years with Toronto before Philadelphia, and by 25 was a stud: he’d make six All-Star teams, win the 2003 Cy Young when he led MLB in wins, innings, complete games and WAR, and from 2002—2009 posted a 3.13 ERA. Philly might have been the exclamation point on a Hall of Fame career, but Toronto was the sentence that preceded it.
(Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
Reliever/closer: Tom Henke
To get a sense of just how good Tom Henke was with the Blue Jays requires context. Henke struck out 10.3 batters per nine from 1985 through 1992 with Toronto while posting a 2.48 ERA. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound right-hander remained imposing to behold despite sticking with glasses over contact lenses, thanks to his ability to induce strikeouts. That figure might not sound that impressive in 2025, when the league-average strikeout rate is 8.4 per nine. In 1985, though, the average was 5.4 per nine, and 5.6 by ‘92: Henke was a monster on the mound.
(Photo by Jeff Goode/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
Catcher: Russell Martin
Russell Martin didn’t play for Toronto until the end of his career, from 2015 through 2018, ages 32 through 35. He had at least an above-average bat for catchers in his first three years with the Blue Jays, and his pitch framing — while nowhere near what he managed at his peak — was still noteworthy. Martin was one of the preeminent pitch framers of his era, a catcher who was better respected and understood after his career by the teams, analysts and fans than during it, because of advances in dissecting the practice. Now, he’s understood as a player worth remembering.
(Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
1B: Carlos Delgado
Carlos Delgado was a top-five prospect with nowhere to go in Toronto’s world-champion lineup, then bounced from catcher to outfield to first base, where he thrived. Delgado hit .286/.397/.565 for the Jays from 1996-2004, and ranks first among Jays in slugging (.556), OPS (.949), home runs (336), RBIs (1,058), doubles (343) and walks (827). He’s second in on-base percentage (.392) and games played (1,493), third in hits (1,413), and first in times on base. Between the late start and late-career hip problems, he’s not a Hall of Famer, but he looked like one in Toronto.
(Photo by Don Smith/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
2B: Roberto Alomar
The Blue Jays have had multiple Hall of Famers on their roster, even ones they developed themselves, but only one player is wearing their cap in Cooperstown. That’s second baseman Roberto Alomar, who came to Toronto by way of a 1990 trade with the Padres that also netted them Joe Carter, while shipping out Tony Fernandez and Fred McGriff. Alomar was good with San Diego, but a star for the Jays, making the All-Star team and winning Gold Gloves all five seasons he was there, earning MVP votes in three of those campaigns, on top of two World Series rings.
(Photo by MLB via Getty Images)
3B: Josh Donaldson
Josh Donaldson played for seven teams in his 13-year career, and none for as long or as well as the Blue Jays. While Donaldson also spent four years with the Athletics, with Toronto, he hit .281/.383/.548 with 116 of his 279 home runs, won the 2015 American League MVP while batting .297/.371/.568 with a career-high 41 dingers, and nabbed two Silver Sluggers — his performances elsewhere simply don’t compare to that sustained run. His career fizzled out in his mid-30s and was over at 37, but a nine-year run with a 139 OPS+ stands out.
(Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
SS: Tony Fernandez
Fernandez was key to Toronto’s nascent success in the 1980s, when they were constantly at war with the Tigers in the AL East before their ascent to the top of the baseball world in the ’90s. He made three All-Star teams with the Jays between 1986 and 1989, netting a Gold Glove and MVP votes in each of those four years. While he was shipped to the Padres in 1990 along with Fred McGriff, Toronto would bring him back in a midseason 1993 deal — giving him a World Series ring — and he’d sign up for a third stint from 1997-1999, and fourth in 2001.
(Photo by Ron Vesely/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
OF: Jose Bautista
In late-2009, 28-year-old Jose Bautista lowered his hands and moved closer to the plate: the result was vastly improved timing and explosive power. From 2004 through 2009, Bautista had a 91 OPS+ and 59 homers. He’d go deep an MLB-leading 54 times in 2010, and hit 272 homers from ‘10 through 2017 with Toronto, while picking up six consecutive All-Star nods, with his 2011 season (.302/.447/.608) tops. Bautista might have turned things on too late for Cooperstown, but thanks to his time with the Blue Jays, he was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025.
(Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
OF: George Bell
George Bell’s defense was never good, but it worsened as he got older and slower. The good news for Toronto is that while he was with them throughout his 20s, his bat was so good that the glove only became a point of contention late. Bell was the 1987 AL MVP at age 27, thanks to batting .308/.352/.60 with a career-high 47 home runs. From the time he became a full-time player in 1984 through 1990, Bell hit .288/.328/.493 with 195 homers, and was an offensive centerpiece on their ‘85 and ‘89 playoff clubs.
(Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
OF: Vernon Wells
Forget the extension that became more (in)famous than his actual play — the Angels were responsible for the expensive, disappointing portion, anyway. Vernon Wells ranks third in games played for the Blue Jays, second in hits, total bases, doubles, RBIs and extra-base hits. Despite the downturn in the years after the extension, Wells is also fifth in WAR for Blue Jays’ position players, and was an excellent combination of power, speed and defense in center field. A .280/.329/.475 line over 12 years in Toronto, with 223 homers and Gold Glove defense? Toronto would take that again and again.
(Photo by John Williamson/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
DH: Joe Carter
Joe Carter was a better hitter with Cleveland, but Toronto was his other primary home, and it was with the Blue Jays where he hit the most important home run of his career… and one of the most significant in MLB history. Joe Carter won the 1993 World Series for Toronto with a walk-off home run against the Phillies and closer Mitch Williams — if he’d never done anything else for the Jays, that would still be huge. Carter hit 203 of his 396 regular-season dingers with Toronto, however, and slugged .473. One-dimensional is fine when the dimension looks like that.
(Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
Honorable Mentions:
- John Gibbons (manager)
- Dave Stieb (starting pitcher)
- Duane Ward (reliever/closer)
- Ernie Whitt (catcher)
- Pat Borders (catcher)
- Devon White (outfield)
- Lloyd Moseby (outfield)
- Jesse Barfield (outfield)
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (DH)
- Edwin Encarnacion (DH)
- Shannon Stewart (DH)
- John Olerud (DH)
- Paul Molitor (DH)
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