Blue Jays Top 5 First Basemen of All Time

Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

The Blue Jays are currently full of options at first base with Justin Smoak, Chris Colabello and Edwin Encarnacion in the fold. The position has been strong for the team historically: some of the best Blue Jays ever played first base. Jays Journal continues its all-time Blue Jays positional lists with a look at the top 5 first basemen in Toronto history. 

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Before we get to the list, here are some caveats and explanations:

This list is only a top 5 because very few Blue Jays (with enough PAs) spent the plurality of their time as a first baseman. There weren’t enough names to populate an adequate top 10. To give you some contect, if this was a top 10, David Cooper would have been #10. Names like Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Lind will appear on the top DH list.

For a note on how I used WAR and what WARPA means see the preamble of this previous top ten.

Only a first baseman’s performance while with the Jays is considered. How they fared in the rest of their careers elsewhere is ignored. A minimum 200 PA with the Jays was the cutoff for inclusion in the top 10 and for stat rankings. The PA cutoff is so low because of the lack of true first basemen.

Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

#5: Lyle Overbay

Lyle Overbay, a 1999 18th round pick of the Diamondbacks, made his debut in 2001 with Arizona. He was a Diamondback and a Brewer before he was traded to the Blue Jays prior to the 2005 season.

Overbay played 5 seasons with the Blue Jays and was quite valuable even though his contributions often flew under the radar. He was the Jays’ primary first baseman over that span—averaging 571 ABs per season with Toronto. Overbay was atypical for a first baseman. In relation to the position, he didn’t hit for much power. He made up for it with a penchant for doubles and walks. He was also a solid defender at first.

Overbay’s best season in Toronto was also his first. In 2006, he slashed .312/.372/.508, hit 46 doubles, a career high 22 home runs and posted a 3.2 bWAR.

The Jays signed Lyle to a 4 year extension but he had a down year in 2007 after breaking bones in his hand. He rebounded nicely and over the next three years had a bWAR’s of 2.6, 2.8 and 2.5 respectively. Defensively, Overbay put up 34 DRS as a Jay.

Overbay left to sign with Pittsburgh prior to the 2011 season and played for the Pirates, Diamondbacks, Braves, Yankees and Brewers before retiring after the 2014 season.

Among Blue Jays’ first basemen all-time he ranks 5th in WAR, 4th in RBI, 5th in Offensive runs, 3rd in UZR, and 1st in DRS.

Next: Coming in at No. 4, Willie the Kid!

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

4. Willie Upshaw

Willie Upshaw was drafted by the Yankees in 1975. Pat Gillick astutely acquired him for the Blue Jays via the 1977 Rule V draft.

The results did not come immediately and Upshaw struggled over his first three seasons with the Jays. The organization’s patience paid off, however, as Upshaw transformed into the team’s starting first baseman from 1982 to 1987.

Upshaw’s strongest career season season came with the Blue Jays in 1983 when he had a .887 OPS, hit 27 home runs and posted a 4.7 WAR. He was also the first Blue Jay to crack 104 RBI in a season.

Defensively, Upshaw improved as his career went on. His best dWAR of 0.6 came in his last year as a Jay in 1987.

He was purchased by the Indians from the Jays in 1988. He played his last MLB game that year. Upshaw went to Japan for the 1989 and 1990 seasons and retired thereafter. Upshaw has been a coach for the Giants and most recently he was the manager of the Bridgeport Bluefish.

Among Blue Jays’ first basemen all-time he ranks 4th in WAR, 2nd in PAs, 2nd in RBI and 1st in SB

Next: At No. 3, we've got a 'Rud 'Rud Boy...

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

3. John Olerud

The Blue Jays drafted John Olerud in 1989. Olerud didn’t spend any time in the minors and made his debut with 8 PAs as a 20 year old later that season. Olerud quickly became a regular with 421 PAs the next year. He was a mainstay at first for the Jays until 1996.

Olerud, like Overbay, was atypical for the position. He was a doubles and walks machine but averaged about 18 home runs a year. He was also notable for wearing a batting helmet while fielding because of a brain aneurysm.

Olerud’s best season as a Jay came in 1993. He led the league in OPS (1.072), average (.363), OBP (.473) and doubles (54). He walked nearly twice as much as he struck out. He famously challenged for a .400 average and was still above the mark on August 24. He posted a 7.7 WAR that year. It was perhaps the best offensive season by a Jays’ first baseman.

He wouldn’t come close to those gaudy numbers over the rest of his Jays’ career but still put up very solid numbers from 1994 to 1996.

As Gob Bluth would say, the Blue Jays made a huge mistake prior to the 1997 season. With the emergence of Carlos Delgado, there was only room for one of Joe Carter or Olerud as the other 1B/DH. Blue Jays’ management preferred the severely declining Carter to the “not aggressive enough” Olerud. Olerud was shipped off to the Mets for Robert Person. The Jays even paid the Mets $5 million to rid themselves of Olerud.

The trade was a disaster. Person put up a -1.8 WAR for the Jays, Carter had a terrible season and Olerud went on to post 37.5 WAR from 1997 to 2005 with the Mets, Mariners, Yankees and Red Sox. He retired after the 2005 season. Some believe that Olerud belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Among Blue Jays’ first basemen all-time he ranks 2nd in WAR, 3rd in PAs, 3rd in RBI, 2nd in BB%, 3rd in wRC+, 2nd in Fielding Percentage and 1st on this list in defensive runs.

Next: At No.2 on the list, The Canine Criminal

Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

2. Fred McGriff

The Yankees drafted Fred McGriff in 1981. Before realizing his potential, they traded him to the Blue Jays in 1982 with Dave Collins and Mike Morgan in exchange for Tom Dodd and Dale Murray. Toronto got the upper hand of the deal both in the short and long term.  Dodd never played a game for the Yankees and Murray was ineffective whereas Collins paid immediate dividends. The Blue Jays could not have fully imagined that the much greater value from the trade was honing his game in A ball at the time. McGriff made his debut with a cup of coffee in 1986.

Fred played the next four years in Toronto and was their best player over that span. His finest season as a Jay was 1989 when he lead the league in home runs (36), OPS (.924) and posted a 6.6 WAR. McGriff averaged a .919 OPS over his Jays career. Defensively, McGriff was below average with a -2.4 dWAR as a Jay. His defence became more of a liability as his career went on but it was never so much a problem as to warrant spending significant time as a DH.

McGriff’s best years were played in Toronto but he continued to hit very well and played 14 more seasons elsewhere. Prior to the 1991 season, Pat Gillick made the gutsy call to deal his team’s best player. It wasn’t the most one sided trade in Jays history, but it was perhaps the most important. Off went McGriff and Tony Fernandez to San Diego and in came Joe Carter and Roberto Alomar. McGriff played for the Padres, Braves, Rays, Cubs, Dodgers and the Rays again before retiring after the 2004 season. McGriff is currently a baseball operations assistant for the Braves. He received 12.9% on the most recent Hall of Fame ballot.

Among Blue Jays’ first basemen all-time he ranks 3rd in WAR, 2nd in home runs, 1st in BB%, 2nd in SLG%, 1st in wRC+ and 2nd in offensive runs

Next: At No. 1: He's on the Level of Excellence!