Toronto Blue Jays Poll: Best Pitchers of All Time, Round 1

Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Matchup 3: Jim Clancy vs Juan Guzman

This matchup is asking you to stretch the limits of your Blue Jays memory. Some readers may not even be old enough to be able to properly make a decision on this one.

Clancy sits in 3rd spot on the club’s All Time wins list with 128. He’s 2nd with 345 starts and innings pitched at 2204.2. He also has the most losses in Blue Jays history with 140. That’ll happen when you pitch 12 seasons for the same organization. From 1977 through 1988, Clancy put up positive values in WAR, reaching as high as 5 in 1987.

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He threw 3 complete games for the Blue Jays and 8 seasons of 30 or more starts. That includes 1982 and 1984 when he led the league. In ’84, he started 36 games, which sounds impressive until you compare it to his ’82 total of 40! He won 10 or more games 8 times as well.

Guzman was a popular starter during the 1990’s and was key in the Blue Jays winning the 2 World Series’. His 7 seasons with the club brought him to 7th on their all time wins list with 76, 25th with 195 games and 6th in innings pitched with 1215.2.

He burst onto the scene in 1991 where he finished 2nd in Rookie of the Year voting. He was an All Star in 1992 while he was on his way to winning 16 games. The following season, he only lost 3 games all year. Oddly, that was the year he led the league in wild pitches with 26. He’d lead the league again the next year with 13. His best year came in 1992 when he put up 5.5 WAR. His career total sits at 26.3.

Next: Matchup 4: Relievers From Different Decades