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

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Matchup 4: Mike Timlin vs Mark Eichhorn

Timlin pitched for the Blue Jays in the 90’s and played a prominant role in the franchise’s first World Series title. After a significant gap in the early parts of his career, Eichhorn would tally some impressive win totals out of the ‘pen in the 80’s.

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Timlin collected 52 saves for the Blue Jays over his time in Toronto. That rather small total puts him 7th on the all time list. He appeared in 305 games for the club from 1991 to 1997 when he was sent to Seattle. His first year in MLB saw him finish 6th in Rookie of the Year voting with a record of 11-6. That was his most successful year in Toronto if you look at his 1.5 WAR.

But, most Blue Jays fans will remember him being on the World Series teams of the 90’s. In fact, it was he who threw out Otis Nixon at first when the speedy Brave tried to lay down a bunt. A fraction of a second before Joe Carter caught the ball and hopped up and down at first base. Timlin fielded the bunt attempt cleanly.

Eichhorn was not as lucky during his time in Toronto. But, he did get a ring. The righty would go 29-19 for the Blue Jays from 1982 through 1988. After 38 innings that saw him go 0-3 in 7 starts, he wouldn’t return to the big league club until 1986 due to a shoulder injury. Given the nature of the injury, you can see why they opted to move him to the ‘pen.

In his new role, Eichhorn would go 14-6 in 1986. He had no starts to his credit, but ended up with 157 innings that year. He followed that up with a 10-6 showing in 127.2 innings the next year. Again, he had zero starts. That 1986 season saw his WAR at an all time high of 4.9. He would later return to the club in 1993 for 72.2 innings where he went 3-1 with a 2.72 ERA.

Next: Matchup 5: Where Does a Current Reliever Stand?