Blue Jays broadcasters and analysts: A look at their playing days

Before they became the voices you associate with Toronto Blue Jays broadcasts, these five individuals made their names on the field

Behind “swing and a drive”, the Sunday Roast, and your regular broadcasts on a Toronto Blue Jays’ game day are an experienced cast of former players turned broadcasters and analysts.

With a new generation of Blue Jays fans filling the Rogers Centre, it’s important to know the on-field history of the voices and faces that have become so familiar.

From Buck Martinez‘s heroics at home plate to Kevin Barker‘s massive numbers from the minor leagues and outside of the United States, let’s get up to speed.

Buck Martinez

1,049 games played over 17 MLB seasons
.225 AVG  –  58 HR  –  321 RBI

Known to newer fans as the play-by-play voice of the Blue Jays on Sportsnet television, Martinez has seen it all with this organization.

The 67-year-old was originally a second-round selection of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1967 but changed teams twice before his major league debut in 1969.

Martinez was selected by the Houston Astros in the 1968 Rule 5 Draft, then traded from Houston to the Kansas City Royals two weeks later. His first eight seasons were spent with the Royals, but Buck was still finding his way with the bat. In 361 career games with Kansas City, Martinez hit .222 with a .599 OPS.

In the offseason following 1977 he was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals for relief pitcher Al Hrabosky, but was then immediately flipped to the Milwaukee Brewers for reliever George Frazier. After three seasons with the Brewers, Martinez finally landed with the Blue Jays at age 32 in a deal for minor league outfielder Gil Kubski.

The remaining six years of his career were spent with the Blue Jays, where Martinez raised his OPS to .675. After his final season in 1986, Martinez got into broadcasting.

In 1985 came the play than many still remember from Martinez’s career: a double-play turned at the plate after suffering a broken leg in a hard collision.

He did find himself back in the dugout eventually, though, managing the Blue Jays in 2000 and 2001 after Jim Fregosi‘s tenure. The Blue Jays went 100-115 under Martinez.

He’s also picked up the pen recently, releasing a book entitled Change Up: How to Make the Great Game of Baseball Even Better.

The ‘Whoa’ Stat:

Despite not topping five home runs in a single season elsewhere in his career, Martinez posted back-to-back 10-homer campaigns for the Blue Jays in 1982 and 1983.

Next up, Buck’s right-hand man in the booth…

Next: Why Tabler was known as Mr. Clutch...

Pat Tabler

1,202 games played over 12 MLB seasons
.282 AVG  –  .345 OBP  –  512 RBI

Tabler enjoyed a very strong 12-year career after being originally drafted by the New York Yankees 16th overall in the 1976 MLB Draft (two picks ahead of Mike Scioscia).

It was a long road for Tabler through the minor leagues, though, and prior to his 1981 debut he was dealt from the Yankees to the Chicago Cubs. After two seasons of limited playing time, Tabler was traded to the Chicago White Sox, but on April 1st of that season, was flipped to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for infielder Jerry Dybzinski.

The Indians won that trade as Tabler started in Cleveland for five years and part of a sixth. Midway through the 1988 season he was dealt over to the Kansas City Royals for former San Diego Padres’ manager Bud Black.

After another deal landed him in New York with the Mets, Tabler finally landed with the Blue Jays prior to the 1991 season and ended his major league career with a World Series Championship in 1992.

You can catch Tabler on the left-side of the screen in the video below, where the champion Blue Jays give their own rendition of the Tomahawk Chop song…

Tabler’s career numbers are impressive, but what he’s most remembered for is his unbelievable ability to hit with the bases loaded. This earned him the nickname “Mr. Clutch”.

The ‘Whoa’ Stat:

In 109 plate appearances with the bases loaded, Tabler held a career line of .489 / .505 / .693 (1.198 OPS) with two career grand slams and just nine strikeouts compared to 11 walks.

His career average with runners in scoring position was .317.

Next up is the analyst (err…”Manalyst”) who most recently wore the Blue and White.

Next: The switch-hitting Zaun, working AB's and battling backups

Gregg Zaun

1,232 games played over 16 MLB seasons
.252 AVG  –  .344 OBP  –  88 HR

Switch-hitting catcher Gregg Zaun saw major league time with six different organizations between 1995 and 2010, beginning with the Baltimore Orioles who originally drafted him in the 17th round in 1989.

After cracking the Orioles roster as a primary backup, Zaun was dealt to the Florida Marlins as the “player to be named later” in a deal for relief pitcher Terry Mathews. Playing behind star catcher Charles Johnson, Zaun was part of the 1997 World Series Championship in Florida.

In 58 games that season as a 26-year-old, Zaun posted an impressive slash line of .301 / .415 / .441.

Following a down year with the Marlins in 1998, Zaun was traded to the Texas Rangers in a multi-player deal. Before the following season began, he was shipped to the Kansas City Royals.

After a strong os stops in Houston, Colorado, and a cup of coffee with the Montreal Expos in the spring of 2004, Zaun finally landed with the Toronto Blue Jays. Zaun gave the Blue Jays some very nice seasons, too, emerging as a legitimate starting option from 2004 to 2008 despite sharing time with Bengie Molina and Rod Barajas along with way.

For his career, Zaun produced a total of 12.2 wins above replacement, peaking at 2.0 with the Blue Jays in 2005 and 1.8 between the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays in 2009. Despite lacking a high success rate throwing out opposing runners (career 24%), Zaun graded out very well defensively, especially in the latter half of his career.

The ‘Whoa’ Stat:

Zaun is credited with pitching three and a third innings in the minor leagues, first in 1990 with the Bluefield Orioles and then in 1993 with the double-A Bowie Baysox.

His final line? Two hits allowed, one walk, one strikeout, and a shiny 0.00 ERA!

Next: Last but not least: A look at Barker's big numbers...

Joe Siddall

73 games played in 4 MLB seasons

Some Canadian content lands on the list in the form of Joe Siddall, a native of Windsor, Ontario who currently teams with Jerry Howarth for radio broadcasts while occasionally joining the booth on the television side.

Another catcher, Siddall was signed by the Montreal Expos as an amateur free agent in 1987 but did not make his major league debut until 1993. He saw further big league action in 1995 with Montreal, 1996 with the Florida Marlins, and 1998 with the Detroit Tigers, giving him 158 career plate appearances.

He enjoyed a long minor league career, though, appearing in 869 games including 441 at the triple-A level.

Siddall’s strongest minor league season came north of the border with the triple-A Ottawa Lynx. The left-handed hitter posted a .360 on-base percentage in 57 games that season and drove in 16 runs.

He played well the year prior, too, with the triple-A Charlotte Knights as a member of the Marlins organization. Siddall appeared in 65 games that year, producing a triple-slash of .280 / .330 / .407 with 13 doubles, three home runs and 20 runs batted in.

Next: Should the Blue Jays start Biagini in 2017?

The ‘Whoa’ Stat:

One. Siddall has a single big-league home run to his credit, which came on August 7th of 1998 in his final year in the major leagues. The deep fly came off left-hander Jeff Fassero, a former Expo who pitched over 2,000 MLB innings.