Blue Jays: Some of Cito Gaston’s strangest postseason decisions

Cito Gaston had a lot of success with the Blue Jays, and you don’t fix what wasn’t broken. However, some of his postseason decisions were interesting.

We have the benefit of a lot of advanced data today in baseball that wasn’t available a decade or two ago. Because of that, hindsight isn’t always kind to baseball players, and skippers of the past.

When it comes to Cito Gaston, the former skipper of the Blue Jays (1989-1997, 2008-2010), his resume speaks for itself and it makes it very difficult to challenge what he did back during the team’s glory days in the 90’s. That said, there were a few decisions worth raising a eyebrow over, even if they obviously worked out just fine.

For example, last night Sportsnet aired Game 4 of the 1993 World Series. If you missed it and/or don’t remember anything about the game, it was an interesting night for Paul Molitor. That’s because the veteran hadn’t played third base since he made two appearances at the hot corner in 1990 with the Milwaukee Brewers, and yet he jumped back on the horse during the Fall Classic. I’m not sure that’s a decision you’d see from a modern day skipper.

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The reason that Molitor was started at third base was because he was the regular designated hitter, and Game 4 was played in a National League park in Philadelphia, which meant the pitchers had to hit. Molitor had had an excellent year with the Blue Jays, so much so that Cito Gaston originally decided to keep him in the lineup for Game 3 by starting him at first base. The problem with that? It meant that John Olerud and his AL-leading .363 batting average were relegated to the bench.

That wasn’t the only time that Olerud had to ride the pine in the World Series either. Granted he wasn’t the AL batting champ in 1992, but he was still a legitimate threat at the plate. However, he ended up sitting in favour of the Blue Jays using Joe Carter at first base, and moving designated hitter Dave Winfield to right field in Game 1. The Blue Jays lost that game and ended up starting Olerud in Game 2, sitting Maldonado instead, however, Olerud was back on the bench in Game 6.

Looking over the box scores from the 1992 and 1993 World Series, I also laugh seeing Roberto Alomar hitting sixth during Game 2 in the ’93 Fall Classic, and fifth in Game 3. All that said, I can understand what made Gaston’s job so difficult.

If we’re looking at the ’93 team, it makes sense that he would put Ricky Henderson and Devon White at the top of the lineup. However, if he follows them up with Molitor and his .332 average from that season, that means Alomar and his .326 are outside of the top third. Add in Joe Carter as the clean-up guy and Olerud hitting fifth, and that’s how someone that talented ends up in the six-hole. There would have been reason to criticize any decision he made, both with the lineup, and regarding who had to sit during the games played in Philadelphia.

So yeah, I’ll admit that when I re-watch these games, or even look at the old box scores, sometimes I wonder what Cito was thinking. However, you can’t argue with the results, and his two World Series rings are all the proof he needs.