Blue Jays: The top five Canadian-born Jays in franchise history

The Blue Jays have employed several Canadian-born players over the years. Who were the most successful Canucks in franchise history?

Major League Baseball players come from all across the globe, but for Canadian baseball fans, it’s especially fun when a homegrown talent puts on a Blue Jays jersey. It’s why so many folks have been hoping to see Joey Votto come to Toronto at some point in his career. It’s a fun storyline.

While they’ve never managed to get Votto playing baseball in Toronto for more than an away series with the Reds, the Blue Jays have had several Canucks on their rosters over the years, and some of them have been pretty good ballplayers.

As we continue to wait for MLB to return, I thought it might be fun to take a look back at the best Canadians who have played in Toronto over the years, and as always, it’s a topic that’s open for debate. One thing I quickly noticed was that many of the most talented Canadians to play in Toronto didn’t quite live up to the hype, whether that was because of a disappointing performance for one reason or another, or perhaps the media getting us a little too excited about a homegrown player.

I’ll wait until the end to give you the notable omissions list as well, just for the sake of keeping some mystery in the exercise. As far as a system of ranking, this is mostly just my opinion, but I’m basing it on numbers, longevity with the team, and an overall impact on the organization. With all of that in mind, let’s have a look at who I’ve ranked as the top five Canadians to play for the Toronto Blue Jays.

5. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1.5 bWAR over one season)

Why not begin with arguably the biggest point of debate in my rankings? How could I have included Guerrero Jr. in the top five when he’s only played one season, and it didn’t even go as well as most people hoped it would?

Well, that’s a product of a few things. One, his numbers stack up with most of the players that I considered for this list, so that tells you a little bit about the competition. Secondly though, Vlad Jr. has already made a tremendous impact on the Blue Jays, even if we haven’t quite felt it just yet.

He’s the type of franchise talent that a front office can build around, and when you pair him with the likes of other young core players like Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio, Nate Pearson, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and more, the Blue Jays could have a very bright future ahead of them. It’s far from a finished puzzle, but the pieces are starting to come together, and Guerrero Jr. is arguably the most important building block.

He had an underwhelming first half in his rookie season, but riding the high of an incredible performance at the Home Run Derby during last year’s All-Star week, Guerrero Jr. was a different hitter in the second half, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what kind of steps he can take in 2020, assuming the season can begin at some point.

He also lands on this list because he was born in Montreal, even if he wasn’t really raised in Canada. For those that don’t know, that would be because his Hall of Fame father was playing for the Expos at the time, which makes it all the more special that his son ended up in Canada as well.

4- Brett Lawrie (12.7 bWAR over four seasons)

After I looked at the numbers, I honestly considered putting Brett Lawrie even higher on this list. He’s one of those Canadians I would describe as not having fulfilled the potential that the fan base believed he had, but he certainly still brought some value to the diamond while playing with the Blue Jays.

After arriving from the Milwaukee Brewers in a swap that sent Shaun Marcum the other way, Lawrie burst on to the scene as a rookie and really got us excited when he earned 3.3 bWAR over just 43 games in his first taste of the big leagues, and another 4.5 bWAR the year after during his first full season. Over the four years he was in Toronto, Lawrie slashed .265/.323/.426 with 43 home runs, 61 doubles, 157 RBI, and 29 stolen bases, while playing a mixture of second and third base.

Of course, he did the Blue Jays the ultimate favour by being the primary piece sent the to Oakland A’s in exchange for Josh Donaldson ahead of the 2015 season. While Donaldson would go on to have an MVP season in Toronto, Lawrie’s career started to head south pretty quickly after he left Toronto, and by the end of the 2017 campaign he had played his last big league game. He did attempt a comeback last season, but unfortunately he wasn’t able to reach the highest level.

We may never see Lawrie back on a big league diamond again, but for a few short years, he looked like he could be something special in a Blue Jays uniform. For reason and several more, he lands at number four on my list.

2- Russell Martin (8.2 bWAR over four seasons)

This is likely where some of you are going to start to disagree with me, but at least let me lay out my argument before you curse me too loudly.

Martin signed a five year, 82 million dollar deal to come to the Blue Jays, and he’s a classic example of overpaying a veteran at the back end in order to get immediate value. The thing is, the Blue Jays got exactly that, as the veteran backstop was a crucial figure in helping the team reach the post-season for the first time in more than two decades, and I honestly believe it doesn’t happen without him.

He brought a contribution to the lineup with a slashline of  .225/.336/.399 with 66 home runs, 59 doubles, and 211 RBI over 447 games in a Blue Jays uniform, but it was his defensive presence that made an even greater impact. He was a solid backstop and controlled the running game as he had throughout his career, but it was the way he helped improve the pitching staff that arguably brought the most value.

Couple that with a veteran voice for the locker room, and more importantly, one who had been to the post-season many times before, and he was a perfect fit for the Blue Jays when they signed him. Yes, the Blue Jays had to pay him a lot of money at the end of the contract at a time when he wasn’t the same player anymore, but that was a price that Alex Anthopoulos was willing to pay at the time, and I still think it was the right call.

It’s hard to say if we’ve seen the last of Russell Martin in the big leagues, especially as he remains a free agent during the work stoppage, but either way, he’ll be fondly remembered for his time in Toronto.

1- Ernie Whitt (19.3 over 13 seasons)

If you’ve read this far, I doubt that you’re surprised to see Ernie Whitt‘s name at the top of the list. And if you are, chances are you’re a lot younger than me.

That said, you might be yelling at your computer screen because there’s a caveat here that I’ll admit right away. Whitt, the coach of the Canadian National Men’s team, isn’t actually a Canadian citizen. He was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1952, and spent 15 seasons in the big leagues, with 12 of them coming in a Blue Jay uniform.

I decided to let this one slide since, hey, Team Canada figures he’s good enough to be an honorary Canadian, so who am I to judge? He was also named to the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1997, and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009, so I think we’ve decided he’s one of our own by now. I realize I said “Canadian-born” at the beginning, but I decided to wait until the end to break the rules, and this is just my opinion anyway.

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Getting back to the player, Whitt was an All-Star in 1985 and finished his career slashing .249/.324/.410 with 134 home runs, 176 doubles, 534 RBI across 1328 games. He was a central figure for the competitive teams in Toronto during the 80’s, and continues to be heavily involved in Canadian baseball to this day. He’s also been a rumoured candidate for some coaching jobs in Toronto over the years, and who knows, that could still happen someday. For all he’s accomplished as player with the Blue Jays, and as a coach with Team Canada, I decided he should top the list even if I’m bending the rules a little.

I also promised you a notable omissions list and that includes the likes of Corey Koskie (1.4 bWAR in one season), Michael Saunders (1.3 bWAR over three seasons), Matt Stairs (2.0 bWAR over two seasons), and others like Dalton Pompey, Rob Dubey, and Scott Richmond. There have been others too, and as Baseball Canada’s program gets stronger all the time, I’m sure we’re bound to see more in the future.

What do you think of the rankings, and did I miss anyone? As always, we welcome your thoughts in the comments section below.