Blue Jays legend Tony Fernandez’s Jersey should be retired

Toronto Blue Jays legendary infielder and World Series winner, Tony Fernandez, should have his number 1 hanging from the Rogers Centre rafters.

I don’t understand how this was missed. I don’t know how this was missed when Tony was still with us. I am having a hard time understanding how it continues to be missed now that he is no longer with us. This was triggered by new Blue Jays outfielder Jarrod Dyson sporting the number when he was acquired in August. In fairness to Dyson, he has worn that number his whole career.

Tony Fernandez signed with the Toronto Blue Jays as an undrafted free agent in 1979. He was recruited and signed by the great “super scout”  Epy Guerrero. Courtesy of Jim Sandoval who wrote a great piece for SABR, I learned that Guerrero worked with Pat Gillick since 1973 when they worked with the Houston Astros together. I also learned from Jim that Guerrero noticed a slight limp that Tony had and decided to pay for the operation to get bone chips removed. Guerrero met Tony in his hometown of San Pedro de Macoris of the Dominican Republic and would be one of 52 Major League players he would help bring to the big leagues.

After a few years of developing in the minor leagues, Fernandez played a handful of games in 1983 and 1984, splitting time in Toronto and Triple-A Syracuse. Fernandez became a full-time big-league player in 1985. Looking back on his stats, that year he appeared in 160 games and batted .289 with two home runs and drove in 51 runs. Fernandez was a key piece in the drive for 85 runs that the club had. The Blue Jays took their first pennant that year losing to the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series.  The following four seasons for Fernandez were outstanding.

In 1986 Tony played 163 games, batting .310 with 10 homers and 65 RBI. That season was Fernandez’s first all-star appearance and first gold glove. He led the league in games played and at-bats and finished third in the American League that year in hits with 213 behind Kirby Puckett (223) and Don Mattingly (238). Tony’s 213 hits in a single season was a Blue Jays that would stand until Vernon Wells stroked 215 hits in 2003.

In 1987, Fernandez set career highs in RBI (67) and on-base percentage (.379). The Dominican product went back to the all-star game for a second time and also won his second gold glove in a row. Fernandez was injured in a play that would end his season and the Blue Jays playoff hopes.

The following year, Fernandez won another gold glove and would follow that season in 1989 with another all-star game and a fourth Gold Glove award, the last one he would earn in his career. He ranks second in club history behind Devon White and Roberto Alomar who are tied with five.

Toronto Blue Jays legendary infielder and World Series winner, Tony Fernandez, should have his number 1 hanging from the Rogers Centre rafters.

After a pretty decent 1990 season in which Fernandez led the league in triples with 17, the organization was looking to make a change. Pat Gillick wanted his team to move to the next level after missing the playoffs. Toronto had an up-and-coming first baseman with a sweet swing named John Olerud and this freed up Fred McGriff who was also coming into his own as a force to be reckoned with.

The Blue Jays were looking for a run producer. They found one in San Diego in outfielder Joe Carter. I’m going to let Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer and Assistant General Manager of the Blue Jays at the time, Gord Ash, tell you what happens next in a Twitter exchange via direct message we had back in March of 2020.

“The deal started out as Carter for McGriff and that part came together pretty quickly as we had options at 1b. Pat Gillick had scouted Robbie Alomar extensively as an amateur and when we inquired on his availability the immediate response was it would take Tony Fernandez. Pat loved Tony but knew we needed to change the dynamic on the Club and tells you what he thought of Alomar. Deal came together very quickly and remained confidential until it was announced the next morning. First and only time I recall the media applauding a deal.”

Before we go any further, I think we need to quickly discuss Roberto Alomar. As Mr. Ash alluded to, he was acquired with Carter in the trade from the San Diego Padres on December 5th, 1990 for Fred Mcgriff and Tony Fernandez. This trade did elevate the Blue Jays into World Series Champions in 1992 and was due to Gillick moving Fernandez for Alomar. If Tony isn’t included in that deal the trade doesn’t happen. Due to the recent events that have come to light about Alomar’s behavior, this is the last time I will be addressing him.

Tony went on to have another all-star season with the Padres in 1992. The Padres cashed in on that and traded him to the New York Mets for the 1993 season for Wally Whitehurst, D.J. Dozier, and a player to be named later. Whitehurst went on to pitch in the Blue Jays system in 1995 and finished up with the Ottawa Lynx. Dozier split time between baseball and football as a backup NFL running back.

Fernandez struggled to play in Queens. He batted .225 in 48 games with the Mets. In Toronto, the Blue Jays needed to find a replacement for their shortstop Dick Schofield and while Alfredo Griffin returned to the club first, he wasn’t providing the spark needed to move the needle forward. The Blue Jays were 35-27, putting them four games back of the division-leading Detroit Tigers when Gillick made the trade on June 12th, 1993 to bring Tony back home to Toronto for outfielder Darrin Jackson. In the next 94 regular-season games, he would bat .306 with five home runs and 64 runs batted in. Fernandez also had 108 hits in those 94 games, which is unheard of nowadays.

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The Blue Jays finished 95-67 once again winning the American League East. That’s a 60-40 record with Fernandez back on the roster.

Let’s talk about what he did in the 1993 playoffs. Against the White Sox in the American League Championship Series, Tony played all six games. He had seven hits and an RBI which left him with a .318 batting average and a .375 on-base percentage. If you thought those numbers were solid, let’s discuss what he did in the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

In the six games, Tony put up seven hits with nine runs driven in. That gave him a .333 average with an on-base percentage of .423. Everyone talked about W.A.M.C.O. but it sure felt like Fernandez didn’t get his due for what he contributed. He led the Jays in RBI during the World Series. Where would the Jays have been without his contribution? I feel it is safe to say based on the numbers, if Pat Gillick does not reacquire Tony Fernandez, then the Jays are not World Series Champions in 1993.

Fernandez would venture off to Cincinnati for the 1994 season, forming one of the greatest left sides of the infield with Hall of Famer Barry Larkin. He then moved onto the New York Yankees in 1995 making another post-season appearance. The switch-hitter would not play in 1996 due to injury and would be replaced by some guy named Derek Jeter.

That ended his days as a shortstop. He moved onto Cleveland in 1997 to play with former Blue Jay Omar Vizquel forming one of the best double-play combinations in baseball. That team went to the World Series where Fernandez batted .471 in five games. Unfortunately for Cleveland, the absolutely stacked Florida Marlins featuring some of Tony’s former teammates beat them in five games to win the World Series.

In 1998, Fernandez would return to the Blue Jays for a third stint. At the age of 36, he would play between third base and second base and put up some really solid numbers, leading the Jays to their first winning season since 1993. He batted .321 with a .387 on base percentage and would hit nine home runs and drive in 72 through 138 games. It gets better.

In 1999 at the age of 37, Fernandez would suit up in 142 games and would bat .328 with a .427 on-base percentage. I’m going to let that just sink in for a minute. That ranks 4th best in team history behind John Olerud in 1993, Carlos Delgado in 2000, and Jose Bautista in 2011. Tony hit six home runs and drove in 75 runs that year as well.

After a phenomenal 1999 season, Tony Fernandez went to play in Japan with the Seibu Lions. He returned to North America to play with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2001 and would return to the Jays for a final stint to finish out his career later that season. Tony’s name and number were put on the Blue Jays Level of Excellence that year. I remember the ceremony while he was still in uniform.

Tony was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008. He was dropped off the Cooperstown Ballot after his first year of eligibility only obtaining four votes. We saw Carlos Delgado see the same fate after his first year on the ballot except Delgado obtained more votes but unfortunately led to the same result.

Tony sadly left us on February 16th, 2020. As great of a baseball player as he was on the field, I learned that he was even better off it. Tony became an Ordained Minister and he established the Tony Fernandez Foundation which helps underprivileged and troubled youth through counseling and educational/spiritual activities.

To the Blue Jays credit, they put a patch on all of the uniforms for the 2020 season with the number one. They still let pitcher Shun Yamaguchi wear that number which to me was a tad ridiculous. How many people scolded Alen Hanson when he wore number 19 when he came over from the Giants? Bo Bichette also moved his number to 11 in order to make sure Jose Bautista’s number was not worn.

With due respect to Jose, he didn’t win a World Series. He didn’t win four straight gold gloves or be involved in a trade in which it made the team a perennial contender. Bautista put up great numbers and provided us with some great memories there is no question about that. I just believe that Tony Fernandez deserves a lot more respect from us than he has been given before we make #19 off-limits for good.

The final career numbers for Tony Fernandez went like this:

Hits: 1583- 1st in team history

Singles: 1160- 1st in team history

Games played: 1450- 1st in team history

Triples: 72-1st in team history

Batting Average: – .297 5th in team history

WAR: 45.3- 3rd in team history

Defensive War: – 12.4 1st in team history

Gold Gloves: 4- 2nd in team history

All-Star appearances: 4 of them.

He was an absolutely clutch playoff performer and has a  World Series ring to prove it. Fernandez was the most influential player in Toronto Blue Jays history. His performance on and off the field absolutely warrants the Toronto Blue Jays to have a jersey-raising ceremony for his family and fans when the pandemic is firmly behind us.