Ranking the 10 greatest pitchers in Blue Jays history

2. Dave Stieb

When discussing who the best pitcher in Blue Jays history is, it was really between two names. There’s Dave Stieb and there’s Roy Halladay. I believe Halladay narrowly edges out Stieb, but it could really go either way.

Stieb played 15 of his 16 seasons in Toronto, and all but four games he pitched in were in a Blue Jays uniform. He’s a franchise icon who for some reason isn’t in the Hall of Fame, but he is on the Level of Excellence.

In his Jays career, he went 175-134 with a 3.44 ERA in 443 appearances (412 starts). He threw an absurd 2,873 innings, a franchise record that, with the way starting pitchers are pulled out of games now, might never be broken. He was one of the best pitchers in baseball at his time and is one of the best pitchers the Jays have ever had as well.

Stieb was a seven-time All-Star and finished in the top seven in Cy Young voting four times, finishing as high as fourth place in the 1982 season. In that season he went 17-14 with a 3.25 ERA in 38 starts. He led the league with 288.1 innings pitched, 19 complete games, and five shutouts.

His best season came in 1985 when he went 14-13 with a 2.48 ERA in 36 starts. He led the league with a 171 ERA+ and finished seventh in the Cy Young voting.

Stieb was the perfect pitcher for his time. He didn’t strike out many, but that was the norm back then. He pitched to contact and went very deep into most of the games he pitched.

He’s the franchise leader in bWAR, wins, and strikeouts and is one of the best players in Blue Jays history.