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Blue Jays: Seven players who have earned a statue at the Rogers Centre

By Tyson Shushkewich

TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 14: Jose Bautista #19 of the Toronto Blue Jays flips his bat up in the air after he hits a three-run home run in the seventh inning against the Texas Rangers in game five of the American League Division Series at Rogers Centre on October 14, 2015 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 14: Jose Bautista #19 of the Toronto Blue Jays flips his bat up in the air after he hits a three-run home run in the seventh inning against the Texas Rangers in game five of the American League Division Series at Rogers Centre on October 14, 2015 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
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Blue Jays
NEW YORK – CIRCA 1979: Dave Stieb #37 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches against the New York Yankees during a Major League Baseball game circa 1979 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. Stieb played for the Blue Jays from 1979-92 and in 1998. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

Dave Stieb

One of the best pitchers in Blue Jays history, right-hander Dave Stieb is present in almost every pitching category when looking through the franchise’s history. Spending parts of 15 seasons with the organization, Stieb leads Jays pitchers in terms of wins (175), innings pitched (2873.0), strikeouts (1658), complete games (103), and shutouts (30), starting 30+ games in ten of the 15 seasons he spent with the Jays.

Armed with a power fastball and an incredible slider, Stieb was a seven-time All-Star while leading the AL in ERA in 1985, posting a 2.48 ERA that season. While he never won the Cy Young over his career, he earned votes numerous times throughout his career and was an absolute workhorse in the rotation, leading the AL in complete games in 1982 with 19 and setting the Jays record for most innings in a single season at 288.1.

Stieb also has the honour of pitching the only no-hitter in Blue Jays history, eventually finishing off the then Cleveland Indians on September 2nd, 1990. While his play started to decline due to injury later in his career, he was able to help the Jays win a World Series title in 1992, appearing in 21 games that season.

There is no question that Stieb would be a leading candidate for a statue at the Rogers Centre and one that I think many fans could agree is worthy of such an honour.

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