A history of Toronto’s weird missteps with first basemen

When the Toronto Blue Jays and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. announced that they hadn't reached an extension ahead of Guerrero's self-imposed deadline, it marked another chapter in Toronto's strange history of making questionable decisions around first basemen.

In the Toronto Blue Jays' nearly 50 year history, they have had several first baseman that were fan favorites, All-Stars and potential Hall of Famers who were shipped out before they could get a chance to end their career in Toronto.

A weird history of Toronto’s missteps with their first basemen

It wasn't always like this.

After having Doug Ault as their inaugural first baseman, the Blue Jays had John Mayberry Sr. man first, where he became one of the team's first recognize stars. He hit 92 home runs in his five years as Toronto’s captain, and he was moved to make room for Willie Upshaw. Upshaw produced 11 bWAR from 1982-'85 before injuries caught up to him and he started to decline. His contract was sold to Cleveland, allowing Fred McGriff to take over.