7 biggest one-hit wonders in Toronto Blue Jays history

RP Jeremy Accardo

The Jays have had many stellar closers over the years, with many producing multiple dominant seasons before finally giving way to the next in line. But very few were just a one-hit wonder the way Jeremy Accardo was back in 2007. Accardo was initially acquired from the San Francisco Giants in July of 2006 by the Jays in exchange for disgruntled third baseman Shea Hillenbrand and reliever Vinnie Chulk.

Accardo’s tenure with the Jays didn’t start off too well following the trade when he pitched to an ERA close to 6 and a WHIP of 1.64 in 27 appearances. But when B.J. Ryan had to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery just over one month into the 2007 season, Accardo got the opportunity to close out games for the team and ran away with it. For the year, he compiled career-best numbers in wins (4), saves (30), ERA (2.14), WHIP (1.11), and strikeouts (57). He impressed the Jays’ brass so much that he still got the chance to close games at the start of the 2008 season even when Ryan was officially back from his elbow injury.

However, despite a good start to the season in his first few appearances, Accardo completely fell apart in his following outings and eventually was demoted to the minors where he stayed for the rest of the season. In fact, he never ended up getting anywhere close to what he put up during his 2007 breakout season for the rest of his career no matter where he played. There was also a suggested controversy that arose during his tenure with the Jays which may have played a role in affecting his overall performance. But regardless, Accardo was unable to keep his WHIP below 1.5 and his ERA below 4.50 for most of his subsequent seasons following 2007 whether with the Jays or another team, resulting in his failure to live up to his expected potential.