Blue Jays: Best players in franchise history to wear jersey numbers 31-40

#33 Ed Sprague 

Ed Sprague came up during the 1991 season but didn’t receive a lot of playing time on a roster that was tough to crack. Despite only getting into a total of 83 games over his first two seasons, Sprague was on the Blue Jays World Series roster, in what proved to be a prescient move by Manager Cito Gaston. 

Down 4-3 in the ninth inning of Game 2, the skipper went to his bench, and following a walk by Derek Bell, Sprague went deep off of Braves closer Jeff Reardon for the go-ahead hit in a 5-4 win. It was Sprague’s only hit of the series, and, by far, the biggest of his career. 

He was a big part of the 1993 team that went back-to-back as he settled into his role as the starting third baseman. Sprague enjoyed his best season in 1996 when he hit .247 with 36 homers, 101 RBI, a .821 OPS, and a 3.1 WAR. 

#34 A.J. Burnett 

This number has been worn by some well-known Jays pitchers including Mark Eichhorn (during the 1992 season), Dave Stewart, and currently Kevin Gausman. While the latter may eventually hold the top spot here, for now, it goes to the fiery A.J. Burnett. 

Signed as a free agent prior to the 2006 season, Burnett would be an anchor on the staff for the next three seasons. His best year came in his last in blue, 2008, when Burnett went 18-10 with a 4.07 ERA while making 34 starts, pitching 221.1 innings, and leading the league with 231 strikeouts. 

#35 Lyle Overbay 

Several big names have worn this number including Phil Niekro, Bud Black, Sandy Martinez, and Frank Thomas, but the number one #35 goes to Lyle Overbay who had a solid five-year run with the team from 2006-2010.

The Jays loaded up for the 2006 season, signing Burnett, Overbay, B.J. Ryan, and Troy Glaus to free-agent contracts to put pressure on the Yankees and Red Sox in AL East.  The result wasn’t quite a division title, but the 2006 team fared reasonably well, going 87-75 with Overbay being a big reason why.

The first baseman hit .312 with 46 doubles, 81 RBI, and a career-best 92 RBI. Overbay would hit .268 with 83 home runs, with a .796 OPS for some Jays teams that were good, but not quite good enough. 

#36 David Wells 

David Wells wore #36 during his first tenure with the Jays from 1987-1992. He made 237 appearances over those years, including 69 starts. 

“Boomer” made all but two of those starts in the last three years of his initial time with the team. His best season as a reliever came in 1989 when Wells went 7-4 with a 2.40 ERA over 86.1 innings of work. 

The next year, Wells started 24 contests and went 11-6 with a 3.14 ERA in 189 innings, good for 4.3 WAR. He’d slump a bit in 1992 but made amends by pitching 4.1 scoreless frames in the World Series. 

#37 Dave Stieb  

There aren’t many players in franchise lore with a more interesting story than Dave Stieb, You’d also be hard-pressed to come up with another name who pissed off baseball writers (and occasionally teammates) more than this #37.

Stieb’s behavior in the early part of his career probably cost him some Cy Young votes and some hurt feelings along the way but it was all part of his journey, and what a winding road it was. 

After a career at Southern Illinois University primarily as an outfielder, Stieb was drafted in the fifth round in 1978 and promptly made his MLB debut the next year. By 1980, Stieb was already the Jays' best pitcher, a place he’d hold for most of the next decade. 

Stieb is the franchise leader in wins (175), strikeouts (1658) and innings pitched (2873) while making seven All-Star appearances. He was wildly overlooked in both Cy Young voting and Hall of Fame consideration, but his name is in the Level of Excellence and longtime Blue Jays fans know how much he meant to the team.

#38 Mark Eichhorn 

You could make the case for Robbie Ray here, but Mark Eichhorn gets the nod for having one of the best three-year stretches by a relief pitcher this team has ever seen. 

After flaming out as a starter by the mid-80s, Eichhorn re-invented himself as a sidearm-throwing reliever, and the makeover was stunning. Hitters couldn’t figure out his delivery, and despite low velocity on his pitches, Eichhorn was remarkably efficient.

His rookie season in 1986 was one of the best by a bullpen arm ever. Eishhorn threw 157 innings and went 14-6 with a 1.72 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 10 saves. He appeared in nearly 200 games between ‘86-’88 and won 24 games with a 10.1 WAR. 

#39 Gustavo Chacin 

Some numbers offer more of a bounty than others. Gustavo Chacin got his first shot at the big leagues in 2004, and after a pair of decent outings, won a spot in the rotation the following year. 

That was Chacin’s time to shine, and he did, going 13-9 with a 3.72 ERA over 203 innings to finish top-five in Rookie of the Year voting. The luster began to wear off though and after a shaky 2006 campaign and a rough start in ‘07, Chacin was demoted and out of the majors a few years later. 

#40 Mike Timlin 

Mike Timlin made his debut at age 25 and was immediately asked to do some heavy lifting out of the bullpen. He went 11-6 with a 3.16 ERA and pitched 108 innings in his rookie season. 

Timlin was famously on the mound when Otis Nixon bunted down the first base line. He had to act quickly to get the speedy Nixon and also executed a perfect throw to Joe Carter for the ultimate out. 

The native Texan would have his ups and downs over the years but was a gamer and battled through almost 400 innings and recorded 52 saves, the ninth-most in Jays' history.