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

This is a series of the best Toronto Blue Jays players to wear jersey numbers 31-40. Read jersey numbers 21-30, 11-20, and 0-10 too.

#31 Duane Ward 

Duane Ward emerged in the late 1980s and eventually became known as one of the best relief pitchers in franchise history. 

He was acquired midway through the 1986 season in exchange for Doyle Alexander, who had been a workhorse starting pitcher for the previous three years. 

It took him a while to earn the trust of the coaching staff, but starting in 1988, Ward had an incredible run of sustained excellence. Every year from 1988 to 1992, the sturdy reliever topped 100 innings out of the bullpen, while averaging over 70 appearances per season. 

When it came to be his time to “shut it down”, Ward proved he could be just as dominant as longtime closer Tom Henke, saving an American League-best 45 games in 1993. 

#32 Roy Halladay 

It’s hard to put into words just how much Roy Halladay meant to the organization. He touched so many lives and set a standard for dominance, hard work and professionalism that will never be forgotten. 

Right from the get-go, it was clear “Doc” had the chance to be special when he nearly tossed a no-hitter in just his second career start. He was demoted briefly in 2001, but that only seemed to push Halladay to become one of the best pitchers in the majors.

He was a tireless worker, four times leading the league in innings pitched and surpassing the 200-inning mark eight times. The former first-round pick was a Cy Young Award winner twice and was a finalist five times. Halladay died tragically in a plane accident in 2017 and has since had his number retired by both the Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Phillies, and was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in 2019.

#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. 

#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.