Blue Jays: Best players in franchise history to wear jersey numbers 11-20

#16 - Garth Iorg

The Jays have had a number of players wear16, though none have really stood out as the best of the bunch. Garth Iorg played nine seasons with the Jays and will take the cake for number 16. Never a great hitter as he only managed 20 home runs across his nine seasons, Iorg was with the team for the entirety of his major league career,. Todd Stottlemyre would’ve made it ahead of Iorg, though he switched to number 30 after just one season in 16.

#17 - Kelly Gruber

Kelly Gruber was the best Blue Jay to wear 17, and there isn’t much competition. Others to wear the number include Lyle Overbay and Ryan Goins, though Gruber was clearly the best of the three. Gruber played nine seasons with the Jays appearing in two All-Star Games, and while he only played full-time in six seasons, he managed 114 home runs, 434 RBI and a .257 AVG. Contributing to both World Series Championships in franchise history, the Jays’ best Rule 5 Draft pick of all time will be remembered as one of the best 3Bs in Jays history and the best player to wear number 17.

#18 - Jim Clancy

There was no competition for number 18 as Jim Clancy is by far the best Blue Jay to wear it. Clancy pitched 12 seasons with the Jays, including an All-Star season in 1982, as he owned a 3.71 ERA across 266.2 innings pitched. Concluding his Jays tenure with a 128–140 record to go with his 4.10 ERA and 1.36 WHIP, Clancy experienced several prolific seasons and a few subpar seasons. The Chicago native threw an impressive 2204.2 innings with the team, was a part of the team for the first ten seasons of the franchise, and was the best Blue Jay to wear the number 18 by a landslide.

#19 - José Bautista

The Jays have had some very good players wear number 19, though this was not a tough decision. Otto Velez was a good player for the Jays and Fred McGriff played four incredible seasons in Toronto, eventually leading to a Hall of Fame induction, though neither had better Jays tenures than José Bautista. Playing ten seasons with the Blue Jays, Bautista set the single-season team record for home runs with 54 in 2010, and leads the team in all-time WAR at 38.3. He also ranks second in home runs with 288 and will always be remembered for his famous bat flip home run in the crazy 7th inning of Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS against the Texas Rangers.

#20 - Josh Donaldson

20 is another fairly obvious decision, as the only real competition of note is Al Woods, who had a good six-year tenure. Josh Donaldson is the best player to wear number 20. Winning the AL MVP Award in 2015, Donaldson’s three and a half seasons with the Jays were unbelievably productive, hitting 116 home runs with 316 RBI, a. 281 .281 AVG, and an astonishing .931 OPS. Along with this incredible production at the plate, his defense at the hot corner was just as good, contributing an average of 17.7 defensive runs saved (DRS). An all around MVP caliber player over the course of his career with the Jays, Donaldson was among the best hitters in the entire league and deserves his respect as such being the best Blue Jay to wear the number 20.