Blue Jays: Top-five first basemen in franchise history

#5 Adam Lind

Blue Jays career: .273/.327/.466, 953 games,146 home runs, 519 RBI, 8.5 bWAR

Blue Jays resume: Silver Slugger, 15th in AL MVP voting (both in 2009)

One of my favorite random Blue Jays awards is Lind’s Silver Slugger in 2009. Lind absolutely went off in '09, and he’d go on to be an inconsistent slugger with pop-up injuries and a simple offensive approach. It’s funny that Lind would be desirable to today’s Blue Jays, a competent left-handed bat who can play corner outfield, but sadly his career ended after the 2017 season.

Drafted in the third round by the Blue Jays in 2004 out of the University of South Alabama, Lind rose through the minor leagues quickly and made his debut in 2006. Lind would go up and down between Toronto and then-Triple-A Syracuse, until finally becoming a mainstay in 2008. What followed was his best season as a pro, a Silver Slugger for the DH position in 2009, a year that featured other notable DHs like David Ortiz and Billy Butler.

Lind deserved every pound of that award however, as a .305/.370/.562 line to go along with 35 home runs and 114 RBI. I’m aware that this is a first base list and that this was a DH award, but I’m considering Lind a first baseman for the entirety of his career, as that’s where his defensive skill set (or lack thereof) played most.

After 2009, Lind would go on to have a productive career while producing runs for the Jays. He was never able to replicate that award winning success, and required a minor league demotion in 2012 to reset his approach, but Lind’s final stats as a Jay were still solid overall.

Lind was one of the most consistent players in 2013, and was even better in 2014, although he missed significant time with a broken foot. That following offseason Lind would be traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for the infamous Marco Estrada. Lind would enjoy brief periods of success after his Blue Jays tenure but never played up to his past performances north of the border.