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Ranking the 10 best Blue Jays teams by regular season record
The Blue Jays have fielded some incredible teams over the years.
The Toronto Blue Jays franchise has played 47 seasons in Major League Baseball. There have been some unforgettable highs and easily forgettable lows along the way. The 2024 season will rank as one of the more forgettable campaigns despite the frustratingly wasted opportunity the season represented.
The 2024 Blue Jays and their 74-88 record aren't going to rank among anyone's favorite Blue Jays teams and will eventually end up as just another lost season logged in the annals of the franchise. It will be a fleeting memory for most fans. Some may have already wiped this summer of Jays baseball from their memory banks for good, especially with so many other successful seasons to look back on fondly.
Ranking the 10 best Blue Jays teams by regular season record
Speaking of which, what about past Blue Jays teams that gave the fans something to root for all season long and down the stretch, with meaningful games in September and into October? There have been some impressive teams to have suited up in Toronto over the years. Here are the top 10.
10. 2016: 89-73 (.549), 2nd AL East
There's actually a tie among five Blue Jays teams with an 89-73 record, so we have to choose two to fill out the last two spots on this list.
We're giving one of those spots to the 2016 Blue Jays, although the 2023, 1989, 1984 and 1983 teams also had the same record (the 1984 Jays also had one eight-inning tie with 163 games played). We'll skip the 2023 squad because we don't want to think about what happened in the Wild Card Series. The 1983 and 1984 teams didn't make playoffs, but the 1989 team did, so we'll get to them shortly.
The 2016 Blue Jays were something to behold. A brash, veteran squad made up of players who didn't take flack from anyone continued the rekindling of Toronto's and Canada's love for Blue Jays baseball that took off in 2015. With players like Edwin Encarnación, José Bautista, Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki and Russell Martin — the lineup was stacked with big names. On the mound, Aaron Sanchez went 15-2, J.A. Happ went 20-4, and Roberto Osuna locked down 36 saves.
They finished second in the AL East, tied with the Baltimore Orioles, which led to one of the most epic Wild Card playoff game finishes you'll see, courtesy of Encarnación's heroics. Unfortunately, their season ended in the ALCS with a quick 4-1 series loss to Cleveland.
9. 1989: 89-73 (.549), 1st AL East
Back when there were still seven teams in the AL East, and the Wild Card wasn't even a thought, the 1989 Blue Jays won the division by two games over the Orioles. This club boasted one of the top offenses in the American League, and the pitching staff wasn't too shabby either.
While the 1989 team made the playoffs with names like George Bell, Fred McGriff and Kelly Gruber leading the way at the plate, it also featured some younger players who went on to play for the powerhouse teams of the early 1990s. One of the most important franchise-altering decisions also occurred this season. Hitting coach Cito Gaston was picked to replace fired manager Jimy Williams after a shocking 12-24 start to the season. Gaston took the club on a 77-49 run the rest of the way.
In just the franchise's second trip to the playoffs, they ran into the powerhouse Oakland Athletics. The A's handled the Jays in the ALCS, 4-1, before cruising to the World Series title.
8. 2021: 91-71 (.562), 4th AL East
It was just a few seasons ago that the Blue Jays looked like they were on the verge of becoming a playoff team on the back of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s MVP-runner-up campaign.
The 2021 season, disrupted by pandemic travel restrictions, saw Toronto start their regular season playing in TD Ballpark at their spring training complex in Dunedin. They then moved north to a refurbished Sahlen Field, home of the Buffalo Bisons. They finally returned to Rogers Centre on July 30 with a 51-48 record.
Spurred by the emotions of a long-awaited homecoming, the 2021 Blue Jays went on a 40-23 run the rest of the season. It looked like they had a legitimate chance at a Wild Card berth, playing with the big boys of the AL East.
They reeled off three straight wins on the final weekend, including a 12-4 rout of the Orioles on the final day, but had to rely on the Washington Nationals to beat the Boston Red Sox to grab the final Wild Card. Heartbreakingly, we all watched along with the players and fans at Rogers Centre as the Red Sox recorded the final out of their playoff-clinching win. We saw the distress on Guerrero's face as the magical run ended with the Jays one game out of the playoffs.
7. 1991: 91-71 (.562), 1st AL East
In 1991, the Blue Jays put together a 91-71 record and finished first in the AL East for the second time in franchise history. Led by Gaston, the Jays finished seven games ahead of the Red Sox.
With Joe Carter, Roberto Alomar and Devon White all in their maiden seasons in Toronto, the team started to resemble the World Series rosters that followed. All three players received MVP votes this season. Starting pitchers Todd Stottlemyre, Jimmy Key, David Wells and rookie Juan Guzmán combined for 56 wins and made up one of the best rotations in the majors, allowing the second-fewest runs per game (3.84).
In their second full season playing in the state-of-the-art SkyDome, the 1991 Blue Jays led MLB in attendance, with 4,001,527 fans packing the stadium. The Dome also saw its first playoff action, but the Jays bowed out to the eventual World Series-winning Minnesota Twins.
6. 2022: 92-70 (.568)
After missing the playoffs by a single game in 2021, the 2022 Blue Jays made sure they got in. Their 92-70 record was good enough to secure second place in the AL East, seven games behind the New York Yankees, and the top Wild Card.
With a formidable lineup that included the likes of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Teoscar Hernández, George Springer and Matt Chapman, the Blue Jays scored the fourth-most runs (775) in the majors and had the highest OPS+ (117) as a team.
They actually led the division for 18 days at the beginning of the season and then ran a deficit of 16.5 games leading up to the All-Star break. Like in 2021, they put together a solid second half, going 42-27. Their 22-11 record from Sept. 1 on was largely propelled by Bichette's epic end-of-season run. The shortstop was unstoppable, hitting .400 with a 1.105 OPS, 54 hits and 27 RBI in 32 games through September and October.
After returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2016, the 2022 playoff Blue Jays eventually lost the Wild Card Series to the Seattle Mariners in quite possibly the scariest and most heartbreaking way you could imagine.
5. 2015: 93-69 (.574), 1st AL East
The 2015 Blue Jays reignited Toronto's love affair with the team and ended the franchise's 21-year postseason drought. Similar to the 2016 group, the 93-69 Jays team was filled with veterans, finishing first in the AL East, six games ahead of the Yankees.
Propelled by third baseman Josh Donaldson's MVP campaign, the Blue Jays' explosive bats and potent offense led the majors in runs scored with 891 — 127 more than the second-place Yankees. They also led MLB with 232 home runs, with Donaldson's 41, Bautista's 40 and Encarnación's 39 leading the way. A veteran starting rotation led by R.A Dickey, Mark Buehrle and Marco Estrada was fortified with the addition of David Price at the trade deadline.
In the ALDS, the Blue Jays made a wild comeback against the Texas Rangers after going down 2-0. They reeled off three straight wins, capped by the craziest playoff game and the wildest inning of playoff baseball most of us will see. Cue the Bautista bat flip:
The Bat Flip heard 'round the world! #BlueJaysOnSN pic.twitter.com/L4IuzW2Ww9
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 18, 2020
4. 1993: 95-67 (.586), 1st AL East
Following up on the team's first World Series title in 1992, the 1993 Blue Jays won one less game but had just as successful a season. SkyDome was the place to be in the summer of 1993. The fans came out in droves, setting a franchise-high attendance mark of 4,057,947, the second-best in the majors that year.
Legendary general manager Pat Gillick brought in veteran hitter Paul Molitor in the offseason, creating the famous WAMCO lineup (White, Alomar, Molitor, Carter, Olerud), which gave opposing pitchers fits. Adding Ricky Henderson and bringing Tony Fernandez back partway through the season bolstered an already formidable roster for the stretch run, and the team finished with a top-three offense.
The 1993 Jays got hot at the right time, playing 46-27 baseball in the second half. They led the AL East for 105 days and won 17 of their final 21 games, finishing seven games clear of the Yankees. They took care of the Chicago White Sox in six games in the ALCS before dispatching the Philadelphia Phillies in six games to claim the team's second straight World Series title.
The magical season was capped off in the best way possible, thanks to Joe Carter's heroics:
3. 1987: 96-66 (.593), 2nd AL East
While the 1987 Blue Jays team ranks third on this list with a 96-66 record and a second-place finish in the AL East, there's an alternate universe in which they reached 100 wins and went to the postseason as division champions. Unfortunately, an epic 0-7 collapse in the final week of the season let the Detroit Tigers come back from a 3.5-game deficit and win the division.
Spearheaded by Jimmy Key, this version of the team boasted one of the top pitching staffs in baseball with the third-best ERA at 3.74. Key went 17-8 and finished second in AL Cy Young voting after leading the majors with a 2.76 ERA, 164 ERA+ and 1.06 WHIP over 261 innings. The explosive offense, led by George Bell's 134-RBI AL MVP campaign, put up the third-most runs, second-most home runs and second-best OPS in the majors behind the pesky Tigers.
After such a successful season, which came on the heels of the 1985 playoff team, the 1987 edition of the Blue Jays was a wasted opportunity if there ever was one.
2. 1992: 96-66 (.593), 1st AL East
The 1992 Blue Jays will be forever ingrained in fans' memories and hearts. With the second-best record in team history, this team finally got over the hump in the ALCS on their fourth try after close calls in 1985, 1989 and 1991.
With speedsters Devon White and Roberto Alomar at the top of the order and massive RBI run producers Joe Carter (119) and 40-year-old Dave Winfield (108) in the middle of the lineup, the 1992 Blue Jays scored the second-most runs and hit the second-most home runs in the majors. They featured a multi-faceted offensive attack, with Carter leading the team with 34 home runs and Alomar and White combining for 86 stolen bases.
On the mound, veteran starter Jack Morris arrived in Toronto and led MLB with 21 wins, earning Cy Young and MVP votes. In the bullpen, the Blue Jays featured the best setup man-closer combo in the game with Duane Ward handing the ball to The Terminator Tom Henke.
This dominating team led the division for 176 days and never had a record under .500, finishing four games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers. They finished two games behind the Atlanta Braves for the best record in MLB but beat them in six games for the franchise's first World Series title.
1. 1985: 99-62 (.615), 1st AL East
In 1985, the franchise was still young, just eight years into its existence. At 99-66, the Blue Jays that season got as close to 100 wins as the franchise has ever come. They jumped from 89 wins and a second-place finish 15 games back in 1984 to the team's first AL East title. They trailed the St. Louis Cardinals by one loss for the best record in MLB but only played 161 games thanks to a postponed game that wasn't made up.
With outfielder Jesse Barfield and starting pitcher Dave Stieb sharing top honors as the team's best players, each accumulating 6.8 bWAR, the Blue Jays put together five winnings streaks of five-plus games. They had streaks of seven, eight and nine wins as they marched toward their first playoff berth. Barfield led Jays hitters with a .905 OPS and finished seventh in MVP voting. The 27-year-old Stieb, in his fifth All-Star season in six years, led the American League with a 2.48 ERA, 171 ERA+ and a stingy seven hits per nine innings.
Unfortunately, the Blue Jays' first foray into the playoffs resulted in a seven-game loss in the ALCS to the Royals — even after going up 3-1 in the series.