Were these players deserving of being named to the Blue Jays quarter century team?

The first 25 seasons of Toronto Blue Jays baseball in the 21st century has come and gone. Since the year 2000, the Blue Jays have given their fans plenty of memories, made by memorable players. The Athletic recently put together an MLB All-Quarter Century Team and then set about doing the same for each individual MLB franchise.

The following players were chosen as the cream of the crop to represent Toronto:
Catcher – Russell Martin
First Base – Carlos Delgado
Second Base – Marcus Semien
Shortstop – Bo Bichette
Third Base – Josh Donaldson
Left Field – Shannon Stewart
Centre Field – Vernon Wells
Right Field – Jose Bautista
Designated Hitter – Edwin Encarnacion
Starting Rotation – Roy Halladay, Robbie Ray, Kevin Gausman, Marco Estrada, J.A. Happ.
Closer – Jordan Romano

It’s very much a list of recognizable names for even the most casual Blue Jays fan. But where there any players whose inclusion really raised any eyebrows when being named among their peers?

Were these players deserving of being named to the Blue Jays quarter century team?

The first name that likely stands out is Shannon Stewart. While we can’t count his superb seasons from 1997-1999 in this exercise, Stewart had three full seasons with the Blue Jays from 2000-2002 where he accumulated 12.5 bWAR with a slash line of .313/.369/.474 and an OPS+ of 116. He hit 43 home runs, averaged 188 hits per season and stole 61 bases. He was having another good season in 2003 before being traded at the deadline. A first-round pick of the Blue Jays in 1992, Stewart returned to Toronto in 2008 for his final season at age 34.

Other contenders for left field could include Adam Lind, Reed Johnson, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., but Stewart’s profile as a high-contact, high-on-base hitter with the stats to back it up, gives him the nod.

There are a couple of one hit wonders (more or less) on the list as well in Semien and Ray, but both ended their tenures in Toronto by bringing in some hardware and setting some records.

In Semien’s one season in Toronto, he set the MLB record for home runs by a second baseman with 45 bombs, earning his first career Silver Slugger award, and also picked up his only Gold Glove award, finishing third in MVP voting. The only player who put up comparable numbers at that position would have been Aaron Hill.  

Ray was acquired by the club at the 2020 deadline, and didn’t put up tremendous numbers, which made his $8-million signing in the offseason raise some eyebrows. A few months later Ray was arguably the best “bang for your buck” signing of the century for GM Ross Atkins when Ray was named the Cy Young Award winner in 2021. Nobody was batting an eyelash at that deal after Ray led the league in bWAR (6.9), strikeouts (248), ERA+ (157) innings pitched (193 1/3 innings), WHIP (1.045), games started (32) and ERA (2.84).

The players rounding out the rotation might also draw some arguments as Estrada and Happ weren’t the most dominant pitchers in their time with Toronto, but they put up better numbers than most remember, and were around for the Blue Jays postseason runs in 2015 and 2016.

Happ pitched six years in total with Toronto, accumulating a 10.2 bWAR and in 2016, finished sixth in AL Cy Young voting with a 3.18 ERA and 20 wins. He also has the second most strikeouts among Blue Jays starters since 2000. Estrada was around for four seasons, put up a 9.6 bWAR and was clutch in the postseason with a 2.16 ERA in six playoff starts, with 41.2 IP.  

Lastly, there is an argument to be made that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. should be on this list, but people forget that Delgado put up Hall of Fame numbers in his time with Toronto. Vladdy hasn’t done that, yet.

In this quarter-century, Delgado played five seasons with Toronto, slashing .297/.419/.578 with a 154 OPS+, smashing 187 home runs. He averaged 37 home runs and 103 walks a season for that stretch, where he also finished in the top five in MVP award voting twice. Delgado is also the only Blue Jay to drive in more than 135 RBI in a season, and he did that twice in this span, with 137 RBI in 2000, then led the league with 145 RBI in 2003.

It’s a tough task to narrow down 25 years of Blue Jays baseball in one list of players, but the ones that made the grade are deserving of their recognition.