Bored. Waiting for the season to start.
What to do?
Answer: Create three greatest season lineups based on Fangraphs WAR, UBR and UZR.
First lineup is the GOAT lineup - best single season WAR by position - minimum 120 games.
| Position | Year | Name | WAR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 1993 | John Olerud | 8.4 | Highest WAR by a Blue Jay ever |
| 2B | 1992 | Roberto Alomar | 6.6 | Catch the taste! |
| 3B | 1988 | Kelly Gruber |
5.8 |
Gruber kinda looked like Dave Coulier - maybe it was just the mullet |
| SS |
1990 | Tony Fernandez |
5.2 |
Is it too late for a 5th go-around with the Jays? |
| RF |
2011 | Jose Bautista |
8.3 | Jose is one of three people to win the Hank Aaron in back to back seasons |
| CF | 1984 | Lloyd Moseby |
7.5 | Shaker was 3rd in MLB for WAR in '84(Ripken, Sandberg) |
| LF | 1987 | George Bell |
5.6 | "Kiss my purple (butt)" One of the great inspirational sports quotes. |
| C | 1983 | Ernie Whitt |
3.8 | Whitt was the longest tenured Jay who was claimed in the expansion draft. |
| DH | 1993 | Paul Molitor |
5.2 | Probably the only player who could get subbed in for the batting champ and you go "Oh, well that makes sense" |
Next up is the 80s lineup - the best single season base runners.
| Position | Year | Name | UBR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 1986 | Willie Upshaw |
2.5 | In 2005 Shea Hillenbrand also had 2.5 UBR, thought Willie would get a long better with the manager though. |
| 2B | 1991 | Roberto Alomar | 6.2 | Still get chills thinking about the homer against Eck |
| 3B | 2003 | Eric Hinske |
5.8 |
On BR Hinske is ranked 1198 for batters, one spot ahead of Ivan Calderon(RIP), I liked Calderon, hmm. |
| SS |
2006 | Aaron Hill |
4.2 |
Too early to tell who won the Hill - Johnson trade? |
| RF |
2007 | Alex Rios |
4.8 | Summary: Top prospect ,1 HR, All Star, Staph, $70 Million, Waivers |
| CF | 2004 | Vernon Wells |
5.8 | Vernon Wells is best known for his roles in Mad Max 2 and Commando |
| LF | 2012 | Rajai Davis |
6.8 | This may be the only time that Rajai or any 2012 Blue Jay makes an all-time list |
| C | 2000 | Darrin Fletcher |
0.3 | My wish list for a Blue Jay announce team: Dan Shulman, John Cerutti (RIP) and Fletch. |
| DH | 1994 | Paul Molitor |
4 | Our 3B reminds me a bit of Molly. HOF here we come. |
And lastly here is the Mariners lineup, why score 'em when you can prevent 'em.
| Position | Year | Name | UZR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 1987 | Willie Upshaw |
14 | Not enough ball players named Willie now, ones as good as Upshaw would be even better. |
| 2B | 2004 | Orlando Hudson |
15.9 | O-Dawg pimpin' the best fielding second base spot. |
| 3B | 1988 | Kelly Gruber |
17 |
Deion was out!!! |
| SS |
2008 | Marco Scutaro |
13.8 |
Wow Scutaro has even better SS stats than Derek Jeter! |
| RF |
1987 | Jesse Barfield |
25 | It's about time someone replaced Chuck Norris for internet memedom, I nominate Jesse's right arm. |
| CF | 1992 | Devon White |
33 | I once went to Jamaica for work, trying to find common ground with the locals I mentioned that Devo was from Jamaica and one of my favorite players ever. They didn't know who he was, I was sad. Also Deion was out! |
| LF | 2000 | Shannon Stewart |
17 | Remember when Shannon got traded to the Twins and got hot, he finished fourth in MVP voting, weird. |
| C | 1983 | Ernie Whitt |
16 | Go Team Canada! |
| DH | 1990 | George Bell |
3 | I know it is weird to have a DH on the all defense team, but Jorge wasn't very good at defense, so it works. |
There you have it, three all time Blue Jays Lineups. What would your batting orders be? Any surprises? Stay tuned for the Worst of All Time lineups.
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