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Following up on last weekend's chart of tenure for the current roster, we now look at player tenure for the entire franchise history. This is a little bit trickier to compile, and it's possible I might be missing the odd player. In which case use the comments to hold me accountable.
Organizational Tenure
Name (Stints) | Rk | Acquired | Tenure |
Carlos Delgado | 1 | 1988 IFA | 16.1 yrs |
Dave Stieb (2) | 2 | 1978 Draft | 15 yrs |
Roy Halladay | 3 | 1995 Draft | 14.5 yrs |
Tony Fernandez (4) | 4 | 1979 IFA | 14.3 yrs |
Dustin McGowan | 5 | 2000 Draft | 14.3 yrs |
Vernon Wells | 6 | 1997 Draft | 13.6 yrs |
Ernie Whitt | 7 | Expansion | 12.9 yrs |
Pat Hentgen (2) | 8 | 1986 Draft | 12.9 yrs |
David Wells (2) | 9 | 1982 Draft | 12.7 yrs |
Pat Borders (2) | 10 | 1982 Draft | 12.6 yrs |
Jesse Barfield | 11 | 1977 Draft | 11.9 yrs |
Jim Clancy | 12 | Expansion | 11.8 yrs |
(Tony Fernandez) | 1979 IFA | 11.6 yrs | |
Shannon Stewart (2) | 13 | 1992 Draft | 11.6 yrs |
Lloyd Moseby | 14 | 1978 Draft | 11.4 yrs |
Kelvim Escobar | 15 | 1992 IFA | 11.3 yrs |
Jose Escobar | 16 | 1978 IFA | 11.1 yrs |
Garth Iorg | 17 | Expansion | 11 yrs |
Mark Eichhorn (2) | 18 | 1979 Draft | 10.9 yrs |
Juan Guzman | 19 | 1987 Trade | 10.9 yrs |
Chris Woodward (2) | 20 | 1994 Draft | 10.7 yrs |
Woody Williams | 21 | 1988 Draft | 10.5 yrs |
Rance Mulliniks | 22 | 1982 Trade | 10.5 yrs |
Greg Myers | 23 | 1984 Trade | 10.4 yrs |
Alex Gonzalez | 24 | 1991 Draft | 10.4 yrs |
Jimmy Key | 25 | 1982 Draft | 10.4 yrs |
Casey Janssen | 26 | 2004 Draft | 10.4 yrs |
Adam Lind | 27 | 2004 Draft | 10.3 yrs |
Willie Upshaw | 28 | 1977 Rule 5 | 10.3 yrs |
Gustavo Chacin | 29 | 1998 IFA | 10.3 yrs |
Alex Rios | 30 | 1999 Draft | 10.2 yrs |
Mike Timlin | 31 | 1987 Draft | 10.2 yrs |
Tony Castillo | 32 | 1983 IFA | 10.1 yrs |
Ed Sprague | 33 | 1988 Draft | 10.1 yrs |
George Bell | 34 | 1980 Rule 5 | 9.9 yrs |
Ricky Romero | 35 | 2005 Draft | 9.9 yrs |
I find it interesting how things bunch up right around and just above 10 years in the organization. The entry for Tony Fernandez in brackets is to show only his first and most substantial stint with the Jays, as others with multiple stints were usually for just a season at the end of their careers and don't affect the order much (if at all).
Major League Service with Blue Jays
For the most part, historical service times (in format yy.ddd) are approximated using game logs, etc.
Name (Stints) | Rk | Acquired | Service |
Dave Stieb (2) | 1 | 1978 Draft | 14.020 |
Jim Clancy | 2 | Expansion | 11.070 |
Rance Mulliniks | 3 | 1982 Trade | 11.000 |
Ernie Whitt | 4 | Expansion | 10.110 |
Roy Halladay | 5 | 1995 Draft | 10.047 |
Tony Fernandez (4) | 6 | 1979 IFA | 10.030 |
Lloyd Moseby | 7 | 1978 Draft | 9.130 |
Carlos Delgado | 8 | 1988 IFA | 9.120 |
Vernon Wells | 9 | 1997 Draft | 9.113 |
Pat Hentgen (2) | 10 | 1986 Draft | 9.015 |
Jimmy Key | 11 | 1982 Draft | 9.000 |
Dustin McGowan | 12 | 2000 Draft | 8.113 |
George Bell | T13 | 1980 Rule 5 | 8.080 |
Jason Frasor (2) | T13 | 2004 Trade | 8.080 |
Willie Upshaw | 15 | 1977 Rule 5 | 8.075 |
Casey Janssen | 16 | 2004 Draft | 8.063 |
Duane Ward | 17 | 1986 Trade | 8.060 |
Alfredo Griffin (2) | 18 | 1978 Trade | 8.000 |
Garth Iorg | 19 | Expansion | 7.170 |
Kelly Gruber | 20 | 1983 Rule 5 | 7.075 |
Tom Henke | 21 | 1985 Claim | 7.070 |
Juan Guzman | 22 | 1987 Trade | 7.065 |
Jesse Barfield | 23 | 1977 Draft | 7.060 |
Adam Lind | 24 | 2004 Draft | 7.058 |
Jose Bautista | 25 | 2008 Trade | 7.038 |
John Olerud | 26 | 1989 Draft | 7.030 |
Alex Gonzalez | 27 | 1991 Draft | 7.020 |
Pat Borders (2) | T28 | 1982 Draft | 7.000 |
Joe Carter | T28 | 1990 Trade | 7.000 |
Damaso Garcia | T28 | 1979 Trade | 7.000 |
Ed Sprague and David Wells would be next on the list with just under seven years of Blue Jays service time (about a week or so)