Poll Time: Best Shortstop in Blue Jays History

Aaron Hill won out ‘who was the second best second baseman in Blue Jays history poll.

Let’s move on to shortstops.

• Alfredo Griffin: He played 8 seasons with the Jays. He was AL Rookie of the Year in 1979, for that .287/.333/.364 line, 21 steals and 16 times caught. This was back before we had the phrase empty batting average. His steal percentage would get worse, the next season he stole 18 and was caught 23 times. Today a manager would tie his laces together and say you aren’t allowed to try to steal anymore. He was also an All-Star, in 1984, when he put up a .241/.248/.298 line. That’s not a typo, he got on base less than 25% of the time. He was became an All-Star because he went along with Damaso Garcia to the game and Alan Trammell got hurt, so they used Griffin because he happened to be there. He played in all 162 games in 1982 and 1983. In total, he hit .249/.280/.327 in 982 games with 79 steals and 74 times caught, for the Jays.
• Tony Fenandez: Played 12 seasons for the Jays, in 3 separate stints. Hit .297/.353/.412 in 1450 games. He was part of the trade that got us Alomar and Carter. And then we got him back in 1993, getting him a World Series ring.
• Manny Lee: Lee played for us for 8 seasons (showing how bad my memory is, I thought he was only with us 3 or 4 years. He hit .254/.304/.323 in 753 games. He owns a World Series ring.
• Alex S. Gonzalez: Played 8 seasons for the Jays. He hit .245/.304/.386 with 83 home runs. He was pretty good defensively. We would have another Alex Gonzalez, playing short, for half of the 2010 season.
• John McDonald: Played parts of 7 seasons with us. Hit .243/.278/.340 in 549 games. He was a fan favorite. One of the best moments I’ve had was when he hit the home run in his first at bat after his father died.
• Marco Scutaro: Played 2 seasons with the Jays. Hit .275/.362/.384. He was a favorite of mine. He had a lot of fun playing the game.
• Yunel Estrada: Played 3 seasons with the Jays. Hit .272/.335/.373 in 338 games. He was part of the big trade with the Marlins that got everyone excited about Jays again.
• Jose Reyes: Played 3 seasons with the Jays. Hit .289/.334/.404 with 61 steals, caught 10 times. His defense wasn’t great. And Jerry Howarth seemed to take a particular dislike for him.
• Troy Tulowitzki: He’s played parts of 3 seasons with us, in between times on the DL. Hit .250/.313/.414 with 36 home runs.