Tag / Blue Jays

by admin

Mariners All Time Leaders – Through 2015

marinersWith 3 months until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue today with the Seattle Mariners.

The Mariners began life in 1977, joining the American League along with the Toronto Blue Jays. I’ve seen them play 30 times, including the final night game at the original Comiskey Park and the first 2 games of their sweep of the White Sox in the 2000 ALDS.

Home Runs

Name Total
Kyle Seager 4
Franklin Gutierrez 3
Richie Sexson 3

Hits

Name Total
Ichiro Suzuki 19
Michael Saunders 12
Raul Ibanez 11

Runs

Name Total
Ichiro Suzuki 8
Raul Ibanez 6
Michael Saunders 5
Jose Lopez 5

RBI

Name Total
Kyle Seager 8
Mike Cameron 8
Alvin Davis 7

Doubles

Name Total
Michael Saunders 3
6 tied with 2

Triples Continue reading →

by admin

Blue Jays All Time Leaders – Through 2015

jaysnewWith 4 months until baseball in Chicago returns, I thought it would be interesting to look at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. We continue today with the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays began life in 1977, joining the American League along with the Mariners. I’ve seen them play 20 times, first in 1984 and most recently at their home stadium in September during my trip to Toronto.

Home Runs

Name Total
Edwin Encarnacion 2
Josh Donaldson 2
10 tied with 1

Hits

Name Total
Vernon Wells 16
Edwin Encarnacion 8
Reed Johnson 8
Jose Bautista 8

Runs

Name Total
Vernon Wells 7
Reed Johnson 4
Jose Reyes 4
Aaron Hill 4

RBI

Name Total
Jose Bautista 8
Lyle Overbay 6
Vernon Wells 5
Adam Lind 5

Doubles

Name Total
Vernon Wells 6
Jose Bautista 4
Lyle Overbay 3
Adam Lind 3

Triples Continue reading →

by admin

2015 Final Standings

baseballs3Now that the Cubs have been swept from the NLCS by the Mets, the physical attendance portion of the 2015 baseball season, for me, has come to an end.  I made it to 39 games this year, in 4 stadiums (1 new) across 2 countries.  Here are the final standings for those games, and the 15 different teams that I saw in person this year.

2015 Team Records
Team Won Loss Winning Pctg
New York Mets 2 0 1.000
Kansas City Royals 3 1 0.750
Detroit Tigers 3 1 0.750
Toronto Blue Jays 2 1 0.667
St. Louis Cardinals 2 1 0.667
Minnesota Twins 4 3 0.571
Seattle Mariners 1 1 0.500
New York Yankees 1 1 0.500
Cincinnati Reds 1 1 0.500
Chicago White Sox 16 18 0.471
Chicago Cubs 3 5 0.375
Baltimore Orioles Continue reading →
by admin

2015 Predictions Revisited

baseballs2Six months ago, as the 2015 baseball season was scheduled to kick off at Wrigley Field, I made my annual predictions as to who would win what.  Now that the regular season has come to an end, it is time revisit those predictions and see what, if anything, I got right.

American League

East: Blue Jays

After a middling first half, the Blue Jays turned things around after the All Star break, especially after acquiring David Price and Troy Tulowitzki at the trade deadline, earning them their first division title since 1993.

Central: Indians

Well, I correctly predicted the end of the Tigers reign after four seasons, but I wrongly assumed that the Royals would regress after their World Series appearance last year.  Instead, they went and ran away with the AL Central crown while the Indians struggled to stay out of the cellar.

West: Angels

It came down to the final day, but the Rangers, who finished in last place in 2014, managed to hold off the Astros and the Angels to win the division.

Wild Cards: Tigers, Mariners

I completely missed the boat here, as both teams failed to live up to their pre-season expectations.  The Yankees return to the post-season and so do the surprise Astros.

AL Champion: Angels

Cy Young: Felix Hernandez

MVP: Mike Trout

Only one of these seems like a possible choice at this point, with Mike Trout the frontrunner for the MVP award.  The Cy Young award is up in the air at this point.

National League

Continue reading →

by admin

Ballpark Tour: Rogers Centre

rogerscentre

Stadium Name: Skydome/Rogers Centre

Location: Toronto

Home Team: Blue Jays

Years in Service: 1989 – Present

Visits: 1

Following the Grey Cup game in 1982 at Exhibition Stadium, dubbed the Rain Bowl due to a torrential rainstorm, tens of thousands of people attended a rally at Toronto’s city hall chanting “We want a dome”.  After years of studies, they got their wish on June 3, 1989 when Skydome opened as the new home of the Blue Jays, featuring the first functional retractable roof in North America.

While the stadium quickly became an albatross for the province of Ontario, due to cost overruns and a recession, the Blue Jays became a force to be reckoned with.  The Jays won the AL East crown in 1989 and 1991, losing to the eventual World Series champions both years.  In 1992, they again won their division and became the first Canadian team to capture a World Series title.  They repeated as champions in 1993, becoming the first team to win back-to-back Series since the Yankees in 1977 and 1978.

Since then, things have been relatively quiet for the Blue Jays.  In 2005, the stadium was renamed Rogers Centre, after the new owners of both the stadium and the team.  After years of failed expectations, the Blue Jays finally find themselves back in contention this year, leading the AL East and looking for their first post-season appearance in 22 years, the longest current drought in the major leagues.

I attended my first game at the Rogers Centre last month when I was visiting Toronto.  In addition to adding a new stadium to my resume (the 19th overall and 13th still active), former White Sox ace Mark Buehrle was scheduled to start, so I was really looking forward to the game.  Sadly, Buehrle was bumped a few days due to a sore shoulder, so I ended up having to see David Price take on the Orioles.  He handled them with ease, picking up his 100th career victory.  I didn’t have the best seats in the house, sitting out in left field, but was in the shade, which was in short supply during a hot afternoon with the roof open.  I certainly hope to return one day.

by admin

Vacation Recap – Toronto

toronto-condoTwo weeks ago, I headed out early on a Friday morning for the long drive northeast to the Canadian city of Toronto.  I arrived in the early evening, with my allergies inflamed after an afternoon of driving through the wilds of Michigan.  After a quick trip to find a pharmacy, we settled in at the sports bar just around the corner from our condo for dinner before calling it an early night to recover from a day of travelling.

Saturday morning was spent walking around the lakefront, enjoying the views and trying to get a little lay of the land.  The afternoon was spent at Rogers Centre, where the Blue Jays easily handled the Orioles to keep their hold on first place in the AL East.  Eventually we ended up at the fancy Italian restaurant across the street for dinner and drinks.

Sunday was another day of exploring.  After a late breakfast, we ended up on a bus tour, which, due to street closures, was not following its normal path.  It managed to drop us off a few blocks away from the Royal Ontario Museum, where we headed to enjoy some culture, including a special exhibit on Pompeii.  Thankfully, the tour was back on its normal path afterwards, so we grabbed a ride back to the condo before heading out to the Molson Canadian Ampitheatre for the Oddball Comedy Fest, which I went into much detail here.  After the show, we eventually managed to catch a cab back to the condo.

niagaraMonday was time to bid a temporary farewell to Toronto, as we headed south to Niagara Falls, where we spent the afternoon.   Continue reading →

by admin

Fitbit Week 31

Week31_FBAnother successful week, saved by a very impressive day at the end to boost the totals above blah.  Things got off to an unassuming start with Kid’s Day at US Cellular Field on Sunday, where the White Sox managed to sneak past the Mariners in extra innings.  Monday’s afternoon coffee run helped to bump it up over the 7000 step mark.  Tuesday through Thursday were all touch and go, but did all manage to cross the 5500 step barrier.

Most of Friday was spent in a car driving to Canada, but I still managed to just barely cross 6000 steps, thanks to my running around in the morning to pack and then briefly walking around the city while looking for dinner.  Saturday, however, turned things around for the week, as I broke 15,000 steps for the first time with the Fitbit and notched my 4th best total of all time.  The morning started with a walk for breakfast, followed by a trip down to the waterfront for some exploring.  After that, it was over to the Rogers Centre for exciting Blue Jays baseball, then back to the condo and, eventually, a trip out for dinner.  All told, I finished just over 16,000 steps, my highest total in over 2 years.

Total steps: 55,488

Daily average: 7926.9

by admin

Oh Canada

If everything goes according to plan, I will be leaving this morning for a road trip to Toronto, where I will meet up with my good friend Hayley.  We will spend about a week enjoying everything our neighbors to the north have to offer.  Not to mention a planned side trip back to the states to take in the offerings of Cooperstown, New York.

I’ll have a full detailing when I get back, but our current plans include the Blue Jays, the CN Tower, an AC/DC concert, the Oddball comedy fest, and a comedy club featuring Cameron Esposito.  Plus whatever comes up along the way.

by admin

2015 All Star Break Standings

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersAs the baseball world turns its sights to Cincinnati for tonight’s All Star Game, it’s time to take a look at the team records for the 21 games I attended, at 3 different stadiums, in the first half of the baseball season.

2015 Team Records

TeamName Won Loss Winning Pctg
Detroit Tigers 2 0 1.000
St. Louis Cardinals 1 0 1.000
Minnesota Twins 3 2 0.600
Chicago White Sox 11 9 0.550
Toronto Blue Jays 1 1 0.500
Cincinnati Reds 1 1 0.500
Baltimore Orioles 1 1 0.500
Chicago Cubs 1 2 0.333
Continue reading →
by admin

Franchise Four – AL East

Major League Baseball is asking its fans to vote for the four most impactful players who best represent the history of each franchise.  The winners will be announced in July at the All Star Game in Cincinnati.  Today, I will give my Franchise Four picks for the American League East.

F4OriolesAt first glance, my picks for the Orioles were easy.  Upon further review, though, I find myself with 5 players for only 4 slots.  Cal Ripken Jr., Frank Robinson, and Jim Palmer take my first 3 slots.  The last one comes down to Brooks Robinson and Eddie Murray.  While Murray was by far the better offensive weapon, Robinson was quite possibly the best defensive third baseman of all time.  I’m going to stick with my initial gut feeling and go with Robinson.

F4RedSoxPlenty of Hall of Famers to choose from for the Red Sox, as 6 of the 8 have been elected to Cooperstown.  The first two slots have to go to Cy Young and Ted Williams, both of whom would be in the conversation for a league wide contest.  The final two slots would have to go to Carl Yastrzemski and newly elected Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez.  Conspicuous by his absence is Roger Clemens.

F4Yankees

Continue reading →