SPORTS
12 Obiter Dicta
Which Edition of the Toronto Blue Jays is Better?
A Comparison of the 2015 Team with it’s 1992 Predecessor
Part One: Examining the Infield
kenneth cheak kwan lam ›
sports editor
A
t first gl a nce, mentioning the two
teams—the 2015 Toronto Blue Jays and
its 1992 counterpart—in the same sentence seems daring, if not ludicrous.
The latter team was first ever non-U.S. based Major
League Baseball (MLB) team to win a World Series
while the former had a losing record as late as July
28, 2015 at 50-51. However, a case can be made
that the post-31 July 2015 Jays is effectively a new
team after General Manger (GM) Alex Anthopoulos,
a.k.a. A.A., reconstructed nearly twenty percent
of the twenty-five-men roster with four separate
trades. First, Anthopoulos acquired All Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and reliable relief pitcher
LaTroy Hawkins from the Colorado Rockies for José
Reyes, Jeff Hoffman, Miguel Castro, and Jesus Tinoco
on 28 July 2015. Second, A.A. outbid rival GMs for
Ace starting pitcher David Price by shipping Daniel
Norris, Matt Boyd, and Jairo Labourt to the Detroit
Tigers on 30 July 2015. Third, Anthopoulos got starting left fielder and speedster Ben Revere from the
Philadelphia Phillies for Alberto Tirado and Jimmy
Cordero on 31 July 2015. In addition, A.A. obtained
utility infielder Cliff Pennington along with cash
considerations from the Arizona Diamondbacks for
Dawel Lugo on 8 August 2015. Collectively, these
moves have propelled the franchise into first place in
the highly-competitive American League (AL) East
Division with a 1.5 game lead over the equally resilient New York Yankees as of the end of the day on 5
September 2015 after the team played .794 baseball
over the past 33 games by going an impressive 27-7!
Now, let the evaluations begin...
Devon Travis/Ryan Goins (2015) versus
Roberto Alomar (1992)
Analysis: Travis appears to have a very bright future
ahead of him as the Jays’ starting second baseman
for years to come after putting up rather impressive
numbers (.304 batting average, 8 home runs, and 35
runs batted in) in 62 games (including capturing the
Honda Player of the Month Award for April) before
being placed on the disabled list for the second time
during this season due to persistent problems to his
left shoulder. In his absence, Goins has provided surprising contributions lately with his bat and steady
defense at a key middle-of-the diamond infield
position. Yet, there is really no comparison here.
Alomar, a twelve-time All Star (1990–2001) and
the only Blue Jay player to have his jersey number
(12) retired as well as the first and only MLB player
to enter Cooperstown as a Blue Jay, wins the showdown handily as he spotted a sparkling offensive line
(.310BA, 8HRs, and 76RBIs). He also had 49 Stolen
Bases (SBs) while winning the second of his six consecutive gold glove award—the second of his career
ten career gold glove awards at second base in which
he exhibited range—part of his stellar defense—that
is truly ‘second to none.’
Verdict: Alomar over Travis/Goins by a landslide
Troy Tulowitzki/ José Reyes (2015) versus
Manuel Lee (1992)
Analysis: Outside of his first game as a Blue Jay
in which Tulowitzki, a.k.a., T ulo, hit a two-run
home run and two doubles, the five-time National
League (NL) All Star (2000–2001 and 2013–2015)
has struggled offensively since coming to Toronto
(.242BA, 4HR, 13RBIs in 31 games). Still, Tulo is
arguably the best all-around shortstop in MLB and
that his mere presence in the lineup brings a lot of
intangibles—including leadership and respect, etc.,
to the team, not to mention that his superb defense
has stabilized the premium position in which an
aging Reyes, who despite contributing offensively
before his departure to Colorado (.285, 4 HRs,
34RBISs, and 16SBs in 69 games) and was a fourtime NL All Star (2006–2007 and 2010 and 2011),
had difficulties manning the position defensively. As
for Lee, who replaced the popular Tony Fernández at
shortstop in 1991 by shifting over from second base,
he was a steady glove but was basically a bottom-ofthe-order bat (.263 BA, 3HR, 39RBIs in 128 games)
in 1992 and for his whole career.
Verdict: Tulowitzki/Reyes over Lee by a lap
Josh Donaldson (2015) versus Kelly
Gruber (1992)
Analysis: Donaldson, affectionately referred to as
JD by the Jays’ faithful, a two-time All-Star (2014
and 2015), is in a heated battle with Mike Trout of
the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for the 2015 AL
Most Valuable Player award, which speaks volume
about what JD means to the Jays. Much has been
made about how Donaldson is the offensive juggernaut of the Blue Jays as he is putting up near triple
crown-like numbers (.304 BA, 36HRs, 111 RBIs
in 131 games so far) hitting second in the batting
» see blue jays, page 15
Chris Colabello/Justin Smoak (2015)
versus John Olerud (1992)
Analysis: Olerud is clearly the household name and
would go on to win the 1993 AL Batting Title with
club-record .363 batting average (BA) while supplying elite-calibre defense consistently for much
of his MLB career. However, we are talking about
the 1992 version of Olerud, who hit a respectable
.284 along with 16 Home Runs (HRs) and 66 Runs
Batted In (RBIs) and with Colabello hitting well over
.300 for virtually the entire season (.323BA, 13HRs,
and 49RBIs in an efficient 279 official at bats over
82 games) and Smoak providing gold glove-calibre
defense and occasional offensive contributions, I give
the slight edge to the platoon of Colabello and Smoak
even though Olerud is the superior individual player,
especially when we take into account their entire
career.
Verdict: Colebello/Somark over Olerud by a hair
N.B.: I will be classifying Edwin Encarnacion as a
Designated Hitter in Part 2.
ê Word is that the current Toronto Blue Jays have the best left side of the infield in the entire Major League Baseball
with Troy Tulowitzki at Shortstop and Josh Donaldson at Third Base. Photo credit: Gammonsdaily.com