1990 Toronto Blue Jays season

1990 Toronto Blue Jays
Division	Eastern Division
Ballpark	SkyDome
City	Toronto, Ontario
Owners	Labatt Breweries, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
Managers	Cito Gaston
Television	CFTO-TV
Radio	none
Seasons

The 1990 Toronto Blue Jays season involved the Blue Jays finishing second in the American League East with a record of 86 wins and 76 losses. The Blue Jays led the division by 1½ games over the Boston Red Sox with one week left in the season. However, they then proceeded to drop six of their last eight games, giving the division title to the Red Sox by a two-game margin.

Offseason

• December 17, 1989 - The Atlanta Braves sent Ricky Trlicek to the Toronto Blue Jays for Ernie Whitt and Kevin Batiste.

Regular season

The 1990 season belonged to third baseman Kelly Gruber. He started by becoming the first Blue Jay to hit for the cycle, accomplishing the feat on April 16 vs. the Kansas City Royals. Along with outfielder George Bell and pitcher Dave Stieb, Gruber was named an American League All-Star, stealing two bases in the All-Star Game on July 10 at Chicago's Wrigley Field. A finalist for the American League MVP Award, at season's end he was named the AL's Silver Slugger Award winner at third base.

No-Hitters

The Blue Jays were involved in two no-hitters during the 1990 season. On June 29, Dave Stewart of the Oakland Athletics no-hit them by a score of 5-0. On September 2, Jays ace Dave Stieb finally got the no-hitter that had eluded him, blanking the Cleveland Indians 3-0.

Opening Day Starters

• George Bell, OF
• Junior Felix, OF
• Tony Fernandez, SS
• Kelly Gruber, 3B
• Nelson Liriano, 2B
• Fred McGriff, 1B
• Greg Myers, C
• John Olerud, DH
• Dave Stieb, P
• Mookie Wilson, OF

Roster

1990 Toronto Blue Jays roster
Roster
Pitchers 22 Jimmy Key 28 Al Leiter 30 Todd Stottlemyre 31 Duane Ward 35 Bud Black 36 David Wells 37 Dave Stieb 46 Mike Flanagan 50 Tom Henke 55 John Cerutti		Catchers 10 Pat Borders 21 Greg Myers 26 Ozzie Virgil Infielders  1 Tony Fernández  2 Nelson Liriano  4 Manuel Lee  5 Rance Mulliniks  6 Luis Sojo 16 Tom Quinlan 17 Kelly Gruber 18 Tom Lawless 19 Fred McGriff		Outfielders  3 Mookie Wilson 11 George Bell 12 Kenny Williams 20 Rob Ducey 24 Glenallen Hill 40 Mark Whiten 47 Junior Félix Designated Hitters  9 John Olerud 26 Jim Eppard		Manager 43 Cito Gaston Coaches  7 John McLaren (third base) -- Galen Cisco (pitching) -- Gene Tenace (hitting) -- John Sullivan (bullpen)

Game log

1990 Toronto Blue Jays
Division	Eastern Division
Ballpark	SkyDome
City	Toronto, Ontario
Owners	Labatt Breweries, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
Managers	Cito Gaston
Television	CFTO-TV
Radio	none
Seasons

The 1990 Toronto Blue Jays season involved the Blue Jays finishing second in the American League East with a record of 86 wins and 76 losses. The Blue Jays led the division by 1½ games over the Boston Red Sox with one week left in the season. However, they then proceeded to drop six of their last eight games, giving the division title to the Red Sox by a two-game margin.

Offseason

• December 17, 1989 - The Atlanta Braves sent Ricky Trlicek to the Toronto Blue Jays for Ernie Whitt and Kevin Batiste.

Regular season

The 1990 season belonged to third baseman Kelly Gruber. He started by becoming the first Blue Jay to hit for the cycle, accomplishing the feat on April 16 vs. the Kansas City Royals. Along with outfielder George Bell and pitcher Dave Stieb, Gruber was named an American League All-Star, stealing two bases in the All-Star Game on July 10 at Chicago's Wrigley Field. A finalist for the American League MVP Award, at season's end he was named the AL's Silver Slugger Award winner at third base.

No-Hitters

The Blue Jays were involved in two no-hitters during the 1990 season. On June 29, Dave Stewart of the Oakland Athletics no-hit them by a score of 5-0. On September 2, Jays ace Dave Stieb finally got the no-hitter that had eluded him, blanking the Cleveland Indians 3-0.

Opening Day Starters

• George Bell, OF
• Junior Felix, OF
• Tony Fernandez, SS
• Kelly Gruber, 3B
• Nelson Liriano, 2B
• Fred McGriff, 1B
• Greg Myers, C
• John Olerud, DH
• Dave Stieb, P
• Mookie Wilson, OF

Roster

1990 Toronto Blue Jays roster
Roster
Pitchers 22 Jimmy Key 28 Al Leiter 30 Todd Stottlemyre 31 Duane Ward 35 Bud Black 36 David Wells 37 Dave Stieb 46 Mike Flanagan 50 Tom Henke 55 John Cerutti		Catchers 10 Pat Borders 21 Greg Myers 26 Ozzie Virgil Infielders  1 Tony Fernández  2 Nelson Liriano  4 Manuel Lee  5 Rance Mulliniks  6 Luis Sojo 16 Tom Quinlan 17 Kelly Gruber 18 Tom Lawless 19 Fred McGriff		Outfielders  3 Mookie Wilson 11 George Bell 12 Kenny Williams 20 Rob Ducey 24 Glenallen Hill 40 Mark Whiten 47 Junior Félix Designated Hitters  9 John Olerud 26 Jim Eppard		Manager 43 Cito Gaston Coaches  7 John McLaren (third base) -- Galen Cisco (pitching) -- Gene Tenace (hitting) -- John Sullivan (bullpen)

Season standings

AL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Boston Red Sox	88	74	0.543	—	51–30	37–44
Toronto Blue Jays	86	76	0.531	2	44–37	42–39
Detroit Tigers	79	83	0.488	9	39–42	40–41
Cleveland Indians	77	85	0.475	11	41–40	36–45
Baltimore Orioles	76	85	0.472	11½	40–40	36–45
Milwaukee Brewers	74	88	0.457	14	39–42	35–46
New York Yankees	67	95	0.414	21	37–44	30–51

Player stats

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Fred McGriff	153	557	167	.300	35	88
Pat Borders	125	346	99	.286	15	49
Tony Fernández	161	635	175	.276	4	66
Kelly Gruber	150	592	162	.274	31	118
George Bell	142	562	149	.265	21	86
John Olerud	111	358	95	.265	14	48
Mookie Wilson	147	588	156	.265	3	51
Junior Félix	127	463	122	.263	15	65
Manuel Lee	117	391	95	.243	6	41

Other batters

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Rob Ducey	19	53	16	.302	0	7
Rance Mulliniks	57	97	28	.289	2	16
Mark Whiten	33	88	12	.273	2	7
Greg Myers	87	250	59	.236	5	22
Glenallen Hill	84	260	60	.231	12	32
Luis Sojo	33	80	18	.225	1	9
Nelson Liriano	50	170	36	.212	1	15
Jim Eppard	6	5	1	.200	0	0
Kenny Williams	49	72	14	.194	0	8
Tom Lawless	15	12	1	.083	0	1
Ozzie Virgil	3	5	0	.000	0	0

Starting pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Dave Stieb	33	208⅔	18	6	2.93	125
David Wells	43	189	11	6	3.14	115
Jimmy Key	27	154⅔	13	7	4.25	88
Todd Stottlemyre	33	203	13	17	4.34	115
John Cerutti	30	140	9	9	4.76	49
Mike Flanagan	5	20⅓	2	2	5.31	5

Other pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA

Relief pitchers

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO

Award Winners

• Kelly Gruber, Player of the Month Award, September
• Kelly Gruber, Silver Slugger Award

All-Star Game

• George Bell, OF
• Kelly Gruber, 3B
• Dave Stieb, P

References

• 1990 Toronto Blue Jays team page at Baseball Reference
• 1990 Toronto Blue Jays team page at www.baseball-almanac.com

Season standings

AL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Boston Red Sox	88	74	0.543	—	51–30	37–44
Toronto Blue Jays	86	76	0.531	2	44–37	42–39
Detroit Tigers	79	83	0.488	9	39–42	40–41
Cleveland Indians	77	85	0.475	11	41–40	36–45
Baltimore Orioles	76	85	0.472	11½	40–40	36–45
Milwaukee Brewers	74	88	0.457	14	39–42	35–46
New York Yankees	67	95	0.414	21	37–44	30–51

Player stats

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Fred McGriff	153	557	167	.300	35	88
Pat Borders	125	346	99	.286	15	49
Tony Fernández	161	635	175	.276	4	66
Kelly Gruber	150	592	162	.274	31	118
George Bell	142	562	149	.265	21	86
John Olerud	111	358	95	.265	14	48
Mookie Wilson	147	588	156	.265	3	51
Junior Félix	127	463	122	.263	15	65
Manuel Lee	117	391	95	.243	6	41

Other batters

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Rob Ducey	19	53	16	.302	0	7
Rance Mulliniks	57	97	28	.289	2	16
Mark Whiten	33	88	12	.273	2	7
Greg Myers	87	250	59	.236	5	22
Glenallen Hill	84	260	60	.231	12	32
Luis Sojo	33	80	18	.225	1	9
Nelson Liriano	50	170	36	.212	1	15
Jim Eppard	6	5	1	.200	0	0
Kenny Williams	49	72	14	.194	0	8
Tom Lawless	15	12	1	.083	0	1
Ozzie Virgil	3	5	0	.000	0	0

Starting pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Dave Stieb	33	208⅔	18	6	2.93	125
David Wells	43	189	11	6	3.14	115
Jimmy Key	27	154⅔	13	7	4.25	88
Todd Stottlemyre	33	203	13	17	4.34	115
John Cerutti	30	140	9	9	4.76	49
Mike Flanagan	5	20⅓	2	2	5.31	5

Other pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA

Relief pitchers

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO

Award Winners

• Kelly Gruber, Player of the Month Award, September
• Kelly Gruber, Silver Slugger Award

All-Star Game

• George Bell, OF
• Kelly Gruber, 3B
• Dave Stieb, P

References

• 1990 Toronto Blue Jays team page at Baseball Reference
• 1990 Toronto Blue Jays team page at www.baseball-almanac.com