1979 Toronto Blue Jays
LeagueAmerican League
DivisionEast
BallparkExhibition Stadium
CityToronto
Record53–109 (.327)
Divisional place7th
OwnersLabatt Breweries,
Imperial Trust,
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
General managersPat Gillick
ManagersRoy Hartsfield
TelevisionCBC Television
(Don Chevrier, Tony Kubek, Tom McKee)
CBFT
(Jean-Pierre Roy, Guy Ferron)
RadioCKFH
(Early Wynn, Tom Cheek)
← 1978 Seasons 1980 →

The 1979 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's third season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing seventh in the American League East with a record of 53 wins and 109 losses. The Blue Jays were the only American League East team to finish 1979 with a losing record and the loss total of 109 set the franchise mark; it is also the last time as of 2023 the team lost over 100 games in a season. Attendance for the season decreased to 1,431,651.[1]

Offseason

Transactions

Transactions by the Toronto Blue Jays during the off-season before the 1979 season.[2]

October 1978

October 3 Purchased Rico Carty from the Oakland Athletics.

November 1978

November 2 Joe Coleman granted free agency.
Rico Carty granted free agency.
November 3 Acquired Dave Freisleben from the Cleveland Indians for a player to be named later (Sheldon Mallory on March 27, 1979).
November 24 Signed amateur free agent Fred Manrique.
Signed amateur free agent Toby Hernández.
November 27 Signed amateur free agent José Escobar.
Acquired Joe Cannon, Pedro Hernández and Mark Lemongello from the Houston Astros for Alan Ashby.

December 1978

December 2 Willie Horton became a free agent.
Released Bill Singer.
December 4 Acquired Don Pisker from the Houston Astros for Gary Woods.
Selected Bob Davis from the San Diego Padres in the 1978 MLB Rule 5 draft.
Selected Ted Wilborn from the New York Yankees in the 1978 MLB Rule 5 draft.
December 5 Acquired Alfredo Griffin and Phil Lansford from the Cleveland Indians for Víctor Cruz.

January 1979

January 1 Signed amateur free agent Luis Leal.
January 4 Signed free agent Chuck Scrivener of the Detroit Tigers to a contract.
January 11 Signed free agent Rico Carty to a multi-year contract.
January 23 Player rights of Sam Ewing sold to Nippon-Ham Fighters of the Nippon Professional Baseball.

March 1979

March 17 Signed free agent Steve Luebber of the Chicago White Sox to a contract.
March 25 Claimed Bobby Brown off of waivers from the New York Mets.
March 29 Released Jeff Byrd.
Released Don Kirkwood.

Regular season

Following the team's poor performance, manager Roy Hartsfield was fired at the end of the season. One highlight of the season was the awarding of the American League Rookie of the Year Award to Alfredo Griffin.[3]

The end of the 1979 season marked a crossroads for the franchise. The first real talent from the minor leagues had made it to the major league roster. Such talent included pitcher Dave Stieb and third baseman Danny Ainge.[1]

Season standings

AL East 		W L Pct. GB Home Road
Baltimore Orioles 102 57 0.642 — 55–24 47–33
Milwaukee Brewers 95 66 0.590 8 52–29 43–37
Boston Red Sox 91 69 0.569 11½ 51–29 40–40
New York Yankees 89 71 0.556 13½ 51–30 38–41
Detroit Tigers 85 76 0.528 18 46–34 39–42
Cleveland Indians 81 80 0.503 22 47–34 34–46
Toronto Blue Jays 53 109 0.327 50½ 32–49 21–60

Record vs. opponents

1979 American League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team BAL BOS CAL CWS CLE DET KC MIL MIN NYY OAK SEA TEX TOR
Baltimore — 8–5 9–3 8–3 8–5 7–6 6–6 8–5 8–4 5–6 8–4 10–2 6–6 11–2
Boston 5–8 — 5–7 5–6 6–7 8–5 8–4 8–4 9–3 5–8 9–3 8–4 6–6 9–4
California 3–9 7–5 — 9–4 6–6 4–8 7–6 7–5 9–4 7–5 10–3 7–6 5–8 7–5
Chicago 3–8 6–5 4–9 — 6–6 3–9 5–8 5–7 5–8 4–8 9–4 5–8 11–2 7–5
Cleveland 5–8 7–6 6–6 6–6 — 6–6 6–6 4–9 8–4 5–8 8–4 7–5 5–7 8–5
Detroit 6–7 5–8 8–4 9–3 6–6 — 5–7 6–7 4–8 7–6 7–5 7–5 6–6 9–4
Kansas City 6–6 4–8 6–7 8–5 6–6 7–5 — 5–7 7–6 5–7 9–4 7–6 6–7 9–3
Milwaukee 5–8 4–8 5–7 7–5 9–4 7–6 7–5 — 8–4 9–4 6–6 9–3 9–3 10–3
Minnesota 4–8 3–9 4–9 8–5 4–8 8–4 6–7 4–8 — 7–5 9–4 10–3 4–9 11–1
New York 6–5 8–5 5–7 8–4 8–5 6–7 7–5 4–9 5–7 — 9–3 6–6 8–4 9–4
Oakland 4–8 3–9 3–10 4–9 4–8 5–7 4–9 6–6 4–9 3–9 — 8–5 2–11 4–8
Seattle 2–10 4–8 6–7 8–5 5–7 5–7 6–7 3–9 3–10 6–6 5–8 — 6–7 8–4
Texas 6–6 6–6 8–5 2–11 7–5 6–6 7–6 3–9 9–4 4–8 11–2 7–6 — 7–5
Toronto 2–11 4–9 5–7 5–7 5–8 4–9 3–9 3–10 1–11 4–9 8–4 4–8 5–7 —


Opening Day starters

Transactions

Transactions for the Toronto Blue Jays during the 1979 regular season.[4]

April 1979

April 6 Signed free agent Mike Sember from the Chicago Cubs to a contract.
April 7 Player rights of Mike Stanton sold to the Petroleros de Zulia of the Inter-American League.
April 13 Signed free agent Jackson Todd from the Philadelphia Phillies to a contract.
April 19 Player rights of Bobby Brown sold to the New York Yankees.
April 23 Signed free agent Bob Robertson from the Seattle Mariners to a contract.
April 24 Signed amateur free agent Tony Fernández to a contract.

May 1979

May 12 Released Tom Murphy.

June 1979

June 6 Purchased Dyar Miller from the California Angels.
June 22 Signed amateur free agent Steve Senteney to a contract.
June 27 Released Bob Robertson.

July 1979

July 25 Purchased Craig Kusick from the Minnesota Twins.
July 30 Acquired Tony Solaita from the Montreal Expos for a player to be named later (Dyar Miller on October 24, 1979).

Draft picks

Roster

1979 Toronto Blue Jays
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Game log

1979 Game Log 53–109 (Home 32–49, Away 21–60)
April 7–15 (Home 3–8, Away 4–7)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
1 April 5 @ Royals 11–2 Leonard (1–0) Underwood (0–1) Mingori (1) 37,754 0–1
2 April 7 @ Royals 7–4 Gura (1–0) Clancy (0–1) Hrabosky (1) 21,850 0–2
3 April 8 @ Royals 8–3 Splittorff (1–0) Lemongello (0–1) 23,477 0–3
4 April 10 @ White Sox 10–2 Huffman (1–0) Kravec (0–2) Freisleben (1) 41,043 1–3
– April 11 @ White Sox Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for April 12
5 April 12 @ White Sox 9–7 Murphy (1–0) LaGrow (0–1) 1,205 2–3
6 April 13 Royals 4–1 (6) Clancy (1–1) Splittorff (1–1) 40,035 3–3
7 April 14 Royals 8–6 Freisleben (1–0) Leonard (1–1) 11,683 4–3
8 April 15 Royals 12–10 Rodríguez (2–0) Murphy (1–1) Hrabosky (2) 12,287 4–4
9 April 16 White Sox 8–4 Scarbery (1–0) Murphy (1–2) Proly (1) 11,211 4–5
10 April 17 White Sox 6–1 Barrios (1–0) Underwood (0–2) Proly (2) 10,074 4–6
11 April 18 White Sox 12–5 Wortham (3–0) Clancy (1–2) 10,478 4–7
12 April 20 @ Tigers 7–2 Wilcox (2–0) Lemongello (0–2) 13,617 4–8
13 April 21 @ Tigers 5–4 Huffman (2–0) Billingham (1–1) Freisleben (2) 10,904 5–8
14 April 22 @ Tigers 4–1 Rozema (1–1) Underwood (0–3) 14,543 5–9
15 April 23 @ Rangers 5–0 Alexander (1–0) Clancy (1–3) Kern (2) 12,661 5–10
16 April 24 @ Rangers 2–0 Lemanczyk (1–0) Comer (1–2) 14,411 6–10
17 April 25 @ Rangers 4–3 (10) Lyle (2–1) Jefferson (0–1) 15,731 6–11
18 April 27 Brewers 8–5 Sorensen (3–2) Huffman (2–1) McClure (1) 10,306 6–12
19 April 28 Brewers 11–8 (10) McClure (3–0) Willis (0–1) 12,683 6–13
20 April 29 Brewers 3–0 Caldwell (4–1) Clancy (1–4) 6–14
21 April 29 Brewers 5–3 Lemanczyk (2–0) Travers (0–2) 16,083 7–14
22 April 30 Twins 6–3 Hartzell (1–0) Lemongello (0–3) 10,170 7–15
May 5–23 (Home 3–15, Away 2–8)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
23 May 1 Twins 3–2 Koosman (5–0) Jefferson (0–2) Marshall (8) 10,155 7–16
24 May 2 Twins 7–5 Goltz (3–3) Huffman (2–2) Marshall (9) 20,110 7–17
25 May 3 @ Brewers 5–4 Travers (1–2) Underwood (0–4) 7,801 7–18
26 May 4 @ Brewers 5–4 Clancy (2–4) Caldwell (4–2) Freisleben (3) 28,896 8–18
27 May 5 @ Brewers 6–1 Slaton (3–1) Lemanczyk (2–1) 14,910 8–19
28 May 6 @ Brewers 4–0 Sorensen (4–3) Lemongello (0–4) 53,962 8–20
29 May 7 @ Twins 6–1 Goltz (4–3) Huffman (2–3) 4,571 8–21
30 May 8 @ Twins 16–6 Bacsik (1–0) Willis (0–2) 3,126 8–22
– May 9 @ Twins Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for July 21
31 May 11 Rangers 3–1 Matlack (1–2) Clancy (2–5) 12,153 8–23
32 May 12 Rangers 3–1 Comer (3–3) Lemanczyk (2–2) Lyle (5) 14,109 8–24
33 May 13 Rangers 3–1 Lemongello (1–4) Alexander (1–2) 9–24
34 May 13 Rangers 7–5 Farmer (2–0) Huffman (2–4) Lyle (6) 16,531 9–25
35 May 14 @ Indians 1–0 Waits (4–3) Underwood (0–5) 3,867 9–26
36 May 15 @ Indians 5–3 Monge (2–3) Garvin (0–1) 3,978 9–27
37 May 16 @ Indians 4–3 Lemanczyk (3–2) Wise (3–4) 4,079 10–27
38 May 17 @ Indians 8–3 Paxton (3–2) Lemongello (1–5) 4,409 10–28
39 May 18 Orioles 7–6 (11) Stanhouse (3–1) Freisleben (1–1) 12,088 10–29
40 May 19 Orioles 4–3 Palmer (5–2) Underwood (0–6) Stanhouse (4) 18,144 10–30
41 May 20 Orioles 6–2 Martínez (6–2) Jefferson (0–3) 30,065 10–31
42 May 21 Indians 8–1 Lemanczyk (4–2) Wise (3–5) 12,260 11–31
43 May 22 Indians 8–6 Wilkins (2–2) Lemongello (1–6) Monge (5) 10,182 11–32
44 May 23 Indians 4–3 Garland (2–4) Freisleben (1–2) 20,283 11–33
– May 25 Red Sox Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for September 17
45 May 26 Red Sox 7–6 Buskey (1–0) Campbell (2–2) 31,590 12–33
46 May 27 Red Sox 1–0 Rainey (3–2) Jefferson (0–4) 33,556 12–34
47 May 28 Tigers 6–2 Morris (2–1) Lemanczyk (4–3) 10,740 12–35
48 May 29 Tigers 9–8 Tobik (1–0) Buskey (1–1) Hiller (3) 11,449 12–36
49 May 30 Tigers 8–2 Wilcox (4–2) Huffman (2–5) 21,359 12–37
50 May 31 Tigers 1–0 Underwood (1–0) Underwood (0–7) Hiller (4) 12,423 12–38
June 12–18 (Home 6–5, Away 6–13)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
51 June 1 @ Mariners 7–2 Mitchell (1–4) Jefferson (0–5) 4,113 12–39
52 June 2 @ Mariners 6–2 Lemanczyk (5–3) Jones (0–6) 8,011 13–39
53 June 3 @ Mariners 10–5 Parrott (3–1) Lemongello (1–7) 4,436 13–40
54 June 4 @ Angels 4–2 Barlow (1–1) Huffman (2–6) Clear (5) 16,979 13–41
55 June 5 @ Angels 3–0 Tanana (5–3) Underwood (0–8) 18,862 13–42
56 June 6 @ Angels 5–4 Jefferson (1–5) LaRoche (2–5) 18,835 14–42
57 June 8 @ Athletics 2–1 Buskey (2–1) Heaverlo (2–6) 2,022 15–42
58 June 9 @ Athletics 5–0 Huffman (3–6) Keough (0–8) 1,725 16–42
59 June 10 @ Athletics 12–1 Hamilton (2–0) Underwood (0–9) 2,400 16–43
60 June 11 Mariners 2–0 Lemanczyk (6–3) Bannister (3–6) 10,213 17–43
61 June 12 Mariners 5–1 Abbott (3–7) Jefferson (1–6) 12,056 17–44
62 June 13 Angels 9–8 Freisleben (2–2) LaRoche (2–6) 18–44
63 June 13 Angels 10–2 Aase (6–4) Willis (0–3) 28,577 18–45
64 June 14 Angels 10–2 Ryan (8–3) Huffman (3–7) 15,097 18–46
65 June 15 Athletics 6–0 Underwood (1–9) Hamilton (2–1) 13,124 19–46
66 June 16 Athletics 3–2 Lemanczyk (7–3) McCatty (4–2) 19,270 20–46
67 June 17 Athletics 10–9 Buskey (3–1) Heaverlo (2–7) 25,518 21–46
68 June 19 @ Yankees 5–4 Huffman (4–7) John (10–3) Buskey (1) 36,211 22–46
69 June 20 @ Yankees 2–1 Hood (2–0) Underwood (1–10) Davis (1) 22–47
70 June 20 @ Yankees 3–2 Moore (1–0) Burris (1–3) 32,129 23–47
71 June 21 @ Yankees 3–1 Tiant (3–2) Lemanczyk (7–4) Davis (2) 19,278 23–48
72 June 22 @ Red Sox 12–1 Rainey (5–4) Jefferson (1–7) Burgeier (2) 31,089 23–49
73 June 23 @ Red Sox 4–3 (11) Drago (6–3) Buskey (3–2) 34,130 23–50
74 June 24 @ Red Sox 8–4 Torrez (8–4) Huffman (4–8) 33,560 23–51
75 June 25 Yankees 3–1 Underwood (2–10) Clay (1–3) 37,612 24–51
76 June 26 Yankees 11–2 Tiant (4–2) Lemanczyk (7–5) 38,696 24–52
77 June 28 Yankees 5–3 (10) Davis (6–0) Lemongello (1–8) 39,347 24–53
78 June 29 @ Orioles 6–1 McGregor (2–2) Stieb (0–1) 24–54
79 June 29 @ Orioles 4–0 Stone (6–5) Huffman (4–9) Stanhouse (9) 20,872 24–55
80 June 30 @ Orioles 2–0 Flanagan (10–5) Underwood (2–11) 19,807 24–56
July 8–18 (Home 5–6, Away 3–12)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
81 July 1 @ Orioles 10–7 Stewart (5–2) Jefferson (1–8) Stanhouse (10) 33,592 24–57
82 July 3 @ Tigers 9–1 Moore (2–0) Billingham (7–5) 20,885 25–57
83 July 4 @ Tigers 7–6 (11) Buskey (4–2) Tobik (1–4) 13,772 26–57
84 July 5 @ Tigers 3–2 Young (2–1) Huffman (4–10) López (2) 13,199 26–58
85 July 6 @ Rangers 5–1 Underwood (3–11) Johnson (4–9) Buskey (2) 19,539 27–58
86 July 7 @ Rangers 2–0 Medich (2–3) Lemanczyk (7–6) Kern (15) 23,935 27–59
87 July 8 @ Rangers 4–3 Comer (9–6) Moore (2–1) Lyle (9) 17,489 27–60
88 July 9 Brewers 7–1 Stieb (1–1) Sorensen (10–9) 14,240 28–60
89 July 11 Brewers 2–1 (10) Slaton (9–4) Buskey (4–3) 22,523 28–61
90 July 12 Brewers 5–3 Haas (6–6) Underwood (3–12) Galasso (1) 14,207 28–62
91 July 13 Twins 6–4 Goltz (8–6) Lemanczyk (7–7) Marshall (18) 14,095 28–63
92 July 14 Twins 4–2 Stieb (2–1) Koosman (11–7) 19,187 29–63
93 July 15 Twins 9–4 Zahn (8–2) Clancy (2–6) 19,069 29–64
94 July 19 @ Brewers 3–2 (11) Castro (3–0) Buskey (4–4) 21,152 29–65
95 July 20 @ Brewers 2–0 Slaton (10–4) Underwood (3–13) 27,010 29–66
96 July 21 @ Twins 6–4 Goltz (9–6) Huffman (4–11) Marshall (19) 29–67
97 July 21 @ Twins 4–3 Hartzell (5–6) Moore (2–2) 12,887 29–68
98 July 22 @ Twins 13–1 Redfern (5–0) Lemanczyk (7–8) 18,927 29–69
99 July 23 @ Twins 7–6 Marshall (10–9) Lemongello (1–9) 7,482 29–70
100 July 25 Rangers 8–3 Stieb (3–1) Johnson (4–12) Buskey (3) 24,705 30–70
101 July 26 Rangers 8–4 Underwood (4–13) Medich (4–4) 14,605 31–70
102 July 27 Tigers 4–3 (11) López (5–2) Buskey (4–5) 23,814 31–71
103 July 28 Tigers 3–0 Lemanczyk (8–8) Robbins (0–1) 30,131 32–71
104 July 29 Tigers 5–4 Underwood (6–1) Clancy (2–7) López (8) 33,824 32–72
105 July 30 @ Royals 9–0 Gura (7–7) Stieb (3–2) 31,572 32–73
106 July 31 @ Royals 6–5 Pattin (4–2) Jefferson (1–9) Hrabosky (9) 22,156 32–74
August 11–17 (Home 6–8, Away 5–9)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
107 August 1 @ Royals 4–3 Gale (9–8) Huffman (4–12) Hrabosky (10) 24,077 32–75
108 August 3 White Sox 8–5 Trout (6–4) Moore (2–3) Farmer (5) 14,232 32–76
109 August 4 White Sox 5–2 Buskey (5–5) Wortham (11–11) 15,130 33–76
110 August 5 White Sox 5–4 Kravec (10–10) Lemanczyk (8–9) Farmer (6) 21,203 33–77
111 August 6 Royals 16–12 Mingori (3–2) Stieb (3–3) 15,108 33–78
112 August 7 Royals 3–2 Underwood (5–13) Splittorff (10–12) 23,779 34–78
113 August 9 Royals 10–3 Gura (8–8) Huffman (4–13) 20,102 34–79
– August 10 @ White Sox Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for August 11
114 August 11 @ White Sox 6–1 Kravec (11–10) Todd (0–1) Farmer (8) 34–80
115 August 11 @ White Sox 6–0 Stieb (4–3) Scarbery (2–7) 19,420 35–80
116 August 12 @ White Sox 7–0 Baumgarten (10–7) Underwood (5–14) 35–81
117 August 12 @ White Sox 7–5 Moore (3–3) Proly (1–4) Buskey (4) 14,712 36–81
118 August 13 @ Athletics 4–2 Edge (1–0) Norris (3–5) Buskey (5) 3,183 37–81
119 August 14 @ Athletics 6–2 Huffman (5–13) Minetto (1–4) 1,289 38–81
120 August 15 @ Athletics 3–1 Kingman (3–4) Jefferson (1–10) Heaverlo (9) 2,151 38–82
121 August 17 @ Angels 6–5 Stieb (5–3) Clear (10–4) 25,050 39–82
122 August 18 @ Angels 7–5 Ryan (13–8) Underwood (5–15) Clear (13) 30,361 39–83
123 August 19 @ Angels 4–2 Aase (9–8) Moore (3–4) 23,814 39–84
124 August 20 @ Mariners 7–4 Parrott (11–8) Edge (1–1) 5,642 39–85
125 August 21 @ Mariners 8–4 Montague (6–4) Huffman (5–14) McLaughlin (11) 8,376 39–86
126 August 22 @ Mariners 6–3 Honeycutt (9–9) Stieb (5–4) 7,365 39–87
127 August 24 Angels 6–4 Underwood (6–15) Knapp (3–3) Buskey (6) 18,077 40–87
128 August 25 Angels 24–2 Frost (13–8) Moore (3–5) 25,207 40–88
129 August 26 Angels 9–3 Edge (2–1) Ryan (13–10) 22,619 41–88
130 August 27 Athletics 7–0 Huffman (6–14) McCatty (8–9) 12,047 42–88
131 August 28 Athletics 6–3 Langford (10–13) Stieb (5–5) 21,736 42–89
132 August 29 Athletics 6–4 Norris (5–6) Underwood (6–16) 13,071 42–90
133 August 30 Mariners 8–2 Parrott (13–8) Moore (3–6) 11,850 42–91
134 August 31 Mariners 5–4 (11) Buskey (6–5) McLaughlin (6–5) 11,254 43–91
September 10–18 (Home 9–7, Away 1–11)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
135 September 1 Mariners 3–2 (10) Honeycutt (10–9) Buskey (6–6) 23,139 43–92
136 September 2 Mariners 8–5 Stieb (6–5) Twitchell (0–2) Jefferson (1) 14,776 44–92
137 September 3 @ Orioles 2–1 (11) Martinez (9–2) Buskey (6–7) 44–93
138 September 3 @ Orioles 5–1 Flanagan (20–7) Lemanczyk (8–10) 20,432 44–94
– September 5 @ Orioles Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for September 6
139 September 6 @ Orioles 5–0 Martínez (15–12) Edge (2–2) 7,053 44–95
140 September 7 @ Indians 9–8 Reuschel (2–1) Buskey (6–8) 4,222 44–96
141 September 8 @ Indians 5–4 Wise (15–7) Stieb (6–6) 4,439 44–97
142 September 9 @ Indians 14–10 Monge (9–9) Buskey (6–9) 9,166 44–98
143 September 11 Orioles 3–1 Underwood (7–16) McGregor (11–5) 12,092 45–98
144 September 12 Orioles 3–2 Edge (3–2) Palmer (8–6) 21,213 46–98
145 September 13 Orioles 10–4 Flanagan (22–7) Huffman (6–15) 11,080 46–99
146 September 14 Indians 4–3 Stieb (7–6) Wise (15–8) 11,010 47–99
147 September 15 Indians 5–2 Moore (4–6) Barker (6–5) 12,160 48–99
148 September 16 Indians 8–2 Underwood (8–16) Garland (4–10) 17,078 49–99
149 September 17 Red Sox 5–4 Jefferson (2–10) Drago (9–6) 50–99
150 September 17 Red Sox 5–3 Rainey (7–5) Freisleben (2–3) Campbell (9) 15,644 50–100
151 September 18 Red Sox 8–3 Torrez (15–12) Huffman (6–16) 13,208 50–101
152 September 19 Red Sox 8–0 Stanley (16–10) Stieb (7–7) 21,650 50–102
153 September 20 Red Sox 6–2 Moore (5–6) Renko (10–9) 13,201 51–102
154 September 21 Yankees 3–2 Underwood (9–16) Guidry (17–8) Buskey (7) 22,331 52–102
155 September 22 Yankees 7–4 Tiant (12–8) Edge (3–3) Gossage (16) 37,408 52–103
156 September 23 Yankees 7–5 John (20–9) Huffman (6–17) Gossage (17) 28,137 52–104
157 September 25 @ Red Sox 5–3 Stieb (8–7) Stanley (16–11) 18,929 53–104
158 September 26 @ Red Sox 6–4 Rainey (8–5) Moore (5–7) Drago (12) 18,010 53–105
159 September 27 @ Red Sox 6–5 Drago (10–6) Buskey (6–10) 20,853 53–106
160 September 28 @ Yankees 7–3 Tiant (13–8) Edge (3–4) 17,647 53–107
161 September 29 @ Yankees 9–4 John (21–9) Huffman (6–18) 30,016 53–108
162 September 30 @ Yankees 9–2 Davis (14–2) Stieb (8–8) Griffin (1) 28,150 53–109

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases

Pos Player G AB R H 2B 3B Avg. HR RBI SB
C Rick Cerone 136 469 47 112 27 4 .239 7 61 1
1B John Mayberry 137 464 61 127 22 1 .274 21 74 1
2B Danny Ainge 87 308 26 73 7 1 .237 2 19 1
3B Roy Howell 138 511 60 126 28 4 .247 15 72 1
SS Alfredo Griffin 153 624 81 179 22 10 .287 2 31 21
LF Alvis Woods 132 436 57 121 24 4 .278 5 36 6
CF Rick Bosetti 162 619 59 161 35 2 .260 8 65 13
RF Bob Bailor 130 414 50 95 11 5 .229 1 38 14
DH Rico Carty 132 461 48 118 26 0 .256 12 55 3

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases

Player G AB R H 2B 3B Avg. HR RBI SB
Otto Vélez 99 274 45 79 21 0 .288 15 48 0
Luis Gómez 59 163 11 39 7 0 .239 0 11 1
Dave McKay 47 156 19 34 9 0 .218 0 12 1
Joe Cannon 61 142 14 30 1 1 .211 1 5 12
Tony Solaita 36 102 14 27 8 1 .265 2 13 0
Bob Davis 32 89 6 11 2 0 .124 1 8 0
Tim Johnson 43 86 6 16 2 1 .186 0 6 0
Craig Kusick 23 54 3 11 1 0 .204 2 7 0
Bob Robertson 15 29 1 3 0 0 .103 1 1 0
Ted Wilborn 22 12 3 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0
Bobby Brown 4 10 1 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0
Pedro Hernández 3 0 1 0 0 0 ---- 0 0 0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player G GS IP W L ERA R ER BB K
Tom Underwood 33 32 227.0 9 16 3.69 113 93 95 127
Phil Huffman 31 31 173.0 6 18 5.77 130 111 68 56
Dave Lemanczyk 22 20 143.0 8 10 3.71 65 59 45 63
Dave Stieb 18 18 129.1 8 8 4.31 70 62 48 52
Jim Clancy 12 11 63.2 2 7 5.51 44 39 31 33
Butch Edge 9 9 51.2 3 4 5.23 32 30 24 19

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player G GS IP W L SV ERA R ER BB K
Balor Moore 34 16 139.1 5 7 0 4.84 85 75 79 51
Jesse Jefferson 34 10 116.0 2 10 1 5.51 75 71 45 43
Mark Lemongello 18 10 83.0 1 9 0 6.29 64 58 34 40

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L SV ERA R ER BB K
Tom Buskey 44 78.2 6 10 7 3.43 33 30 25 44
Dave Freisleben 42 91.0 2 3 3 4.95 57 50 53 35
Mike Willis 17 26.2 0 3 0 8.44 27 25 16 8
Jackson Todd 12 32.1 0 1 0 5.85 26 21 7 14
Tom Murphy 10 18.1 1 2 0 5.40 11 11 8 6
Dyar Miller 10 15.1 0 0 0 10.57 18 18 5 7
Jerry Garvin 8 22.2 0 1 0 2.78 9 7 10 14
Steve Grilli 1 2.1 0 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 1
Craig Kusick 1 3.2 0 0 0 4.91 2 2 0 0
Steve Luebber 1 0.0 0 0 0 inf 1 1 1 0

Awards and honours

All-Star Game

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Syracuse Chiefs International League Vern Benson
A Kinston Eagles Carolina League Duane Larson
A Dunedin Blue Jays Florida State League Denis Menke
A-Short Season Utica Blue Jays New York–Penn League John McLaren
Rookie Medicine Hat Blue Jays Pioneer League Dennis Holmberg

[10]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball, Stephen Brunt, p. 125, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-023978-2
  2. ^ "1979 Toronto Blue Jays Trades and Transactions". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  3. ^ Diamond Dreams, p. 136
  4. ^ "1979 Toronto Blue Jays Trades and Transactions". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  5. ^ "1979 Toronto Blue Jays Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft".
  6. ^ Ron Shepherd at Baseball Reference
  7. ^ Ron Romanick at Baseball-Reference
  8. ^ Andre Robertson at Baseball-Reference
  9. ^ Blue Jays All-Stars | bluejays.com: History
  10. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

References

External links

1979 MLB season by team
Toronto Blue Jays
Categories