2002–09: The J. P. Ricciardi and Roy Halladay era Toronto Blue Jays

1 2002–09: j. p. ricciardi , roy halladay era

1.1 2002 season
1.2 2003 season
1.3 2004 season
1.4 2005 season
1.5 2006 season
1.6 2007 season
1.7 2008 season
1.8 2009 season

2002–09: j. p. ricciardi , roy halladay era
2002 season

the blue jays started 2002 season slow progress in performance. buck martinez fired third of way through season, 20–33 record. replaced third base coach carlos tosca, experienced minor league manager. went 58–51 under tosca finish season 78–84. roy halladay relied on team s ace , rose challenge of being team s top pitcher, finishing season 19–7 record , 2.93 era. hitters led once again carlos delgado. promising young players assigned key roles; starting third baseman eric hinske won rookie of year award @ season s conclusion, , 23-year-old centre fielder vernon wells had first 100 rbi season.

team record 2002: 78 wins–84 losses, w%- 0.481, 25.5 games behind division leader, third in division

2003 season

toronto blue jays logo (2003)

the 2003 season surprise both team management , baseball analysts. after poor april, team had successful month ever in may. carlos delgado led majors in rbi, followed closely wells. despite hitting successes, poor pitching continued plague team. halladay exception, winning first cy young award, going 22–7, 3.25 era. in july, shannon stewart traded minnesota twins bobby kielty, outfielder lower batting average stewart s. although jays finished in third place in division, delgado second in voting american league mvp award. in off-season, kielty traded oakland athletics starter ted lilly.

team record 2003: 86 wins–76 losses, w%- 0.531, 15 games behind division leader, third in division

2004 season

toronto blue jays logo (2004–2011)

the 2004 season disappointing year blue jays right beginning. started season 0–8 @ skydome , never started lengthy winning streak. of due injuries all-stars carlos delgado, vernon wells , roy halladay among others. although additions of starting pitchers ted lilly , miguel batista , reliever justin speier relatively successful, veteran pat hentgen faltered throughout season , retired on july 24. rookies , minor league callups david bush, jason frasor, josh towers , others filled void in rotation , bullpen; however, inconsistent performances evident. team struggling in last place , mired in five-game losing streak, manager carlos tosca fired on august 8, 2004, , replaced first base coach john gibbons. long-time first baseman carlos delgado became free agent in off-season. nevertheless, prospects russ adams, gabe gross, , alex ríos provided excitement fans. rookie pitchers david bush, gustavo chacín , jason frasor showed promise club s future. blue jays lone mlb all-star game representative lilly.

team record 2004: 67 wins–94 losses, w%- 0.416, 33.5 games behind division leader, fifth in division

2005 season

after 2004 season, fieldturf replaced astroturf rogers centre s playing surface.

skydome renamed rogers centre , extensively renovated. blue jays had start 2005 season. led al east mid-april , held record around .500 until late august. jays hit injury bug when third baseman corey koskie broke finger, taking him out of line-up, club pleasantly surprised performance of rookie call-up aaron hill in stead. on july 8, prior all-star break, blue jays ace roy halladay struck on shin line drive, resulting in fractured leg. though halladay s injury hoped minor, recovery process met constant delays, , eventually, out rest of season. prior injury, blue jays in serious wild card contention, fell out of playoff race. team received glimpses of future september call-ups guillermo quiróz, john-ford griffin, , shaun marcum. marcum made himself noteworthy posting era of 0.00 on 5 relief appearances , 8 innings in september. josh towers stepped up, showing largely unseen potential going 7–5 2.91 era in second half of season.

team record 2005: 80 wins–82 losses, w%- 0.494, 15 games behind division leader, third in division

2006 season

in 2006, team experienced successful season in years. on july 2, troy glaus, vernon wells, roy halladay, b. j. ryan, , alex ríos picked represent blue jays @ all-star game. largest number of blue jay all-stars selected game since 1993. team played in critical month of september, going 18–10. this, combined slumping of boston red sox, enabled blue jays take sole possession of second place in american league east end of season. marked first time jays had finished above third place in division since world championship season of 1993, , wins since 1998 season. on december 18, blue jays announced had re-signed centre fielder wells seven-year contract worth $126 million, came effect after 2007 season.

team record 2006: 87 wins–75 losses, w%- 0.537, 10 games behind division leader, second in division

2007 season


dustin mcgowan pitching blue jays in 2007

the 2007 season blighted persistent injuries, 12 blue jays landing on disabled list. serious injury of b. j. ryan, out entire season having had tommy john surgery. prior season, team signed starting pitchers john thomson, tomo ohka, , víctor zambrano; each of them released before end of season. however, young starters shaun marcum , dustin mcgowan had break-out years, 12 wins each. on june 24, mcgowan pitched complete game one-hitter. on june 28, frank thomas became 21st major league player hit 500 career home runs. aaron hill had break-out year, setting team record second baseman 47 doubles.

team record 2007: 83 wins–79 losses, w%- 0.512, 13 games behind division leader, third in division

2008 season

the blue jays 2008 season featured strong pitching staff, led major leagues 3.49 era. of season, however, team struggled hit home runs , drive in runs. on may 24, starter jesse litsch set team record, 38 consecutive innings without giving walk. on june 20, following five-game losing streak , jays in last place in al east, management fired john gibbons , several members of coaching staff, , re-hired cito gaston. meanwhile, alex ríos had 32 stolen bases, making him first blue jay 30 since 2001. on september 5, roy halladay earned 129th career win, moving him second spot on toronto s all-time wins list. halladay came second in voting cy young award, after posting 20–11 record , 2.78 era.

team record 2008: 86 wins–76 losses, w%- 0.531, 11 games behind division leader, fourth in division

2009 season

blue jays pitcher roy halladay

the 2009 season saw addition of 2 new patches on blue jays uniforms: on right arm, bright red maple leaf (part of canadian flag), , on left arm, small black band ted written on it, in reference late team owner ted rogers, died in off-season.

on opening day @ rogers centre, blue jays, led roy halladay, beat detroit tigers 12–5. aaron hill , roy halladay both had excellent years , represented blue jays @ 2009 all-star game in st. louis. jays started season well, posting 27–14 record, afterwards jays fell nine-game losing streak , never able recover remainder of season. in mid-august, gm j. p. ricciardi allowed chicago white sox claim alex ríos off waivers. 2 games remaining in disappointing season, ricciardi fired on october 3. replaced assistant general manager alex anthopoulos.

despite 75-win season, jays saw strong return of aaron hill, won american league comeback player of year award , silver slugger second base. adam lind, had strong season, earned silver slugger designated hitter.

team record 2009: 75 wins–87 losses, w%- 0.463, 28 games behind division leader, fourth in division




^ bastian, jordan (july 2, 2006). 5 jays named al all-star squad . mlb. retrieved june 18, 2007. 
^ blue jays announce ricciardi leaving club tsn. accessed on october 3, 2009.
^ bastian, jordan (october 3, 2009). ricciardi out blue jays gm . mlb. retrieved october 3, 2009.