History Toronto Blue Jays

1 history

1.1 1977–1994: pat gillick era

1.1.1 1977–1981
1.1.2 1982–84
1.1.3 1985: first al east title
1.1.4 1986–88
1.1.5 1989–1991: cito gaston takes charge, 2 more al east titles
1.1.6 1992–93: world series champions

1.1.6.1 1992: canada s first world series title
1.1.6.2 1993: back-to-back champs


1.1.7 1994 season


1.2 1995–2001: gord ash era

1.2.1 1995–2000
1.2.2 2000–01


1.3 2002–09: j. p. ricciardi , roy halladay era

1.3.1 2002 season
1.3.2 2003 season
1.3.3 2004 season
1.3.4 2005 season
1.3.5 2006 season
1.3.6 2007 season
1.3.7 2008 season
1.3.8 2009 season


1.4 2010–2015: alex anthopoulos , josé bautista era

1.4.1 2010 season
1.4.2 2011 season
1.4.3 2012 season
1.4.4 2013 season
1.4.5 2014 season
1.4.6 2015: return playoffs, al east champions


1.5 2016–present: ross atkins , josh donaldson era

1.5.1 2016 season
1.5.2 2017 season
1.5.3 2018 season

history

1977–1994: pat gillick era
1977–1981

the original toronto blue jays logo (1977–1996)

the blue jays played first game on april 7, 1977 against chicago white sox before home crowd of 44,649. game perhaps best remembered minor snowstorm began before game started. toronto won snowy affair 9–5, led doug ault s 2 home runs. win 1 of 54 of 1977 season, blue jays finished last in al east, record of 54–107. after season, assistant general manager pat gillick succeeded peter bavasi general manager of team, position hold until 1994.

in 1978, team improved record 5 games, remained last, record of 59–102. in 1979, after 53–109 last place finish, shortstop alfredo griffin named american league co-rookie of year. in addition, blue jays first mascot, bj birdy, made debut in 1979.

in 1980, bobby mattick became manager, succeeding roy hartsfield, blue jays original manager. in mattick s first season manager, although remained @ bottom, toronto reached 70-win mark, finishing record of 67–95, 14-win improvement on 1979. jim clancy led 13 wins , john mayberry became first jay hit 30 home runs in season.

in strike-divided season of 1981, blue jays finished in last place in al east in both halves of season. dismal 16–42 in first half, improved dramatically, finishing 48-game second half @ 21–27, combined record of 37–69.

1982–84

under new manager bobby cox, toronto s first solid season came in 1982 finished 78–84. pitching staff led starters dave stieb, jim clancy, , luis leal, , outfield featured young lloyd moseby , jesse barfield. 1982 blue jays first season outside bottom, finished sixth in east out of 7 teams.

in 1983, blue jays compiled first winning record, 89–73, finishing in fourth place, 9 games behind eventual world series champions, baltimore orioles. first baseman willie upshaw became first blue jay have @ least 100 rbis in season.

the blue jays progress continued in 1984, finishing same 89–73 record, time in distant second place behind world series champion, detroit tigers. after 1984, alfredo griffin went oakland athletics, giving permanent spot young dominican shortstop tony fernández, become fan favourite many years.

1985: first al east title

dave stieb has second highest number of wins among pitchers in 1980s.

in 1985, toronto won first championship of sort: first of 6 american league east division titles. blue jays featured strong pitching , balanced offence. tony fernández excelled in first full season, , veteran pitcher doyle alexander led team 17 wins, including division-clinching complete game win. mid-season call of relief pitcher tom henke proved important. finished 99–62 (the franchise record wins), 2 games in front of new york yankees. blue jays faced kansas city royals in american league championship series (alcs), , took 3 games 1 lead (known drive of 85 ). however, kansas city won 3 consecutive games win series 4–3, on way first world series championship.

after playoffs, al manager of year, bobby cox, left blue jays become general manager of atlanta braves, team managed.

1986–88

with jimy williams skipper, blue jays not duplicate success in 1986, sliding fourth-place tie @ 86–76. jesse barfield , george bell led way 40 , 31 home runs, respectively, while jim clancy, mark eichhorn, , jimmy key tied team wins lead 14 each.

in 1987, blue jays held 3½-game lead week go in season, lost last 7 in row finish 2 games of detroit tigers, getting swept on last weekend tigers. blue jays finished 96–66 record, second best in major leagues, no avail. however, george bell (.308 avg, 47 hr, 134 rbi) named al s valuable player (mvp), first blue jay named so.

in 1988, however, toronto not duplicate successes of previous season. tied milwaukee brewers third in division @ 87–75, 2 games behind division champion boston red sox. still, season had numerous highlights. first baseman fred mcgriff hit 34 home runs, , dave stieb had back-to-back starts in lost no-hitter 2 out , 2 strikes in ninth inning.

1989–1991: cito gaston takes charge, 2 more al east titles

the toronto blue jays cap logo (1977–1996)

in 1989, blue jays new retractable roofed home, skydome, opened in mid-season. marked beginning of extremely successful five-year period team. in may, management fired manager jimy williams , replaced him cito gaston, team s hitting instructor. club had dismal 12–24 record @ time of firing, went 77–49 under gaston win al east title 2 games, 89–73 record. on may 28, george bell s walk-off home run, off of chicago white sox closer bobby thigpen, marked end of exhibition stadium era. first game @ new stadium took place on june 5 against milwaukee brewers; jays lost 5–3. in 1989 alcs, rickey henderson led world series champion oakland athletics 4–1 series win.

in 1990, blue jays again had strong season, finished in second place, 2 games behind boston red sox. dave stieb pitched no-hitter, beating cleveland indians 3–0 in front of less capacity crowd @ cleveland municipal stadium. of 2014, remains no-hitter ever pitched blue jay. during offseason, blue jays made 1 of 2 biggest trades in franchise history, sending all-star shortstop tony fernández , first baseman fred mcgriff san diego padres in exchange outfielder joe carter , second baseman roberto alomar. jays obtained centre fielder devon white california angels. these deals, particularly trade san diego, instrumental in team s future success.

carter, alomar , white prove extremely effective additions, blue jays again won division in 1991, carter drove in alomar division-winning run. once again, however, fell short in postseason, losing minnesota twins, on way second world series victory in 5 seasons, in alcs. in 1991, blue jays became first major league club ever draw on 4 million fans in 1 season.

team record 1989: 89 wins–73 losses, w%- 0.549
team record 1990: 86 wins–76 losses, w%- 0.531, 2 games behind division leader
team record 1991: 91 wins–71 losses, w%- 0.562

1992–93: world series champions
1992: canada s first world series title

the blue jays have hung series of banners atop rogers centre video board. @ time picture taken, there 6 banners hanging. 4 white banners represent team s 1985, 1989, , 1991 division championships , 1991 all-star game played in toronto. 2 dark blue banners represent both world series championship teams. since then, banners honouring elections of former team executive pat gillick , former second baseman roberto alomar baseball hall of fame have been added along 1 celebrating blue jays 2015 division championship. alomar s banner includes #12 on it, making him first blue jays player receive honour of having jersey number retired. team has 2 light blue banners 1992 , 1993 american league pennants no longer display them.

after 1991 season had ended, blue jays acquired pitcher jack morris, had led minnesota twins victory in world series pitching 10-inning complete game shutout in game 7 , had been named world series mvp. add veteran leadership explosive offence, toronto signed dave winfield team s designated hitter.

the 1992 regular season went well, jays clinched second straight al east crown final record of 96–66, 4 games ahead of milwaukee brewers. went entire season without being swept in series, becoming first team in 49 years accomplish feat. blue jays met oakland athletics (who had same record jays , won al west 6 games on defending champion twins) in alcs, winning 4 games two. pivotal game of series game 4, considered many 1 of important games in blue jays history: blue jays rallied 6–1 deficit after 7 innings, capped off roberto alomar s huge game-tying two-run homer off s closer dennis eckersley in top of ninth. paved way 7–6 victory in 11 innings, 3-games-to-1 lead in series , eventual 4–2 alcs series win.

the blue jays faced atlanta braves in world series. braves returned after being beaten twins previous year. pivotal game in series turned out game 2, in reserve player ed sprague hit 9th-inning two-run home run off braves closer jeff reardon give blue jays 5–4 lead, hold up. after winning game 3 candy maldonado s ninth inning rbi hit , game 4 due jimmy key s superb 7⅓ inning pitching effort in retired 15 straight batters (five innings), jays not win series on home turf braves struck 7–2 win in game 5. game 6 in atlanta, blue jays leading 3 games 2, close game. toronto 1 strike away winning in bottom of 9th inning, 2–1, otis nixon singled in tying run off blue jays closer tom henke. first run toronto bullpen had given in series. game decided in 11th inning, when dave winfield doubled down left-field line, driving in 2 runs. braves again come within 1 run in bottom of 11th, jays reliever mike timlin fielded otis nixon s bunt, throwing joe carter @ first base final out. blue jays became first team based outside of united states win world series. pat borders, jays catcher, unlikely player named mvp after hitting .450 1 home run in world series. oddly, morris acquired in large part reputation clutch postseason pitcher, went 0–3 in playoffs. morris, however, pitched in regular season, becoming blue jays first 20-game winner, record of 21–6 , era of 4.04.

team record 1992: 96 wins–66 losses, w%- 0.593

1993: back-to-back champs

after 1992 season, blue jays let world series hero dave winfield , longtime closer tom henke go, signed 2 key free agents: designated hitter paul molitor milwaukee brewers , perennial playoff success dave stewart oakland athletics.

in 1993, blue jays had 7 all-stars: outfielders devon white , joe carter, infielders john olerud , roberto alomar, designated hitter molitor, plus starting pitcher pat hentgen, , closer duane ward. in august, jays acquired former nemesis rickey henderson athletics. blue jays cruised 95–67 record, 1 less win 1992 , 7 games ahead of new york yankees, winning third straight division title. jays beat chicago white sox 4 games 2 in alcs, , philadelphia phillies, 4 games two, second straight world series victory. world series featured several exciting games, including game 4, played under slight rain, in blue jays came 14–9 deficit win 15–14 , take 3 games 1 lead in series. remains highest scoring game in world series history. game 6 in toronto saw blue jays lead 5–1, give 5 runs in 7th inning trail 6–5. in bottom of 9th inning, joe carter hit one-out, three-run walk-off home run clinch series off of phillies closer mitch williams. second world series–winning walk-off home run in history of major league baseball (following bill mazeroski s in game 7 in 1960), carter s hit differed first in toronto, while not facing elimination, trailing in bottom of 9th. home run memorable late blue jays broadcaster tom cheek s call:

– tom cheek, late blue jays radio play-by-play announcer

molitor named world series mvp after hitting .500 in series. in regular season, 3 blue jays—olerud, molitor , alomar—finished 1–2–3 al batting crown, led olerud s franchise record .363 average. first time in 100 years top 3 hitters in league same team.

team record 1993: 95 wins–67 losses, w%- 0.586

1994 season

expectations high blue jays 1994 season, following back-to-back championships, slumped 55–60 record , third-place finish (16 games of new york yankees) before players strike. first losing season since 1982. joe carter, paul molitor , john olerud enjoyed years @ plate, pitching fell off. juan guzmán slumped considerably first 3 years (40–11, 3.28 era), finishing 1994 @ 12–11 5.68 era. 3 young players, alex gonzalez, carlos delgado , shawn green, did show promise future. @ time of strike, fellow canadian cousins, montreal expos, had best record in majors, leading consider possibility of canadian three-peat in 1994.

labatt breweries bought belgian-based brewer interbrew (which, in 2004, merged ambev become inbev), making blue jays second baseball team owned interests outside of north america, after blue jays expansion cousins, seattle mariners (by nintendo of america, american division of japanese consumer electronics , software company).

team record 1994: 55 wins–60 losses, w%- 0.478, 16 games behind division leader

1995–2001: gord ash era
1995–2000

on october 31, 1994, pat gillick, longtime blue jays general manager, resigned , handed reins of team toronto native gord ash, lead team in tumultuous era yet.

in 1995 season, blue jays proved had lost contending swagger of past 12 years. although had of same cast of world series teams, blue jays freefell dismal 56–88 record, last place in al east, 30 games behind boston red sox.

1996 mediocre year blue jays, despite pat hentgen s cy young award (20–10, 3.22 era). ed sprague had career year, hitting 36 home runs , driving in 101 runs. however, team s 74 wins did put them in 4th place, improving on last place finish in 1995.

toronto blue jays logo (1997–2002)

the blue jays started 1997 high hopes. not did jays drastically change uniforms, signed former boston red sox ace roger clemens $24,750,000 contract. clemens had 1 of best pitching seasons ever won pitcher s triple crown, leading american league record of 21–7, 2.05 era, , 292 strikeouts. not enough lead blue jays postseason, however, finished in last place second time in 3 years record of 76–86. cito gaston, longtime manager led team 4 division titles , 2 world series crowns, fired 5 games before end of season. season did provide unique experience fans advent of interleague play, when blue jays faced canadian rival, montreal expos, first official games between 2 teams.

before start of 1998 season, blue jays acquired closer randy myers , slugger jose canseco. gaston replaced former blue jay tim johnson, relative unknown manager. despite mediocre hitting, strong pitching led clemens second straight pitching triple crown (20–6, 2.65 era, 271 strikeouts) sparked blue jays 88–74 record—their first winning season since 1993. however, enough finish distant third, 26 games behind new york yankees, posted 1 of greatest records in of baseball history @ 114–48. were, however, in contention wildcard spot until final week.

before 1999 season, blue jays traded clemens yankees starting pitcher david wells, second baseman homer bush , relief pitcher graeme lloyd. fired manager tim johnson during spring training after lied several things (including killing people in vietnam war) motivate players. blue jays had been willing stand johnson. blizzard of questions credibility during spring training, however, led ash fire him less month before opening day. johnson replaced jim fregosi, managed phillies when lost blue jays in 1993 world series. offence picked in 1999, pitching suffered without clemens, blue jays finished @ 84–78, in third place. after 1999 season, blue jays original mascot 20 years, bj birdy, replaced duo named ace , diamond.

on november 8, 1999, toronto traded star outfielder shawn green los angeles dodgers left-handed relief pitcher pedro borbón , right-fielder raúl mondesí. green had told jays not re-signing when contract @ end of year (he wished play closer home in southern california).

2000 proved similar season, jays had 83–79 record, out of wild card race slim 4½ games of three-time defending world series champion yankees in al east, first time since 1993 had contended division. carlos delgado had stellar year, hitting .344 41 home runs, 57 doubles, 137 rbi, 123 walks , 115 runs. in addition, 6 other players hit 20 or more home runs, outstanding feat.

2000–01

on september 1, 2000, rogers communications inc. purchased 80% of baseball club $160 million, interbrew (later inbev) maintaining 20% interest , canadian imperial bank of commerce relinquishing 10% share. rogers acquired 20% owned interbrew , has full ownership of team.

the 2001 season marked 25th anniversary of franchise s inception. buck martinez, former catcher , broadcast announcer blue jays, took on manager before season began. blue jays had disappointing season, team fell under .500, finishing @ 80–82, mediocre pitching , hitting. delgado led team again 39 home runs , 102 rbi. after 2001 season ended, blue jays fired gord ash, ending seven-year tenure general manager.

j. p. ricciardi, director of player development under oakland athletics general manager billy beane, named blue jays general manager , expected slash payroll immediately, stem tide of red ink. during off-season, team traded or let go several popular players, including alex gonzalez, paul quantrill, brad fullmer , closer billy koch let talented youngsters such eric hinske , felipe lópez chance develop major leaguers.

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

2010–2015: alex anthopoulos , josé bautista era
2010 season

2010 alex anthopoulos first full season general manager of jays.

in off-season, jays ace roy halladay traded philadelphia phillies kyle drabek, travis d arnaud, , michael taylor; taylor traded oakland athletics brett wallace. team s significant free agent signings of catcher john buck , shortstop Álex gonzález.

the 2010 season surprising 10-win improvement on last season. career year josé bautista, hit 54 home runs, breaking george bell s franchise record of 47. in doing so, became 26th player reach 50 home runs , first since alex rodriguez , prince fielder achieved feat in 2007. blue jays set franchise record home runs in single season hit 257, 13 more previous record of 244 set 2000 blue jays. blue jays tied 1996 baltimore orioles third home runs team in single season. 7 players (josé bautista, vernon wells, aaron hill, adam lind, lyle overbay, john buck, , edwin encarnación) hit 20 home runs or more throughout season, tying mlb record set 4 teams, including 2000 blue jays.

on july 14, jays traded Álex gonzález , 2 minor league prospects—left-handed pitcher tim collins , shortstop tyler pastornicky—to atlanta braves jo-jo reyes , yunel escobar.

on august 7, catching prospect j. p. arencibia made major league debut. went 4-for-5 2 home runs, including home run hit on first pitch saw. next day, starting pitcher brandon morrow came within 1 out of no-hitter, finishing 17 strikeouts in complete game one-hitter.

team record 2010: 85 wins–77 losses, w%- 0.525, 11 games behind division leader, fourth in division

2011 season


jays right fielder josé bautista in 2011

led new manager john farrell, 2011 blue jays finished .500 record. after signing five-year $64 million contract extension, josé bautista followed record-setting 2010 season arguably better season. finished major league-leading 43 home runs, along 103 rbi, 132 walks, , .302 average. rookie j. p. arencibia had successful year, setting blue jays single-season record 23 home runs catcher. in august, third base prospect brett lawrie made major league debut , hit .293 9 home runs, 4 triples, , 25 rbi, in 43 games.

starting pitcher , ace ricky romero led team 15 wins , 2.92 era. became all-star first time in career. other starting pitchers inconsistent, , farrell used 12 different starters on course of season. jon rauch , frank francisco, both acquired in off-season, shared closer role. both struggled through first half of season, though francisco improved in last 2 months of season, , had 6 saves in september.

on july 31, blue jays retired first number, roberto alomar s #12, 1 week after alomar became first hall of famer inducted blue jay.

team record 2011: 81 wins–81 losses, w%- 0.500, 16 games behind division leader, fourth in division

2012 season

the 2012 season injury-plagued year blue jays, having used 31 total pitchers, set franchise record. in june, 3 starting pitchers (brandon morrow, kyle drabek, , drew hutchison) lost injury in span of 4 days, 2 of whom required tommy john surgery; in addition, starters dustin mcgowan , jesse litsch missed entire season due injury. in second half of season, key players in toronto s line-up, including all-star josé bautista, missed significant amount of playing time due injury, sending team freefall , culminating in 73–89 record. despite underachievements of ricky romero , adam lind, casey janssen established himself reliable closer (22 sv, 2.52 era) , edwin encarnación developed 1 of league s best power hitters (.280 avg, 42 hr, 110 rbi).

on april 5, 2012 team opened on road in cleveland, beat indians 7–4 in 16 full innings,during game set record of longest opening-day game in major league history.the previous record of 15 innings had been set washington senators , philadelphia athletics on april 13, 1926, , tied detroit tigers , indians on april 19, 1960.

on april 20, jays turned triple play against kansas city royals in 4–3 win. first triple play turned since september 21, 1979.

team record 2012: 73 wins–89 losses, w%- 0.451, 22 games behind division leader, fourth in division

2013 season

during offseason, toronto blue jays traded farrell boston red sox per wishes, , former manager john gibbons returned manage blue jays. jays made blockbuster trade miami marlins, leading series of other blockbuster trades , signings, including new york mets national league cy young winner r.a. dickey , free agents including melky cabrera. on june 8, blue jays played then-longest game in franchise history innings, winning 4–3 in 18 innings against visiting texas rangers, broken 1 season later. jays matched franchise record of 11 consecutive wins in 13–5 home win on baltimore orioles on june 23. however, jays had losing season overall.

team record 2013: 74 wins–88 losses, w%- 0.457, 23 games behind division leader, fifth in division, 17.5 games behind al wild card cutoff, eighth in al wild card

2014 season

pitcher roy halladay signed one-day contract blue jays before retiring baseball, citing injuries. jays had nine-game win streak may 20 28, wins in 18 of 21 between may 15 , june 6. on august 10, blue jays played longest game in franchise history both time , innings, winning 6–5 in 19 innings , playing 6 hours, 37 minutes against visiting detroit tigers.

team record 2014: 83 wins–79 losses, w%- .512, 13 games behind division leader, third in division, 5 games behind al wild card cutoff, sixth in al wild card

2015: return playoffs, al east champions

the blue jays celebrate after clinching american league east in 2015; went far alcs, lose against eventual world series-winning kansas city royals.

during off-season, jays signed toronto-born catcher russell martin through free agency. jays acquired marco estrada, devon travis, all-star third baseman josh donaldson, , michael saunders in trades. jays claimed justin smoak, andy dirks, , chris colabello off waivers. however, dirks, along john mayberry jr., non–tendered; jays later signed dirks minor league contract. melky cabrera , brandon morrow left through free agency , juan francisco claimed off waivers boston red sox.

the jays later traded josé reyes , pitching prospects miguel castro, jeff hoffman, , jesus tinoco colorado rockies all-star shortstop troy tulowitzki , reliever latroy hawkins. 2 days later, acquired all-star pitcher david price detroit tigers in exchange pitching prospects daniel norris, matt boyd, , jairo labourt.

the jays had 2 11-game winning streaks during season. on september 25, blue jays clinched playoff berth, ending longest active playoff drought in north american professional sports (see list of major league baseball franchise postseason droughts). subsequently claimed al east division title on september 30, after defeating baltimore orioles 15–2 in first game of doubleheader.

the blue jays faced texas rangers in alds. after losing back-to-back home games, won next 3 games in row take five-game series, advancing alcs; three-game comeback series victory had not been accomplished since 2012 san francisco giants. during game 5 of series in toronto, blue jays right fielder josé bautista executed andrew keh of new york times described possibly ostentatious bat flip in mlb history after hitting go-ahead, three-run home run off rangers relief pitcher sam dyson. bautista wrote article bat flip published in november 2015 in players tribune.

the blue jays faced kansas city royals in alcs, losing series 4–2 in kansas city; royals win world series.

after playoffs, donaldson named al mvp, becoming first blue jay win award since george bell in 1987.

team record 2015: 93 wins–69 losses, w%- .574

2016–present: ross atkins , josh donaldson era
2016 season

josh donaldson slides second base during first game of 2016 alds

upon expiration of paul beeston s contract, mark shapiro replaced him president of blue jays. alex anthopoulos resigned 2 months after hiring of shapiro. ross atkins subsequently took place.

during off-season, david price left blue jays through free agency, signing boston red sox, while blue jays signed j. a. happ.

on march 4, 2016, infielder maicer izturis announced retirement baseball. few weeks later, brad penny , rafael soriano, both veterans under minor league contract blue jays, retired baseball well.

on may 15, 2016, blue jays , texas rangers brawled against each other in arlington, texas. brawl happened when matt bush threw pitch @ jose bautista, bautista made illegal slide, , rougned odor punched bautista. bautista later suspended 1 game.

on may 31, 2016, blue jays traded jason grilli atlanta braves.

before non-waiver trade deadline @ 4 pm edt on august 1, 2016, blue jays traded joaquín benoit, melvin upton jr., scott feldman, , francisco liriano.

on august 25, 2016, blue jays re-acquired popular backup catcher dioner navarro in trade chicago white sox. done before august 31 trade deadline making navarro eligible on postseason roster.

on october 2, 2016, blue jays clinched first wild card berth detroit tigers loss atlanta braves.

on october 4, 2016, blue jays defeated baltimore orioles in american league wild card game in innings, via walk-off three-run home run edwin encarnación in bottom of 11th inning.

on october 9, 2016, blue jays completed sweep of texas rangers in american league division series advance american league championship series second consecutive year.

on october 19, 2016, blue jays eliminated world series contention 3–0 loss cleveland indians in game 5 of american league championship series.

team record 2016: 89 wins–73 losses, w%- .549

2017 season

roberto osuna during 2017 season

on november 11, 2016, announced toronto had signed designated hitter kendrys morales three-year, $33 million deal. contract became official on november 18.

on december 5, 2016, steve pearce signed two-year, $12.5 million contract toronto.

on january 5, 2017, edwin encarnación signed three-year, $60 million contract cleveland indians.

on january 18, 2017, bautista signed one-year, $18 million contract blue jays. contract includes $17 million mutual option 2018 season, $20 million vesting option 2019. following day, michael saunders signed philadelphia phillies. however, in late june, phillies released saunders , jays signed him minor league contract.

on april 2, 1 day before start of regular season, melvin upton jr. released.

by end of april, jays had worst record in of mlb.

on july 2, jays traded grilli texas rangers eduard pinto.

pearce hit 2 walk-off grand slams in span of 3 days: 1 against oakland athletics on july 27 , against los angeles angels on july 30, latter of ultimate grand slam.

the blue jays wearing special red-and-white uniforms @ select games during 2017 season 150th anniversary of canada.

team record 2017: 76 wins–86 losses, w%- .469, 17 games behind division leader, fourth in division, 9 games behind al wild card cutoff, eighth in al wild card

2018 season

the blue jays have declined mutual option on josé bautista, allowing him enter free agency.