1989 Toronto Blue Jays (est. 1977)

[rpriske]

June 30th, 1989

The Red Sox took the lead early and never gave it up, beating the Blue Jays 7-3.

Joseph Prost and Rickey Henderson homered for Toronto.

WP - Mike Moore (7-5)
LP - Rodger Bland (4-5)

Record - 29-50

[rpriske]

Jim Kane of Cornwall was named the Pitcher of the Month for his AAA league.

JUNE AWARDS

PITCHER - Duane Ward, Mariners & Don Robinson, Cardinals

HITTER - Jose Cruz, Orioles & Barry Bonds, Cardinals

ROOKIE - Brian Holman, Mariners & Greg Hibbard, Mets



TRADE

To BRAVES

Marvin Wagner
Israel Sanchez
Daniel Bass
Tom Prince
Cory Murdoch

To BLUE JAYS

Jack Foreman
Phil Burch
Randy Growcott
Mark Pierce
$68,000

All minor leaguers

Sent to AAA: Sergio Martinez

Called Up: Jerry Fry

[rpriske]

July 1st, 1989

The Red Sox jumped out to a five run lead in the 1st but the Jays never laid down and ended up getting a 9th inning walk-off, 8-7 win after Sam Wilson tripled and scored on a Mauro Morin sac fly.

WP - Anthony Peterson (2-1)
LP - Les Lancaster (0-2)

Record - 30-50

[rpriske]

All-Star Voting Update: Spike Owen and Sam Wilson lead at their positions. Ryan Sandberg is in second and Michael Klinger is in 3rd.

Howard Richmond is sent to AAA.

Orel Hershiser has been recalled.

[rpriske]

July 2nd, 1989

Mike Marshall went 2 for 4 with a home run and 3 RBI as the Jays beat the Red Sox 6-3.

Fred Turner also homered for Toronto.

Spike Owen left the game with a sore hip. We are told he will just need a couple of days off.

WP - Dave Stieb (7-8)
Save - Lee Smith (6)
LP - Jeffrey Pagan (1-3)

Record - 31-50

[rpriske]

Jorge Cook signed a minor league contract.

Players of the Week: Tom Gordon, A's & Kurt Stillwell, Braves

The Blue Jays held at #24 on the Weekly Power Rankings.

[rpriske]

July 3rd, 1989

The Jays scored three time sent he first before being completely shut down and destroyed 11-3 by the Red Sox.

Greg green left the game with a strained back. He will likely miss up to a week.

WP - Bob Patterson (1-1)
Save - Steve Crawford (3)
LP - Orel Hershiser (2-10)

Record - 31-51

[rpriske]

TRADE

Rickey Henderson demanded a trade. We complied. We don't want malcontents.

To WHITE SOX

Rickey Henderson
Robert Moss
Parker Morris

To BLUE JAYS

Jose Oquendo (CWS retain small amount of contract)
Tex Hill
Vern Munson
Patrick Curtis
Dennis Martin


This was part of another deal...

TRADE

To CUBS

Jack Foreman
Patrick Curtis
Tex Hill
$23,000

To BLUE JAYS

Jose Flores
Todd Burns
Chance Downs
Roy Shields
Owen Twomey


Then...

TRADE

To RANGERS

Rob Warren

To BLUE JAYS

David Penn
Kevin Thompson
Chris Balcome
Jose Rodriguez
Kelly Abrams

Oquendo joins the Jays.

[rpriske]

July 4th, 1989

It always seems odd to play the Fourth of July game in Toronto, but the Jays provided any American viewers with some fireworks anyway as multiple lead changes ended in a come from behind, 9th inning, walk-off, 7-6 win for the Jays over the Orioles!

Nolan Ryan left the game with back stiffness in the 4th but it is believed he will be ready for his next start.

WP - Antonio Gonzalez (4-1)
LP - Jose Medine (0-9)

Record - 32-51

[rpriske]

July 5th, 1989

An exciting, back-and-forth game ended in a huge, walk-off, two-run triple by Spike Owen and a 9-8 win for the Jays over the Orioles!

Sam Wilson went 2 for 3 with two doubles and two walks, scoring twice.

WP - Lee Guetterman (1-0)
LP - Jose Medine (0-10)

Record - 33-51

[rpriske]

July 6th, 1989

The comeback fell short as the Jays lost 5-4 to the Orioles.

Ryne Sandberg hit his 15th home run of the year.

WP - Pablo Lopez (2-7)
Save - Jose Medine (14)
LP - Steve Ray (2-3)

Record - 33-52

[rpriske]

TRADE

To TWINS

Robinson Lopez
Kirt Manwaring
Owen Twomey
Greg Cadaret
Sergio Martinez

To BLUE JAYS

Tony Lyon
Mark McDaniel
Emmet Barnes
Manny Quintero
Juan Davila
Chance Sanders
Tracy Boyd
Harry Harvey
Jeff Brooks
David Madison

This deal saves the Jays nearly $380,000 and trades a pitcher (Lopez) who was set to be a free agent at the end of the year.

Sanders and Lyon join the Jays.
Bob Allen and Steve Ray go to AAA.

[rpriske]

July 7th, 1989

This was a rough game and not just because the Jays lost 9-3 to the Tigers.

Tony Lyon his his first home run as a Jay but later left the game with back tightness. We are told he will only miss a day or two, but the bigger worry is the Toronto workhorse, Dave Stieb. He left the game with pain in his shoulder and we are waiting for word on his prognosis.

WP - Terry Clark (4-9)
LP - Anthony Peterson (2-2)

Record - 33-53

[rpriske]

Barry Jones is sent to AAA.

Jim Acker is called up.

[rpriske]

July 8th, 1989

A battered and weary Blue Jay team hung tight but the Tigers got the 9th inning, walk-off win, beating Toronto 3-2.

WP - Jeff Parrett (4-1)
LP - Jim Acker (0-2)

Record - 33-54

[rpriske]

Burt McKnight and Roger Schultz signed minor league deals.

Spike Owen was voted onto the All-Star Team!

Also representing the Jays will be Michael Klinger and Sam Wilson!

No Toronto prospects will be at the Prospect Game.

[rpriske]

July 9th, 1989

Nolan Ryan sends the Blue Jays into the All-Star Break by pitching a 3-0 shut out over the Tigers!

Joseph Prost left the game after tweaking his hamstring. He may need a few more days that just the break, but he won't need DL time.

WP - Nolan Ryan (6-6)
LP - Rick Reuschel (2-2)

Record - 34-54

[rpriske]

Mark Carreon of Stratford was named Player of the Week for his A league.

For the Bigs it was Cesar Ramirez, Brewers & Mike Greenwell, Braves

The Blue Jays slipped a spot to #25 on the Weekly Power Rankings, ahead of only the Royals.

Ron Hassey was activated from the DL!

TRADE

To EXPOS

Mauro Morin
Ramiro Gonzalez

To BLUE JAYS

Khachatur Abkhazi (MTL retains 15% of contract)
Fernando Garcia
Adrian Clarke
Warren Gibbons
Duane Cook

Abkhazi joins the Jays.

Fred Turner is sent to AAA.

[rpriske]

Dave Stieb has a strained shoulder and will need to miss about a month.

Howard Richmond is called up from AAA.

[rpriske]

ALL-STAR GAME

The NL beat the AL 6-4. Barry Bonds of the Cardinals was named MVP.

Michael Klinger pitched one inning, giving up three runs, and was saddled with the loss.

Sam Wilson started in LF and went 0 for 2 with a walk.

Spike Owen played the whole game at SS and went 1 for 4 with a single and a run scored.