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1996 Toronto Blue Jays Season
The 1996 Toronto Blue Jays season was the 20th season in franchise history. The season involved the Blue Jays finishing fourth in the American League East with a record of 74 wins and 88 losses. The Blue Jays had a losing record for the third consecutive season. Offseason * December 6, 1995: Howard Battle and Ricardo Jordan were traded by the Blue Jays to the Philadelphia Phillies for Paul Quantrill. * December 7, 1995: Otis Nixon was signed as a free agent by the Toronto Blue Jays. * December 14, 1995: Charlie O'Brien was signed as a free agent by the Blue Jays. * December 20, 1995: Mike Huff was signed as a free agent by the Blue Jays. * January 16, 1996: Juan Samuel was signed as a free agent by the Blue Jays. * February 10, 1996: Dane Johnson was signed as a free agent by the Blue Jays. * February 22, 1996: Frank Viola signed as a free agent with the Toronto Blue Jays. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American League East
The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before the start of the season along with the American League West division. Before that time, each league consisted of 10 teams without any divisions. Four of the division's five teams are located in the Eastern United States, with the other team, the Toronto Blue Jays, in Eastern Canada. It is currently the only division that contains a non-American team. At the end of the MLB season, the team with the best record in the division earns one of the AL's six playoff spots. The most recent team to win this division was the New York Yankees in . History Baseball writers have long posited that the American League East is the toughest division in MLB; during its 50-year existence, an AL East team has gone on to play in the World Series 27 times, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerry Howarth
Jerry Howarth (born March 12, 1946) is an American Canadian former sports commentator, best known as the radio play-by-play voice of the Toronto Blue Jays from 1981 through the 2017 season. Howarth had shared the play-by-play duties with his late longtime broadcast partner Tom Cheek from 1982 until 2005, then served as the play-by-play announcer until announcing his retirement before the start of spring training 2018 due to ongoing health concerns. Early career Born in York, Pennsylvania, and raised in San Francisco, California, Howarth grew up an avid sports fan. He graduated with a degree in Economics from the University of Santa Clara in 1968, then served two years as an officer in the U.S. Army. He launched his career as a sportscaster in 1974 by calling play-by-play action for AAA baseball's Tacoma Twins of the Pacific Coast League, as well as basketball and football for the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. In 1976, Howarth became the play-by-play voi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Viola
Frank John Viola Jr. (born April 19, 1960) is an American former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Minnesota Twins (1982–1989), New York Mets (1989–1991), Boston Red Sox (1992–1994), Cincinnati Reds (1995), and Toronto Blue Jays (1996). A three-time All-Star, he was named World Series MVP with the Twins in 1987 and won the AL Cy Young Award in 1988. He is the pitching coach of the High Point Rockers. He batted and threw left-handed, and he was nicknamed "Sweet Music" – a nickname he picked up after a Minnesota sports writer declared that when Viola pitched, there was "Sweet Music" in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. The nickname was a play on the fact that his last name is also a name of a musical instrument, although pronounced differently. A fan began displaying a banner bearing the phrase in the outfield's upper deck whenever Viola pitched. Twins fans considered the banner to be a good luck charm. The banner is now the property of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dane Johnson
Dane Edward Johnson (born February 10, 1963) is an American former professional baseball coach and former pitcher. He played parts of three seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, and Oakland Athletics. Career Johnson attended St. Thomas University and was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 2nd round of the 1984 amateur draft. He played at various levels of the minor league organization from 1984 to 1989. In 1990 he played for the Brother Elephants of the Chinese Professional Baseball League, and in 1991 he played for the Mercuries Tigers. He returned to minor league baseball in 1993, playing in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, starting with the Double-A El Paso Diablos and later with the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs. He made his major league debut in 1994 with the White Sox, and spent the entire 1995 season with their Triple-A affiliate, the Nashville Sounds. In 1996 Johnson returned to the Toronto organization, making a brief a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Juan Samuel
Juan Milton Samuel (born December 9, 1960) is a Dominican former professional baseball second baseman / outfielder, who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), for the Philadelphia Phillies (1983–1989), New York Mets (1989), Los Angeles Dodgers (1990–1992), Kansas City Royals (1992, 1995), Cincinnati Reds (1993), Detroit Tigers (1994–1995), and Toronto Blue Jays (1996–1998). A three-time National League (NL) All-Star, he appeared in the 1983 World Series with the Phillies. Samuel served as interim manager for the Baltimore Orioles during the 2010 MLB season, as well as many years in the MLB coaching ranks. Known widely for his unique combination of speed and power, Samuel was inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame, in 2010. Baseball career In a 16-season playing career, Samuel was a .259 hitter with 161 home runs and 703 RBI in 1,720 games. Samuel was originally signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Philadelphia Phillies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Huff
Michael Kale Huff (born August 11, 1963) is an American former professional Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder who played for several teams between 1989 and 1996. Amateur career A native of Honolulu, Hawaii, Huff played college baseball at Northwestern University. In 1984, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Professional career He was drafted in the sixteenth round (402nd overall) in the 1985 Major League Baseball Draft. Over his career in the majors, Huff played outfield with the Dodgers, Indians, White Sox, and Blue Jays from 1989 to 1996. Huff was a member of the 1993 Western Division Champion White Sox. Broadcasting career He occasionally served as a television broadcast announcer for the Chicago White Sox, filling in for regular announcers Ken Harrelson Kenneth Smith Harrelson (born September 4, 1941), nicknamed "The Hawk" due to his distinctive profile, is an American former professional baseball ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charlie O'Brien
Charles Hugh O'Brien (born May 1, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Oakland Athletics (1985), Milwaukee Brewers (1987–90), New York Mets (1990–93), Atlanta Braves (1994–95), Toronto Blue Jays (1996–97), Chicago White Sox (1998), Anaheim Angels (1998–99) and Montreal Expos (2000). O'Brien was a solid defensive catcher and a modest right-handed batter. He is best remembered for pioneering the hockey-style catcher's mask, which he created while with the Blue Jays. During his tenure with the Braves, O'Brien was notable for being the personal catcher for Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux. Amateur career O'Brien grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, beginning to play baseball as a catcher at the age of 5. While growing up in Tulsa, O'Brien attended and graduated from Bishop Kelley High School. The Texas Rangers drafted O'Brien in the 14th round of the 1978 MLB draft, but did not sign him. O' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Otis Nixon
Otis Junior Nixon (born January 9, 1959) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1983), Cleveland Indians (1984–87), Montreal Expos (1988–90), Atlanta Braves (1991–93, 1999), Boston Red Sox (1994), Texas Rangers (1995), Toronto Blue Jays (1996–97), Los Angeles Dodgers (1997), Minnesota Twins (1998) and a final return to the Atlanta Braves (1999), in a career that spanned from 1983 to 1999. Nixon stole more bases than any other player during the 1990s (478). He also has the most career stolen bases (620) for a player who never appeared in an MLB All-Star game since the All-Star Game began in 1933. Career In the minor leagues, Nixon led the league twice in stolen bases ( in the South Atlantic League with 67 & in the International League with 94), runs scored (1980 in the South Atlantic League with 124 & 1983 in the International League with 129), hits (162 in 1983 in the International ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Quantrill
Paul John Quantrill (born November 3, 1968) is a Canadian former professional baseball right-handed relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 14 seasons, from 1992 to 2005; his longest tenure was six seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays. Quantrill appeared in 80 or more games five times, led his league in pitching appearances for four consecutive seasons, and did not walk more than 25 batters in a season from 1996 onwards. Career Quantrill was drafted in 1986 MLB draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 26th round, 660th overall, but did not sign. After three years at the University of Wisconsin he was drafted again, by the Boston Red Sox in the sixth round of the 1989 MLB draft, 161st overall, and made his major league debut on July 20, 1992. Originally considered a starter, Quantrill eventually found consistency as a reliever after several years of splitting time between the bullpen and the starting rotation for several teams. Some of his best years came for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citizens Bank Park, located in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. Founded in 1883, the Philadelphia Phillies are the oldest continuous same-name, same-city franchise in all of American professional sports. The Phillies have won two World Series championships (against the Kansas City Royals in and the Tampa Bay Rays in ), eight National League pennants (the first of which came in 1915), and made 15 playoff appearances. As of November 6, 2022, the team has played 21,209 games, winning 10,022 games and losing 11,187. Since the first modern World Series was played in , the Phillies have played 120 consecutive seasons and 140 seasons since the team's 1883 establishment. Before the Phillies won their first World Series in 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ricardo Jordan
Ricardo Jordan (born June 27, 1970) is a former Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ... pitcher. He played parts of four seasons in the majors, from until , for four teams. Jordan was strictly a relief pitcher during his career, making 69 career appearances. He won five games and his one MLB save came on July 31, 1995. He recorded the final out of the game, preserving a 6-3 Blue Jays victory over the Orioles. Following his career, Jordan became involved with drugs, and in 2007 was sentenced to seven years in prison for drug trafficking. Deseret News, March 7, 2007 |
Howard Battle
Howard Dion Battle (born March 25, 1972) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball. Battle spent parts of three seasons in the majors with the Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos .... Battle attended Mercy Cross High School in Biloxi, MS. External links Howard Battleat SABR (Baseball BioProject)Howard Battleat Baseball AlmanacHoward Battleat Baseball LibraryHoward Battleat Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League) 1972 births Living people African-American baseball players Albuquerque Dukes players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Philadelphia Birmingham Barons players Carden ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
