|
1999 Toronto Blue Jays Season
The 1999 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 23rd season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing third in the American League East with a record of 84 wins and 78 losses. The team set a franchise record for most runs scored in a season (883) and hits in a season (1,580). The previous Blue Jays records for most runs scored and most hits in a season were set in 1993 when the Jays scored 847 runs and collected 1,556 hits. Conversely, the Blue Jays pitching staff gave up the most runs of any Blue Jays team since 1979. It was the team's final season with original mascot BJ Birdy. Offseason *October 27, 1998: Craig Grebeck was signed as a free agent with the Toronto Blue Jays. * December 23, 1998: Rob Butler signed as a free agent with the Toronto Blue Jays. * February 18, 1999: Roger Clemens was traded to the New York Yankees in exchange for former Blue Jay David Wells and second baseman Homer Bush. *March 14, 1999: Norberto Martin was signed as a free ... [...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 Major League Baseball postseason, 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 pla ... [...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 voice o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Felipe Crespo
Felipe Javier Crespo (born March 5, 1973) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball utility player, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for three different teams between and . Listed at 5'11, 195 lb., he was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed. Crespo is the older brother of César Crespo. Career Crespo was originally drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the third round of the 1990 Major League Baseball Draft. He began his professional career in the minor leagues in 1991, and spent the next five full seasons there. Crespo reached the majors in 1996 with the Blue Jays, playing for them until before joining the San Francisco Giants (-), and Philadelphia Phillies (2001). His most productive season came in 2000 with San Francisco, when he hit .290, with four home runs, and 29 runs batted in (RBI), in 89 games – all career-highs. On June 7, 2001, Crespo hit two home runs for the Giants, while his brother César hit his first major league homer with the San Diego Pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norberto Martin
Norberto Enrique "Paco" Martin McDonald (born December 10, 1966) is a former professional baseball infielder. He played seven seasons in Major League Baseball from 1993 to 1999. Career The White Sox signed him on March 27, 1984, though it would be nearly a decade before he made his MLB debut. Primarily a shortstop, Martin worked his way up through the minors but was plagued by injuries, which made him miss significant time in 1986. Entering 1991, he was ranked No. 4 on the White Sox top 10 prospect list (per Baseball America). In 1993, Martin had a great season, hitting .309 and being voted best defensive second baseman in the American Association by Baseball America. Martin’s MLB debut finally came Sept. 20, 1993 when he pinch ran for Frank Thomas and scored a run on a Robin Ventura double. The first hit came Sept. 28 – a single off Tim Leary. The next day, in only his fifth MLB game and seventh MLB plate appearance, he recorded his second hit - a walk-off single in the 12 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homer Bush
Homer Giles Bush (born November 12, 1972) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played for the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Florida Marlins of Major League Baseball from 1997 to 2002 and in 2004. He was a part of the Yankees' 1998 World Series championship over the San Diego Padres. High school football star Bush attended East St. Louis High School in East St. Louis, Illinois, and was a standout wide receiver. He is mentioned periodically in a book titled "The Right Kind Of Heroes" written by Kevin Horrigan. The book details Coach Bob Shannon and the remarkable success of the East St. Louis Flyers football program in 1989 and 1990. Throughout the book, Bush is referenced as the team's "go to" player, as well as a likeable person. Bush still holds the Illinois State High School football records for most touchdowns scored in a single season and most receiving yards in a single season. He was also named to the All-Century team for Illinoi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Wells
David Lee Wells (born May 20, 1963) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams, most notably the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. Nicknamed "Boomer", Wells was considered one of the league's top left-handed pitchers during his career and made three All-Star appearances. In 1998, he pitched the 15th perfect game in baseball history. Wells also appeared in the postseason as a member of six teams, tied for the most with Kenny Lofton, and won two World Series titles. Following his 2007 retirement, Wells served as a broadcaster for MLB on TBS and was the host of '' The Cheap Seats'' on FOXSports.com. Early life Wells was born in Torrance, California. His parents were never married. He was thus raised by his mother, Eugenia, a member of Hell's Angels also known as "Attitude Annie." Wells grew up with the belief that his father, David Pritt, was dead. However, at the age of 22, he learned that Pritt was alive a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1999 New York Yankees Season
The 1999 New York Yankees season was the 97th season for the Bronx-based Major League Baseball team. The team finished with a record of 98–64 finishing 4 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox. New York was managed by Joe Torre. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium. In the playoffs, they got to the World Series and defeated the Atlanta Braves in 4 games to win their 25th World Series title. By winning their 25th World Series, the New York Yankees became the most successful team in North America, a record previously held by the NHL's Montreal Canadiens. In that year, free-to-air broadcasts returned to WNYW, the which had been the first Yankees television broadcaster in 1947, while cable broadcasts continued on MSG. Offseason *November 10, 1998: Scott Brosius resigned as a free agent with the New York Yankees. *November 11, 1998: David Cone resigned as a free agent with the New York Yankees. *November 25, 1998: Bernie Williams resigned as a free agent with the New York Yankees. *Febr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roger Clemens
William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. Clemens was one of the most dominant pitchers in major league history, tallying 354 wins, a 3.12 earned run average (ERA), and 4,672 strikeouts, the third-most all time. An 11-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion, he won seven Cy Young Awards during his career, more than any other pitcher in history. Clemens was known for his fierce competitive nature and hard-throwing pitching style, which he used to intimidate batters. Clemens debuted in MLB in 1984 with the Red Sox, whose pitching staff he anchored for 12 years. In 1986, he won the American League (AL) Cy Young Award, the AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, and the All-Star Game MVP Award, and he struck out an MLB-record 20 batters in a single game. After the 1996 season, in which he achieved his sec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rob Butler (baseball)
Robert Frank John Butler (born April 10, 1970) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Phillies. He is also a former player with the Toronto Maple Leafs (semi-pro baseball), Toronto Maple Leafs of the Intercounty Baseball League. Major League career Butler first signed with the Blue Jays as an amateur free agent on September 24, 1990, and made his major league debut with them . on June 12, 1993. He played in 17 regular season games and was sidelined by a hand injury he suffered when attempting to stolen base, steal a base. In his 17-game stint in 1993, he had a .271 batting average (baseball), batting average with four doubles, two runs batted in, RBIs and 12 strikeouts. He also drew seven base on ball, walks and went 2-for-4 stealing bases. In the 1993 World Series, won by Toronto, Butler went 1-for-2 with a pinch hit single (baseball), single off Curt Schilling of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Craig Grebeck
Craig Allen Grebeck (born December 29, 1964) is an American former professional baseball middle infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox, Florida Marlins, Anaheim Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, and Boston Red Sox. In 1989, Grebeck led the Southern League with 153 base hits. Grebeck was mainly used as a backup in his career. Known for not wearing batting gloves, he hit .261, 19 home runs, 187 RBIs, and 518 hits in 752 major league games. Grebeck hit his first major league home run off of Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, who then proceeded to plunk Grebeck in his ribs the following week, breaking a rib. As a member of the White Sox, the , 148 lb Grebeck had his locker right in between two of the biggest men in MLB history, Frank Thomas and Bo Jackson. He started the 2001 season with the Red Sox while Nomar Garciaparra was out with a wrist injury. Grebeck was nicknamed 'The Little Hurt to our offense' by White Sox announcer Ken Harrelson Kenne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BJ Birdy
Over the years, the Toronto Blue Jays have created three full-time mascots, all of which portray the bird for which the team was named. BJ Birdy was the team mascot from 1979 to 1999. For the 2000 season, BJ was replaced by Ace and Diamond, two new characters. Diamond was dropped at the end of the 2003 season, leaving Ace the sole mascot. In recent years, Ace has been joined on an occasional basis by Junior. This happens on "Junior Jays Sundays", formerly "Junior Jays Saturdays". Eras BJ Birdy (1979–1999) Kevin Shanahan was an employee of Ontario Place, a theme park attraction run by the provincial government of Ontario, located on Toronto's lakeshore across from municipally-run Exhibition Place, site of Exhibition Stadium, the team's home field at the time. As a University of Toronto student, Shanahan designed and performed in a moose costume at the park, to replace the more "motley-looking thing" they already had.The new moose cost $700 to make, whereas the Jay cost $250 to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major league status. It is sometimes called the Junior Circuit because it claimed Major League status for the 1901 season, 25 years after the formation of the National League (the "Senior Circuit"). At the end of every season, the American League champion plays in the World Series against the National League champion; two seasons did not end in playing a World Series (1904, when the National League champion New York Giants refused to play their AL counterpart, and 1994, when a players' strike prevented the Series). Through 2021, American League teams have won 66 of the 117 World Series played since 1903, with 27 of those coming from the New York Yankees alone. The New York ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> BJ Birdy")
.jpg "Click for more on -> American League")