Blue Bird Banter

Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images Russell Martin is on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time. Martin played 14 seasons in the MLB, five with the Dodgers, two with the Yankees, two with the Pirates, four with our Jays and one last season with the Dodgers again. He hit .248/.349/.397 in 1693 games, with 191 home runs, 101 steals, 1416 hits and a 38.8 bWAR. … [Read more...] about Hall of Fame Poll: Russell Martin

Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images I would skip Ian Kinsler, but he had a decent career. He played 14 MLB seasons, most of them with the Rangers (eight years), but he also played with the Tigers (four years), Angels, Red Sox and Padres (one season each). In 1888 games, he hit .269/.337/.440 with 1999 hits, 257 home runs and 243 stolen bases with 54.1 bWAR. Ian got MVP … [Read more...] about Hall of Fame Poll: Ian Kinsler

Photo by UPI/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Former Blue Jays player Otto Velez turns 74 today. The Jays picked Otto up from the Yankees in the Major League expansion draft in 1976. The Jays were awful that first year, finishing with a 54-107 record. They didn’t get much better in the years Otto was with the team. But he was pretty good (at least with the bat). In 1977, … [Read more...] about Happy Birthday Otto Vélez

Photo by Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Happy Thanksgiving to those of you on the other side of the border. I’m enjoying the football this morning. The Jays, frustratingly, continue to refuse to give us any news to talk about, and I’m not a big fan of discussing the generally made-up rumours, but we are where we are: The Jays are one of five teams … [Read more...] about Thursday Bantering: Rumours

Rick Madonik/Toronto Star via Getty Images And the Jays sign B.J. Ryan and Kevin Gausman Ten years ago The Jays made a trade for Josh Donaldson. Scott wrote: If you’re reading this, you most certainly know about the trade that became official a short time ago between the Toronto Blue Jays and Oakland Athletics. Brett Lawrie, Franklin Barreto, Kendall Graveman, and Sean … [Read more...] about Today in Blue Jays History: The Jays Trade for Donaldson