Matt Boyd, Paul Kilgus, Dale Murray, Travis Snider and Pat Tabler all have birthdays today.
There are five former Blue Jays who have birthdays today.
First, Matthew Boyd turns 34 today.
Boyd was a left-handed pitching prospect for the Jays. On our 2015 Top 40 Prospect list, we had him at #15. He was a lefty who didn’t throw all that hard but mixed in a breaking ball and a change.
In 2015, he made a couple of spot starts for us. They didn’t go well. He gave up 4 runs in 6.2 innings against the Rangers on June 27. Then, on July 2, he gave up 7 earned without getting an out against the Red Sox.
On July 30, Alex traded him, Daniel Norris, and Jairo Labourt to the Tigers for David Price.
Matthew’s injury troubles in 2021 limited him to 15 starts (good ones, 3.89 ERA). Before the 2022 season, he signed with the Giants but never pitched for them and was traded to the Mariners in August. He made 10 relief appearances for them (and one in the ALDS). He played for the Tigers, again, in 2023 and the Guardians last year. He signed a one-year deal with the Cubs in January.
In his career he is 46-69 with a 4.85 ERA in 182 games and 168 starts.
Paul Kilgus turns 63 today.
Kilgus came up with the Rangers and then was traded to the Cubs in a big 9-player trade, bringing him over to the Cubs. The Cubs got lefty relievers Steve Wilson, Mitch Williams, and infielder Curt Wilkerson. Jamie Moyer, Drew Hall, and a young first baseman named Rafael Palmeiro went to Texas. Palmeiro would go on to hit 569 homers in his career.
I remember thinking Kilgus could be a good fifth starter for us. Unfortunately, Kilgus had an injury-filled season, and they banished him to Baltimore after the season. He’d have a season with the Cardinals and then was out of baseball.
Dale Murray turns 75 today.
He played two seasons for the Jays, posting a 2.92 ERA in 67 games and making 11 saves in 1981 and 1982.
After the 1982 season, he was part of one of the best trades in Blue Jays’ history. He and Tom Dodd would go to the Yankees for Dave Collins, Fred McGriff, and Mike Morgan (and cash). McGriff would become one of the Jays’ all-time best players (and now, finally, a Hall of Famer). He was part of the trade that brought us Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter. Teams have been overpaying for relievers for a long time. Without the Murray trade, seeing our path to the World Series is hard.
Murray played for the Yankees for two seasons, plus three games of a third. He had a 4.73 ERA in 62 games and 1 save. After the Yankees, he played one game for the Rangers and was out of baseball.
Murray played in the majors for 12 seasons with six teams, Expos, Reds, Mets, Expos again, Jays, Yankees, and Rangers. He had a 3.95 ERA in 518 games, just 1 start and 60 saves.
Travis Snider turns 37 today.
You know the story. Travis was our top prospect for many years. Baseball Prospectus ranked him the fifth-best prospect in baseball in 2009, seventh-best in 2008, and 40th-best in 2007.
He would go on to play parts of 5 seasons with the Jays. In 242 games, he hit .248/.306/.429 with 31 homers.
In 2012, he was traded to the Pirates for reliever Brad Lincoln. He played three seasons for the Pirates, then they sent him to the Orioles, and then he went back to the Pirates. After that, he’s been in the Royals, Rangers, Mets, Diamondbacks, Marlins, and Braves systems.
In 8 major league seasons, he has a .244/.311/.395 line with 54 homers in 630 games.
I think of him the same way I think of Dalton Pompey. The team thought or knew something about them that we didn’t. They did or didn’t do something that the team didn’t like. Neither got an extended chance with the team, while other players got several opportunities. Somewhere, there is an alternate universe where Snider and Pompey play the outfield for us.
Snider speaks and writes about youth sports and how to parent your young athlete.
Pat Tabler turns 67 today.
Tabler had a 12-year MLB career. He played 1202 games and hit .282/.345/.379 in 1202 games. I thought he was overrated as a player. He had a 3.1 bWAR total in those 12 years and didn’t have the power you would like from a first baseman/left fielder.
His last two seasons were with the Blue Jays, 1991 and 1992, so he owns a World Series ring thanks to his time with us. He hit .231/.313/.278 in 131 games in those two seasons, primarily playing first base. Naturally, those aren’t the numbers you want to see from a first baseman.
We all know his claim to fame is his batting line with bases loaded. In 109 PA, he hit .489/.505/.693 with 2 home runs and 108 RBI. He was good with RISP, too, .317/.388/.432.
Pat won’t be back in the broadcast booth this year. I wasn’t his biggest fan, but he did have his moments. I liked him talking about how a rookie getting his first hit would keep the ball forever, and Dan asked him about the ball from his hit (this was when Pat was doing the games from home). Pat went and got his ball and showed it to us.
Happy birthday, Matt, Paul, Dale, Travis, and Pat. I hope you all have a great day.