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Trivia Challenge Rolaids Relief Men of Not the Year
Speaking of saves...


...who are the Toronto Blue Jays top ten in career saves as a Blue Jay among pitchers who have never led the team in saves during any season? No fair looking it up.
Posted by Matthew E on Thursday, August 12 2010 @ 05:58 PM EDT.
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Nigel - Thursday, August 12 2010 @ 06:33 PM EDT (#220584) #

That is a seriously tough question.  I have a few names that I think are right and then three more that are guesses at best.  Here goes for the likely list - Scott Downs, Mark Eichorn, Paul Quantrill and Jim Acker.  For the guesses let me try Dennis Lamp and David Wells.  For the wild ass guesses how about Jimmy Key.  That's all I've got.   I think the key here is to think about pichers with some longevity in high leverage but not closer roles.

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Brian W - Thursday, August 12 2010 @ 06:36 PM EDT (#220585) #
I'll throw in a few names (most of them probably wrong): Timlin, Quantrill, Plesac, Frasor, Eichhorn, Downs, David Wells, Caudill.


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Matthew E - Thursday, August 12 2010 @ 06:54 PM EDT (#220587) #
Between the two of you you've got six of them:

1. Downs (16)
2T. Quantrill (15)
2T. Eichhorn (15)
5. Acker (14)
6T. Wells (13)
6T. Lamp (13)

Missing another guy tied for 2nd, another guy tied for 6th, and two guys tied for 9th.

(And Key, Timlin, Caudill, and Frasor all led the team in saves in various years.)
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Moe - Thursday, August 12 2010 @ 07:30 PM EDT (#220589) #
One that could be missing is Politte. He was the closer for a while in 03 (I believe -- he would have taken over from Escobar). But he may have let the team. More recent ones I can't think of. Janssen picked up a few but I doubt enough to be on the list. So I would guess we are looking at the early years, well before my time.
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Matthew E - Thursday, August 12 2010 @ 07:36 PM EDT (#220590) #
1. Downs (16)
2T. Quantrill (15)
2T. Eichhorn (15)
5. Acker (14)
6T. Wells (13)
6T. Lamp (13)
6T. Politte (13)
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Nigel - Thursday, August 12 2010 @ 07:56 PM EDT (#220592) #

I'm guessing here but two more names that might fit the profile - Tony Castillo and Roy Lee Jackson.  No clue if Jackson ever led the team in saves.

Just mentioning the name Roy Lee Jackson brings up the walk off loss in extra innings to Detriot that I can still remember today as if it was yesterday (even though it was 26 years ago).

 

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Matthew E - Thursday, August 12 2010 @ 08:54 PM EDT (#220594) #
Both of those guys did lead the team in saves for a season.
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Forkball - Thursday, August 12 2010 @ 09:12 PM EDT (#220598) #
Corey Thurman?
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Matthew E - Thursday, August 12 2010 @ 09:54 PM EDT (#220601) #
Nope. The three still missing include two guys from the early early years and one guy from the mid-to-late '80s.
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Forkball - Thursday, August 12 2010 @ 10:03 PM EDT (#220602) #
Nevermind.  I was thinking of someone in the same time frame (who I later looked up).
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Jonny German - Thursday, August 12 2010 @ 10:11 PM EDT (#220603) #
It surprises me that Justin Speier only had 7 saves as a Blue Jay. Always liked that guy.
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Dave Till - Thursday, August 12 2010 @ 10:14 PM EDT (#220604) #
What about Gary Lavelle?

The two in the early years - I dunno. Did Victor Cruz ever lead the Jays in saves?

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ayjackson - Thursday, August 12 2010 @ 10:19 PM EDT (#220606) #
Bill Caudill?  Jeff Musselman?
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Ducey - Thursday, August 12 2010 @ 10:34 PM EDT (#220607) #
John Cerutti?
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Mick Doherty - Thursday, August 12 2010 @ 10:57 PM EDT (#220608) #

This is one of the truly great trivia questions ever posted here. How'd you come up with the answer, anyway? BBRef somehow?

My first thought was an early Jay, Joey McLaughlin, but he may well have led the team at some point.

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Moe - Thursday, August 12 2010 @ 11:12 PM EDT (#220609) #
I find the save totals very telling. Non-designated closers can basically not get a save even if they are the best reliever on the team (e.g. Downs in the past 2-3 seasons).

But what is almost as interesting is how far this goes back. People always say the well-defined closer role is relatively new and complain how much managers are slaves to the save stat. But the top guy on the list is actually from the present. Although Downs was the designated closer for a short period.
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Moe - Thursday, August 12 2010 @ 11:26 PM EDT (#220610) #
Oh, and since this is so much fun, we could repeat this with home runs maybe. All time leaders in HR without ever having lead the team in a given year.

Would be players who were with the team for a long time and always had 15-20 HRs. Aaron Hill would have been the perfect candidate (not now, when he is done) if he would have not this crazy year last year. So maybe Ernie Whitt?
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AWeb - Friday, August 13 2010 @ 07:43 AM EDT (#220614) #
Robert Person?
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Matthew E - Friday, August 13 2010 @ 08:59 AM EDT (#220615) #
Lavelle is correct. Caudill, already guessed, led the team in saves in '85. Musselman and Cerutti didn't make the top ten. McLaughlin led the team in saves in, oh, '82 or '83. Person didn't make the top ten. Only missing the two guys from the early years now.

Mick: Thanks. Yeah, I went to the Toronto page, then to the list of everyone who ever pitched for the Jays, sorted by Saves, and mentally eliminated everyone who had led the team in any year.

Has anyone put together the similar list for home runs? I'd guess, oh, Moseby, Olerud, Alomar, White, Whitt as mentioned above, Overbay, Cruz, maybe Upshaw...
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James W - Friday, August 13 2010 @ 09:43 AM EDT (#220616) #
I'd guess, oh, Moseby, Olerud, Alomar, White, Whitt as mentioned above, Overbay, Cruz, maybe Upshaw...

I just put together a list. Upshaw led the Jays in homers in 1982 and tied with Barfield in 1983. Other than that, you got:

1. Moseby (149)

2. Whitt (131)

3. Cruz (122)

4. (119)

5. (114)

6. Olerud (109)

7. (83)

8. (81)

9. (78)

10. Overbay (76)

White hit 72, Alomar hit 55.

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Moe - Friday, August 13 2010 @ 09:50 AM EDT (#220617) #
The top 5 for HRs:
1. Moseby (149)
2. Whitt (131)
3. Cruz (122)
4. Green (119)
5. Gruber (114)

I'd somehow forgotten Moseby when I guessed Whitt although he fits the profile perfectly. Long time Jay, steady number of HR but never a season over 30 (26 max in '87).

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Moe - Friday, August 13 2010 @ 09:52 AM EDT (#220619) #
Sorry, typed too slow and didn't see James' post in time. Still some work left though.


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Magpie - Friday, August 13 2010 @ 09:54 AM EDT (#220620) #
Has anyone put together the similar list for home runs? I'd guess, oh, Moseby, Olerud, Alomar, White, Whitt as mentioned above, Overbay, Cruz, maybe Upshaw...

Made a post of it...
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Dufour - Friday, August 13 2010 @ 12:08 PM EDT (#220674) #
First post here. Been meaning to join for a while.

How about Vukowich? Not too sure if he led, but I know he had 8 saves with the Jays in 78 I believe?
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Matthew E - Friday, August 13 2010 @ 01:40 PM EDT (#220681) #
Vuckovich led the team in '77.

The last ones have been guessed over in the sister thread to this one, the home runs question; it was Mike Willis and Tom Murphy.

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