Now that we are deep into the offseason and dreaming of the future, lets see how the Jays have done at various positions in the past and who has had the most amazing season by various measures. Also do any of our new players have a shot at breaking these records?
There are a variety of ways to do this. Some do career value, but for this I'm going by the best individual seasons with at least 81 games at the position, plus 502 PA in Jays history (ie: nothing from 1981/1994 or via platoon guys) or 81 games, 400 PA for catchers. I don't care if the guy played here for 1 year (IE: Jose Canseco) or most of his career (IE: George Bell), if he did it over one season it counts. Now, some methods (like OPS+) are rate stats so to use those I'll make a minimum of 300 PA so strike years and guys who came up late or platooned could qualify, just for fun. To qualify for a position at least 50%+1 of his games played had to be at that position.
Catcher...19 qualified seasons (JPA was just shy in 2012)
Best...
OPS: Darrin Fletcher 2000 at 869, #2 is his 1999 season then Ernie Whitt in 1983 and John Buck 2010 covers all 800+ seasons
OPS+: Darrin Fletcher 2000 115
bWAR: Whitt 1983 3.2
fWAR: Whitt 1983 3.8 (6 times over 3)
Note: cutting to a 300 PA cut off adds a few more 800 OPS seasons - Myers 2003, Zaun 2006, Borders 1990 (blind squirrel).
Worst...
OPS: Alan Ashby 1977 574, then Darrin Fletcher 2001 (yes, the year following his setting the record) 627. Rick Cerone, Pat Borders (twice) and Rod Barajas all had sub-700 OPS seasons too
OPS+: Darrin Fletcher 2001 63,
bWAR: Borders 1993 -0.3 (Ashby was positive in 1977)
fWAR: No negatives, worst I could find was Fletcher 2001 0.5 (among qualifiers - there are negatives in short stays such as JPA's first callup).
Note: with 300 PA you can add in Rick Cerone 1978 579 OPS and a few Pat Borders seasons in the low 600's (1991/1994 with 92/93 also sub 700). There are worse seasons by WAR (both versions) but with sub-400 PA
First base...29 qualifying seasons, 8 players
Best...
OPS: Carlos Delgado 2000 1.134 - other 1000 OPS seasons were Olerud 1993, Delgado 2003. 6 of top 7 are Delgado, next 3 are McGriff, Willie Upshaw at #12 is highest non-Delgado/Olerud/McGriff
OPS+: Olerud 1993 186, Delgado 2000 181
bWAR: Olerud 1993 7.4, Delgado 2000 6.9
fWAR: Olerud 1993 8.4 (in 98 he did that again...stupid stupid Ash creature), Delgado 2000 7.5, McGriff '88 7.2
Worst...
OPS: Willie Upshaw 1986 707, with Upshaw 87, Lind 2011, and John Mayberry 1978 sub 750 as well.
OPS+: Upshaw 87 in 87
bWAR: Mayberry 78 -0.8, Lind 2011 -0.2, Upshaw always positive as a regular.
fWAR: Mayberry 78 0.3, Lind 2011 0.5. Upshaw's worst was 1987 1.7
Second base...19 seasons, 8 players (4 one year guys)
Best...
OPS: Roberto Alomar 1993 898, also over 800: Tony Fernandez '98, Aaron Hill '09, Alomar '92.
OPS+: Alomar '93 141
bWAR: Alomar '92 6.4
fWAR: Alomar '92 6.6
Worst...
OPS: Dave McKay 1978 614, with Hill 2010, Damaso Garcia 3 times sub 700.
OPS+: McKay '78 73
bWAR: McKay '78 -0.3 (Hill was -1.0 when traded in 2011 with 429 PA at the time, +1.5 post trade, Garcia also -1.0 in '86 in 446 PA then was traded).
fWAR: McKay '78 -0.1 (Bush in 2000 in 325 PA was at -1.5, yet stayed here for another season and a half)
Third Base... 18 seasons, 9 players, 5 of which are single season players
Best...
OPS: Tony Fernandez 1999 877, also Troy Glaus 2006, Eric Hinske 2002, Kelly Gruber 1990, Tony Batista 2000, and Ed Sprague 1996 were over 800.
OPS+: Gruber '90 127, Fernandez '99 125
bWAR: Gruber '88 4.9, '89 4.7 (over 4 all 3 years he qualifies), Lawrie 2012 4.1
fWAR: Gruber '88 5.8 (over 4 all 3 years he qualifies)
Worst...
OPS: Eric Hinske 2004 688, with Ed Sprague '97/93 and Roy Howell 1978 below 700.
OPS+: Hinske '04 76, Sprague '97 80, Howell '79 92 (Gruber had a 72 in '92 but only 481 PA, Sprague '94 also 72 but strike kept him in the 400's)
bWAR: Hinske '04 -0.9, Sprague ''97 0.1 (-0.8 in '94, Gruber -0.2 in '92)
fWAR: Howell '78 -0.1, Sprague '97 0.0
Trivia: Only 1 guy (with 500+ PA) at 3B has stolen 20+ bases in a season, who was it? Also the lowest HR total for a qualifier was Fernandez '99 even though he set the bar for OPS at the position.
Shortstop...19 seasons, 6 players, just one played a single qualifying season - who is it?
Best...
OPS: Tony Fernandez 1987 803, Scutaro '09, Escobar '11, and Fernandez '86 all were 750+ with the next 3 highest also Fernandez years.
OPS+: Fernandez '87 112,
bWAR: Fernadez 86 & 87 4.8
fWAR: Fernandez '90 5.2, with 86/87/88 also 5+
Worst...
OPS: Alfredo Griffin 1982 577, with 2 more Griffin years and A-Gon the 1st '98 also sub 650.
OPS+: Griffin '82 54 (over 400 PA with OPS+ of 48 and 49, 102 PA his last year '93 with a 28 OPS+)
bWAR: Griffin '82 -0.4, Griffin '83 -0.3, Griffin '80 -0.2 plus his 400+ PA years had -1.7 (1984) and -2.2 (1981) values
fWAR: Griffin '82 -0.2 (his 81 and 84 efforts were -1.5 but too few PA), Alex Gonzalez 2001 -0.2
Trivia: 17 HR is the record among qualifiers but Tony Batista had 26 in '99 over just 409 PA. 32 is the stolen base record (Fernandez), 100 runs scored happened just once with Scutaro while RBI's is held by Batista in '99 (79) with top qualifying PA guy being Gonzo in '01 with 74. A few of these records could fall with Reyes this year (SB, Runs, OPS). 1984 was the year Griffin was an accidental All-Star (someone was sick at the last minute so they put Griffin in since he was the only ML SS who was there who wasn't part of the game already).
Left Field... 14 seasons, 4 players - many in the high 400's for PA but shy of 502.
Best...
OPS: George Bell 1987 957, Bell 86 and Stewart 2000 also over 850
OPS+: Bell '87 146
bWAR: Stewart 2000 4.8, Bell '87 4.6, Carter '91 4.5
fWAR: Bell '87 5.5, Carter '91 5.1, Stewart 2000 5.0
Worst...
OPS: George Bell 1990 724, Carter 95 728, Bell 88 was 751
OPS+: Carter '95 88, Bell '90 96
bWAR: Carter '96 -0.8, Carter '95 -0.5
fWAR: Carter '96 -0.3, Carter '95 -0.2
Note: Guys like Davis last year (86 OPS+, 687 OPS) did worse, but didn't get 500+ PA. Surprisingly there is just one 'one season' guy in Candy Maldonado with Carter in 2 seasons with 5/6 years for Stewart/Bell. Stewart's OPS+ as a Jay ranged from 100 to 118 - very consistent (3 years of 200 or fewer PA with much worse OPS+ though).
Trivia: Only one LF got 200+ hits. The record for SB in a qualified season is 51 but in non-qualified is 60 (in the 400's for PA) - who are these guys?
Center Field...25 seasons, 7 players, Moseby & White have 8 each, 2 guys are single season
Best...
OPS: Vernon Wells 2003 909, Wells '06 899, Lloyd Moseby 1983 873, Jose Cruz 2001 856
OPS+: Moseby '83 134, Wells '03 132
bWAR: Moseby '84 7.0, White '91 6.1, White '92 6.0, White '93 6.0, Wells 2006 6.0
fWAR: Moseby '84 7.5, White '91 6.9, White '92 6.4
Worst...
OPS: Rick Bosetti 1978 643, Bosetti '79 645, Moseby '89 651, Mookie Wilson '90 653
OPS+: Bosetti '79 74, Moseby '82 75, Mookie '90 79, Bosetti '78 81
bWAR: Bosetti '79 0.2 (-0.8 in 1980 in just 207 PA), Moseby had a -0.8 in '80 but just 430 PA
fWAR: Wells '09 0..2
Right Field... 18 seasons, 9 players (4 single season guys)
Best...
OPS: Jose Bautista 2011 1.056, Bautista '10 .995, Green '99 .972, Barfield also cracked 900 twice.
OPS+: Bautista 2011 182, Bautista '10 164, Barfield '86 146, Green '99 144
bWAR: Bautista '11 7.7, Barfield '86 7.3, Bautista '10 6.6, Barfield '85 6.6, Green '99 6.1
fWAR: Bautista '11 8.3, Barfield '86 7.9, Barfield '85 7.5, Bautista '10 6.8, Green '99 6.0
Worst...
OPS: Bob Bailor '78 644, Alexis Rios 2005 703, Jesse Barfield 1988 725
OPS+: Bailor '78 82, Rios '05 84
bWAR: Rios '05 0.9
fWAR: Rios '05 1.0, Bailor '78 1.0
Trivia: 3 different guys stole 30 bases once each while playing RF, while 3 guys hit 40+ HR (Bautista twice of course). Bob Bailor is the only one to have under 10 HR though, hitting just one in '78. Only 6 of the 18 seasons had a sac bunt, 3 with more than 1, Bailor the record holder with 9 in '78.
For WAR this is clearly the WOW position with Bautista & Barfield, comparable to 1B with Delgado/Olerud/McGriff.
DH... 11 seasons, 7 players
Best...
OPS: Encarnacion '12 941, Lind '09 932, Paul Molitor '94 927, Molitor '93 911, Brad Fullmer '00 .898
OPS+: Encarnacion '12 152, Molitor '93 143, Lind '09 141, Winfield '92 138
bWAR: Molitor '93 5.8
fWAR: Molitor '93 5.2
Worst...
OPS: Adam Lind '10 712, Rico Carty '79 713, Molitor '95 771, Fullmer '01 771
OPS+: Lind '10 90, Rico Carty '79 92
bWAR: Lind '10 -1.3, Carty '79 -0.5
fWAR: Lind '10 -0.8, Carty '79 -0.1 (his final season)
Note: funny to have the same guy in consecutive seasons set the high and low for OPS at the same position (high broken this year). Only once did a DH score 100+ runs, have 180+ hits, or steal more than 20 bases - all done in the same season too - bet most can guess who.
So in summary the best we've seen...
| Position | OPS | OPS+ | bWAR | fWAR | 2013 with best OPS/OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CA | 869: Darrin Fletcher '00 | 115: Darrin Fletcher '00 | 3.2: Ernie Whitt '83 | 3.8: Ernie Whitt '83 | J.P. Arencibia 720/91 |
| 1B | 1.134: Carlos Delgado '00 | 186: John Olerud '93 | 7.4: John Olerud '93 | 8.4: John Olerud '93 | Edwin Encarnación 941/152 |
| 2B | 898: Roberto Alomar '93 | 141: Roberto Alomar '93 | 6.4: Roberto Alomar '92 | 6.6: Roberto Alomar '92 | Maicer Izturis 794/109 (sub 500 PA) |
| 3B | 877: Tony Fernandez '99 | 127: Kelly Gruber '90 | 4.9: Kelly Gruber '88 | 5.8: Kelly Gruber '88 | Brett Lawrie 729/97 |
| SS | 803: Tony Fernandez '87 | 112: Tony Fernandez '87 | 4.8: Tony Fernandez '86/87 | 5.2: Tony Fernandez '90 | José Reyes 877/144 |
| LF | 957: George Bell '87 | 146: George Bell '87 | 4.8: Shannon Stewart '00 | 5.5: George Bell '87 | Melky Cabrera 906/158 |
| CF | 909: Vernon Wells '03 | 134: Lloyd Moseby '83 | 7.0: Lloyd Moseby '84 | 7.5: Lloyd Moseby '84 | Colby Rasmus 859/132 |
| RF | 1.056: Jose Bautista '11 | 182: Jose Bautista '11 | 7.7: Jose Bautista '11 | 8.3: Jose Bautista '11 | Jose Bautista 1.056/182 |
| DH | 941: Edwin Encarnación '12 | 152: Edwin Encarnación '12 | 5.8: Paul Molitor '93 | 5.2: Paul Molitor '93 | Adam Lind 932/141 |
| Position | OPS | OPS+ | bWAR | fWAR | 2013 with worst OPS/OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CA | 574: Alan Ashby '77 | 63: Darrin Fletcher '01 | -0.3: Pat Borders '93 | 1.0: Darrin Fletcher '01 | J.P. Arencibia 720/91 |
| 1B | 707: Willie Upshaw '86 | 87: Willie Upshaw '87 | -0.8: John Mayberry '78 | 0.3: John Mayberry '78 | Edwin Encarnación 794/202 |
| 2B | 614: Dave McKay '78 | 73: Dave McKay '78 | -0.3: Dave McKay '78 | -0.1: Dave McKay '78 | Maicer Izturis 634/82 (300+ PA) |
| 3B | 688: Eric Hinske '04 | 76: Eric Hinske '04 | -0.9: Eric Hinske '04 | -0.1: Roy Howell '78 | Brett Lawrie 729/97 |
| SS | 577: Alfredo Griffin '82 | 54: Alfredo Griffin '82 | -0.4: Alfredo Griffin '82 | -0.2: Alfredo Griffin '82 | José Reyes 687/81 |
| LF | 724: George Bell '90 | 88: Joe Carter '95 | -0.8: Joe Carter '96 | -0.3: Joe Carter '96 | Melky Cabrera 671/83 |
| CF | 643: Rick Bosetti '78 | 74: Rick Bosetti '79 | 0.2: Rick Bosetti '79 | 0.2: Vernon Wells '09 | Colby Rasmus 689/85 |
| RF | 644: Bob Bailor '78 | 82: Bob Bailor '78 | 0.9: Alexis Rios '05 | 1.0: Rios '05 and Bailor '78 | Jose Bautista 753/96 |
| DH | 712: Adam Lind '10 | 90: Adam Lind '10 | -1.3: Adam Lind '10 | -0.8: Adam Lind '10 | Adam Lind 712/90 |
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20121106080514292