The Jays have had six different players combine to produce eight 40-homer seasons. Who did NOT reach that milestone? (Answer within.)
| Jesse Barfield |  30 (13.27%) |
| Tony Batista | 15 (6.64%) |
| George Bell | 8 (3.54%) |
| Jose Canseco | 19 (8.41%) |
| Carlos Delgado | 2 (0.88%) |
| Shawn Green | 48 (21.24%) |
| Fred McGriff | 104 (46.02%) |
226 votes | 6 featured comments
Toronto Blue Jays Best HR Seasons
- Rank | Player | HR
- 1. George Bell 47
- 2. Jose Canseco 46
- 3. Carlos Delgado 44
- 4T. Carlos Delgado 42
- 4T. Shawn Green 42
- 6T. Tony Batista 41
- 6T. Carlos Delgado 41
- 8. Jesse Barfield 40
Delgado also had seasons of 38 and 39, while Troy Glaus once hit 38. McGriff never hit more than 36, though he hit 34, 36 and 35 in three straight seasons before The Trade. Joe Carter never hit more than 34 as a Jay, though he did have seven straight 20+ seasons, including four in the 30s.
Figured it was Green or McGriff, and bet that Green's 40 homer seasons happened only in LA. Not so much...
My rusty memory tells me McGriff's 36 HR season led, or at least tied, for the league lead...but he didn't hit a single home run in September. I think Joe Carter was 2nd with 35?
My rusty memory...
... functions pretty well, actually. McGriff led Carter 35-28 at the end of August, but hit just one homer in September of 1989, and it came early (September 4). Over the least two months of the season, the other teams simply stopped pitching to McGriff - he walked 60 times in his last 56 games. Meanwhile Carter closed with a rush, hitting 7 in the month to make it quite close at the end.
... functions pretty well, actually. McGriff led Carter 35-28 at the end of August, but hit just one homer in September of 1989, and it came early (September 4). Over the least two months of the season, the other teams simply stopped pitching to McGriff - he walked 60 times in his last 56 games. Meanwhile Carter closed with a rush, hitting 7 in the month to make it quite close at the end.
Neither Magpie nor I would have any excuse for getting this one wrong. Perhaps the single largest barrier to McGriff's Hall electability is the perception that he did not put up the "big numbers", both seasonal and career.
I feel dumb. Read the names and as I hit Green I went 'oh, I bet he never did' and clicked submit then noticed McGriff at the bottom and went 'doh!'.
Funny how Batista looked like quite the HR hitter but he just died off so quick. Figure just too many holes and totally unwilling to walk. The odd guy can get away with that (Bell, Carter, Garcia, Griffen) but Batista couldn't.
Funny how Batista looked like quite the HR hitter but he just died off so quick. Figure just too many holes and totally unwilling to walk. The odd guy can get away with that (Bell, Carter, Garcia, Griffen) but Batista couldn't.