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1996 Toronto Blue Jays season

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Record
  
74–88 (.457)

Dates
  
1 Apr 1996 – 29 Sep 1996

General manager
  
Gord Ash

Divisional place
  
4th

Manager
  
Cito Gaston

Owner(s)
  
Interbrew, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

Local television
  
CBC Television (Brian Williams, Tommy Hutton) Baton (Don Chevrier, Tommy Hutton, Fergie Olver) The Sports Network (Dan Shulman, Buck Martinez)

Local radio
  
CJCL (AM) (Jerry Howarth, Tom Cheek)

Location
  
Rogers Centre, Toronto Entertainment District, Canada

Similar
  
1996 Minnesota Twins se, 1996 New York Yankees, 2016 Toronto Blue Jays, 1998 New York Yankees

The 1996 Toronto Blue Jays season was the 20th season in franchise history. The season involved the Blue Jays finishing fourth in the American League East with a record of 74 wins and 88 losses. The Blue Jays had a losing record for the third consecutive season.

Contents

Offseason

  • December 6, 1995: Howard Battle and Ricardo Jordan were traded by the Blue Jays to the Philadelphia Phillies for Paul Quantrill.
  • December 7, 1995: Otis Nixon was signed as a free agent by the Toronto Blue Jays.
  • December 14, 1995: Charlie O'Brien was signed as a free agent by the Blue Jays.
  • December 20, 1995: Mike Huff was signed as a free agent by the Blue Jays.
  • January 16, 1996: Juan Samuel was signed as a free agent by the Blue Jays.
  • February 10, 1996: Dane Johnson was signed as a free agent by the Blue Jays.
  • February 22, 1996: Frank Viola signed as a Free Agent with the Toronto Blue Jays.

    • Regular season

    A new tradition would start in 1996 as the Blue Jays donned red uniforms for the first time. These uniforms would be worn only on Canada Day and would feature "Canada" on the back of their jerseys rather than a player's name. Eventual Cy Young Award winner Pat Hentgen would start the Canada Day match against the Baltimore Orioles.

    The final series of the season would be embroiled in controversy. Against the American League East champion Baltimore Orioles, two events would define the Orioles season. The game on Friday, September 27, 1996, would go down as one of the most infamous events in baseball history, as former Blue Jay Roberto Alomar would spit at umpire John Hirschbeck. The Sunday game would be a coming-out party for Brady Anderson, as he would hit his 50th home run of the regular season off Pat Hentgen. The total would break Frank Robinson's team record for most home runs in a season.

    1996 also marked the end of an era for the Blue Jays, as they would redesign their logo and uniforms in the following year and also radically shake up their roster.

    Opening Day starters

  • Tilson Brito
  • Joe Carter
  • Alex Gonzalez
  • Pat Hentgen
  • Otis Nixon
  • Charlie O'Brien
  • John Olerud
  • Robert Pérez
  • Juan Samuel
  • Ed Sprague

    • Notable transactions

  • May 15, 1996: D. J. Boston (minors) was traded by the Blue Jays to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jacob Brumfield.
  • June 4, 1996: 1996 Major League Baseball draft
  • Billy Koch was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 1st round (4th pick). Player signed August 23, 1996.
  • Joe Lawrence was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 1st round (16th pick). Player signed July 1, 1996.
  • Orlando Hudson was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 33rd round, but did not sign.
  • June 5, 1996: Frank Viola was released by the Toronto Blue Jays.
  • June 15, 1996: Luis Lopez was signed as an amateur free agent by the Blue Jays.

    • Starters by position

    Note: Pos = position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

    Award winners

  • Juan Guzmán, Pitcher of the Month Award, April
  • Pat Hentgen, Pitcher of the Month Award, July
  • Pat Hentgen, Pitcher of the Month Award, August
  • Pat Hentgen, Cy Young Award

    • All-Star Game

  • Joe Carter, OF
  • Joe Carter received boos at the All-Star Game, as it took place at Veterans Stadium, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies, for his home run that ended the 1993 World Series.

    • References

    1996 Toronto Blue Jays season Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA