Baseball is, of course, America's pastime, but it's reach is global. Ignoring for a moment the various baseball leagues in other countries, there is also the World Baseball Classic. On top of that, Canada is featured in the majors; first in Montreal, and later (and currently only) in Toronto with the Blue Jays. Unlike the Expos though, the Jays had some winning seasons and close calls in their hunt for a title, with division titles in 1985, '89 and '91 but falling in the ALCS each time.
For 1992, the Blue Jays were seeking to avoid falling back in the standings after an ALCS trip like they did after both previous attempts in the '80s. Cito Gaston guided them to a 96-66 record and a 4 game gap over the 2nd place Brewers. The AL West champion Oakland Athletics had an identical record as they came to the SkyDome for the ALCS. After a mostly tight back and forth series, the Jays took a 3-2 series lead back home for a lopsided Game 6 win to clinch their first pennant.
The Atlanta Braves had just survived a grueling 7 game series against the Pirates to win the NL, and they kept that momentum going when they took Game 1 of the World Series. The Blue Jays responded by taking the next three games, all by just one run. After the Braves victimized Jack Morris for the second time in the series, it all shifted back to Atlanta for Game 6.
The Jays took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the 9th when Otis Nixon tied the game with 2 outs and we had bonus baseball. In the 11th, Dave Winfield finally had his postseason vindication when he doubled home 2 runs. Could Toronto finish the job this time? Jimmy Key got into trouble right away in the bottom of the inning after a single and error. A sac bunt put the tying runs in scoring position. An RBI groundout made it a 1 run game with the tying runner on 3rd. Mike Timlin comes in to pitch and Otis Nixon comes up again with a chance to tie it...and he decided to shock everyone by laying down a bunt. Timlin was able to handle it and flip to Joe Carter to secure the first title for Canada.
This was the 2nd straight failure in the fall classic for Atlanta, but they had success in the not too distant future. Toronto, meanwhile, weren't done yet. This was the first of 2 straight titles of their own, and next year they'd up the ante. If winning the World Series in extra innings wasn't cool enough, Joe Carter had something even more dramatic in mind for next year.
As with most teams in the 1990's when facing the Braves pitching, the Blue Jays struggled at the plate in this World Series. Borders was quite the exception; hitting .450 with 3 Doubles, 1 Home Run and 3 RBI to take the WS MVP award home with him.
Mr. May finally got his ring. While his card isn't lying and he did play the outfield, he was primarily the DH for the Blue Jays. Not playing the field was a bit of a boost for him at this stage of his career and Dave was able to garner some MVP votes and win the Silver Slugger.
Carter was the heart of the Toronto offense. He paced the team with 34 Home Runs and 119 RBI as he finished 3rd for the MVP and won a Silver Slugger in addition to being voted into the all star game.
ALCS MVP Roberto Alomar would go on to become the first Hall of Famer to wear the Blue Jays hat in Cooperstown. '92 featured Roberto as an all star leading the team with a .310 BA and 49 Stolen Bases as well as winning both a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger.
Yes, Devon White sports the better-than-perfect +4 for his outfield defense, fitting for a Gold Glove winner.
In the modern era, it's hard to envision such a power-deprived bench on a world champion. Jeff Kent's 19+ on his chart shouldn't be the top choice.
Juan Guzman would make the lone all star appearance in his career in 1992. He would lead the pitching with a 2.64 ERA and 165 Strikeouts.
Jack Morris ruined all of Atlanta's postseason in 1991 when he won Game 7 for the Twins...then he signed with the Blue Jays for 1992 to do it again. He won 21 games and was poised for a repeat performance in the World Series. But this time the Braves were ready, as both their wins in the series came at the expense of Jack Morris.
The other regular starters. Ranging from solid to great, none were bad options as a collective. Could I have found a more flattering picture of Stottlemyre? Probably. But Todd being ready to throw down and needing to be held back makes for a bad ass card.
Henke made for a pretty solid option at Closer with a control of 6. He nailed down 34 Saves for the Jays, along with 5 more in the ALCS and World Series, but couldn't close the door in Game 6 against the Braves.
Ward was the primary setup man in the bullpen, getting 12 Saves of his own and earning the Closer distinction on his card. When Henke left after the World Series, Ward would be the easy choice to take over the 9th in '93. Timlin was the man selected to get the final out of the WS, and his 5 control is a good reason for why Otis Nixon tried to bunt because it wasn't likely he was getting the advantage (I checked
the Bot, Nixon had a 10 on-base so it would have been an interesting situation).
I just want to point out how weird it is to see David Wells with hair.
David Cone held the distinction of being a hired gun in the early to mid 90s. He began the year with the Mets and was traded to the Blue Jays for their pennant push. He'd go on to get "hired" to help the Royals and the Blue Jays again before heading back to New York for a pennant push for the Yankees. Fortunately for David, the Yankees liked him so much they kept him long term, turning the hired gun into a standard ace. But until the late 90s, if you needed a big game pitcher for your staff in the clutch stages of a pennant run, David Cone was the man to get.
