2007 Toronto Blue Jays season

The 2007 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 31st season of Major League Baseball. The Blue Jays tried to improve on their 87-win 2006 season, hoping to make the playoffs for the first time since 1993.

2007 Toronto Blue Jays
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record83–79 (.512)
Divisional place3rd
Other information
Owner(s)Rogers; Paul Godfrey (CEO)
General manager(s)J. P. Ricciardi
Manager(s)John Gibbons
Local televisionRogers Sportsnet
(Jamie Campbell, Pat Tabler, Rance Mulliniks, Darrin Fletcher, Sam Cosentino (field reporter)) (116 games) TSN
(Rod Black, Pat Tabler) (20 games)
CBC
(Jim Hughson, Rance Mulliniks, Jesse Barfield) (8 games)
Local radio590 AM
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In the offseason, the Jays signed All Star outfielder Vernon Wells to one of the richest contracts in MLB history, giving him a seven-year contract worth $126 million.[1] Toronto also extended the contract of first baseman Lyle Overbay,[2] and signed veteran designated hitter Frank Thomas. To offset the loss of starter Ted Lilly to the Chicago Cubs, Toronto signed Japanese pitcher Tomo Ohka and former Atlanta starter John Thomson to one-year contracts and inked former New York Mets hurler Víctor Zambrano to a minor-league deal. All three men, however, were eventually designated for assignment and released. The Jays also picked up infielder Jason Smith from the Rule 5 draft, but he too was released from his contract.

Regular season

Summary

During the month of January, Toronto signed starting pitchers John Thomson and then Tomo Ohka to incentive-based one-year contracts in an effort to strengthen their 4th and 5th rotational slots. On January 30 Toronto also signed starting pitcher Víctor Zambrano to a minor league contract, and invited him to Spring training. All three were eventually released. When Brandon League, who was being considered for the main setup role, arrived to Spring training with a strained lat muscle, Zambrano took the empty spot in the bullpen. Thomson injured himself in spring training, so the Blue Jays named Ohka and Towers as their fourth and fifth starters. After four mediocre starts, Josh Towers was sent to the bullpen and replaced by Dustin McGowan. Towers returned to the rotation later in the year replacing released pitcher Tomo Ohka. When Gustavo Chacín was injured, he was replaced in the rotation by Shaun Marcum, who had a breakout year.

The season was blighted by persistent injuries, with 12 Blue Jays landing on the DL. The most serious injury was that of B. J. Ryan, who was out for the entire season having had Tommy John Surgery. However, due to the emergence of young pitchers like Dustin McGowan, Casey Janssen and Jeremy Accardo, the Jays finished 4 games above .500.

One of the most memorable games this season for the Jays was on Tuesday, June 5, 2007 when they rallied from being down 11–6 in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to win 12–11 on an RBI walk-off base on balls by Aaron Hill, a victory that moved them to within 1 game under .500

Another memorable moment of this season was Dustin McGowan's complete game one-hitter on Sunday, June 24 against the Colorado Rockies at the Rogers Centre. McGowan carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning when outfielder Jeff Baker hit a single with no out to break it up. This was the first Jays' one-hitter since September 27, 1998, in which Roy Halladay threw against the Detroit Tigers. The Jays won 5–0 and moved themselves up to .500 for the first time since May 1 of the season. The game was also notable for Frank Thomas hitting the 499th home run of his career. The day after McGowan's gem, the Jays defeated the Minnesota Twins 8–5 to climb over the .500 mark for the first time since April and get their first four-game winning streak of the season.

On June 28, Frank Thomas became the 21st Major Leaguer to hit 500 career home runs. The pitcher who surrendered the homer was Minnesota Twins' starter Carlos Silva. Despite jumping out to an early lead the Jays couldn't hold on and ended up losing 8–5. In addition, Thomas was ejected from the game in the ninth inning by home plate umpire Mark Wegner for arguing balls and strikes.

On July 6, Reed Johnson returned to the lineup after spending three months on the DL. Johnson had been suffering back problems early in the season and received surgery, which forced him onto the 60-Day DL. This situation left Adam Lind the odd-man out in the lineup and he was optioned down to Triple-A. In his first game back Johnson went 1–3 at the plate, and made a game-saving catch in the ninth which prevented two runs (only one run scored on a sac-fly) from scoring and a runner on second (possibly third) and a one-run lead with only one out. The Jays won the game 8–6 against the Cleveland Indians.

On September 16, Aaron Hill broke the Blue Jays club record for most doubles by a second baseman in one season, set by Roberto Alomar in 1991 with 41 doubles that season. Hill recorded his 42nd double of the season against the Baltimore Orioles.

On September 17, Frank Thomas hit three home runs in a game for only the second time in his career, both times against the Boston Red Sox.

Season standings
AL East W L Pct. GB Home Road
Boston Red Sox 9666 0.593 — 51–30 45–36
New York Yankees 9468 0.580 2 52–29 42–39
Toronto Blue Jays 8379 0.512 13 49–32 34–47
Baltimore Orioles 6993 0.426 27 35–46 34–47
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 6696 0.407 30 37–44 29–52

Detailed record
TeamHomeAwayTotalGms Left
AL East
Baltimore Orioles6-34-510-8-
Boston Red Sox4-55-49-9-
New York Yankees4-54-58-10-
Tampa Bay Rays5-44-59-9-
19-1717-1936-36-
AL Central
Chicago White Sox3-11-24-3-
Cleveland Indians2-10-32-4-
Detroit Tigers2-21-23-4-
Kansas City Royals2-12-24-3-
Minnesota Twins3-03-46-4-
12-57-1319-18-
AL West
Los Angeles Angels2-12-24-3-
Oakland Athletics0-34-24-5-
Seattle Mariners5-10-35-4-
Texas Rangers5-20-35-5-
12-76-1018-17-
National League
Colorado Rockies3-0N/A3-0-
Los Angeles Dodgers1-22-13-3-
Philadelphia PhilliesN/A1-21-2-
San Francisco GiantsN/A1-21-2-
Washington Nationals2-1N/A2-1-
6-34-510-8-
Month Games Won Lost
April251312
May281216
June271413
July261412
August281513
September281513
1628379

Record vs. opponents
2007 American League Records

Sources:
Team BAL BOS CWS CLE DET KC LAA MIN NYY OAK SEA TB TEX TOR NL 
Baltimore —6–125–33–41–57–03–70–79–94–42–711–74–68–106–12
Boston 12–6—7–15–23–43–36–44–38–104–44–513–56–49–912–6
Chicago 3–51–7—7–1111–712–65–49–94–64–51–76–12–43–44–14
Cleveland 4–32–511–7—12–611–75–514–40–66–44–38–26–34–29–9
Detroit 5–14–37–116–12—11–73–512–64–44–66–43–45–44–314–4
Kansas City 0–73–36–127–117–11—5–29–91–96–43–64–35–43–410–8
Los Angeles 7–34–64–55–55–32–5—6–36–39–1013–66–210–93–414–4
Minnesota 7–03–49–94–146–129–93–6—2–55–26–33–47–24–611–7
New York 9–910–86–46–04–49–13–65–2—2–45–510–85–110–810–8
Oakland 4–44–45–44–66–44–610–92–54–2—5–144–69–105–410–8
Seattle 7–25–47–13–44–66–36–133–65–514–5—4–311–84–59–9
Tampa Bay 7–115–131–62–84–33–42–64–38–106–43–4—5–49–97–11
Texas 6–44–64–23–64–54–59–102–71–510–98–114–5—5–511–7
Toronto 10–89–94–32–43–44–34–36–48–104–55–49–95–5—10–8

2007 Draft picks

Source [3]

The 2007 MLB Draft was held on June 7–8. The Blue Jays had two first round picks, along with five compensation picks.

Round Pick Player Position College/School Nationality Signed
1 16* Kevin Ahrens 3B Memorial High School (TX) 2007–06–15
1 21 J. P. Arencibia C Tennessee 2007–06–15
C-A 38* Brett Cecil LHP Maryland 2007–06–15
C-A 45* Justin Jackson SS Roberson High School (NC) 2007–07–07
C-A 56* Trystan Magnuson RHP Louisville 2007–07–07
2 85 John Tolisano 2B Estero High School (FL) 2007–06–15
2 88* Eric Eiland OF Lamar High School (TX) 2007–06–15
3 115 Alan Farina RHP Clemson 2007–07–07
4 145 Brad Mills LHP Arizona 2007–06–15
5 175 Marc Rzepczynski LHP Cal-Riverside 2007–06–15
6 205 Mike McDade 1B Silverado High School (NV) 2007–06–12
7 235 Randy Boone RHP Texas –
8 265 Scott Leffler RHP Tampa 2007–07–07
9 295 Marcus Walden RHP Fresno City College 2007–06–12
10 325 Joel Collins C South Alabama 2007–06–15
  • * The Blue Jays received the 16th pick from the Texas Rangers as compensation for signing of free agent Frank Catalanotto
  • * The Blue Jays received the 38th pick as compensation for loss of free agent Justin Speier
  • * The Blue Jays received the 45th pick as compensation for loss of free agent Frank Catalanotto
  • * The Blue Jays received the 56th pick as compensation for loss of free agent Ted Lilly
  • * The Blue Jays received the 88th pick from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim as compensation for signing of free agent Justin Speier

Roster
2007 Toronto Blue Jays
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Other batters

Manager

Coaches

Game log
2007 game log
April
May
June
July
August
September

Player stats

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In; R = Runs; SB = Stolen Bases

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI R SB
Aaron Hill160608177.2911778874
Lyle Overbay122425102.2401044492
Alex Ríos161643191.297248511417
Frank Thomas155531147.2772695630
Vernon Wells149584143.24516808510

As of September 30, 2007

Pitching
Starting pitchers

Note: GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts; QS = Quality starts

Player GS IP W L ERA BB SO
A. J. Burnett19121.2773.7042119
Gustavo Chacín527.1215.60711
Roy Halladay261861463.8742119
Jesse Litsch1479.1563.402633
Shaun Marcum*20119.21033.323184
Dustin McGowan21129.1884.1848103
Tomo Ohka ^1056.0255.792221
Ty Taubenheim15.0009.0044
Josh Towers*1585.1495.291958
Víctor Zambrano*25.10116.8851
  • * – Statistics as a starter
  • ^ – with Toronto

As of August 29, 2007

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; H = Holds; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L SV H ERA BB SO
Jeremy Accardo2526.211712.361026
Jordan De Jong22.000009.0024
Scott Downs3123.211063.421728
Jason Frasor2226.122233.761127
Casey Janssen2733.020391.09612
Shaun Marcum**1316.112116.06622
B. J. Ryan54.1023012.4643
Brian Tallet1625.021001.801220
Josh Towers**613.210005.93112
Jamie Vermilyea26.000000.0002
Brian Wolfe43.100005.4011
Víctor Zambrano**65.101005.0664
  • ** – Statistics as a relief pitcher

As of June 10, 2007

Draft

This is a partial list. For the full draft, see here.

Players Selected
Round Pick Player Nationality School
1 16 (for Frank Catalanotto) Kevin Ahrens (SS)  United States Memorial High School
1 21 J. P. Arencibia (C)  United States Tennessee
C-A 38 (for Justin Speier) Brett Cecil (LHP)  United States Maryland-College Park
C-A 45 (for Frank Catalanotto) Justin Jackson (SS)  United States T.C. Roberson High School
C-A 56 (for Ted Lilly) Trystan Magnuson (RHP)  Canada Louisville
2 85 John Tolisano (2B)  United States Estero High School
2 88 (for Justin Speier) Eric Eiland (CF)  United States Lamar High School
3 115 Alan Farina (RHP)  United States Clemson
4 145 Brad Mills (LHP)  United States Arizona
5 175 Marc Rzepczynski (LHP)  United States UC-Riverside

Farm system
See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Syracuse Chiefs International League Doug Davis
AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats Eastern League Bill Masse
A Dunedin Blue Jays Florida State League Omar Malavé
A Lansing Lugnuts Midwest League Gary Cathcart
A-Short Season Auburn Doubledays New York–Penn League Dennis Holmberg
Rookie GCL Blue Jays Gulf Coast League Clayton McCullough

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Auburn

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References
  • Game Logs:
1st Half: Toronto Blue Jays Game Log on ESPN.com
2nd Half: Toronto Blue Jays Game Log on ESPN.com
  1. Jays sign Wells to ,6 million, seven-year extension espn.com – accessed January 25, 2007
  2. Overbay latest player to cash in with Jays, from espn.com January 14, 2007
  3. "Feature: 2007 Free Agent Draft Pick Compensation". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
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