2002 Toronto Blue Jays season


The 2002 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 26th season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing third in the American League East with a record of 78 wins and 84 losses.

Offseason

Summary

The Blue Jays started the 2002 season with slow progress in performance. Buck Martinez was fired about a third of the way through the season, with a 20–33 record. He was replaced by third base coach Carlos Tosca, an experienced minor league manager. They went 58–51 under Tosca to finish the season 78–84. Roy Halladay, a talented but inconsistent prospect who was no more than a fifth starter who alternated between Toronto and Triple-A during his first three seasons, was relied on as the team's ace and rose to the challenge being the team's top pitcher, finishing the season with a 19–7 record and a 2.93 ERA. The hitters were led once again by Carlos Delgado. Ricciardi was credited for dumping Raúl Mondesí in mid-season to the New York Yankees to free up his salary, which in turn was used for the off-season signing of Mike Bordick, Frank Catalanotto and Tanyon Sturtze. Promising young players were assigned to key roles, including starting third baseman Eric Hinske and 23-year-old centre fielder Vernon Wells, who had his first 100 RBI season replacing Mondesi. Another bright young player was Josh Phelps, a former catcher turned designated hitter, who hit 15 home runs.

Opening Day starters

American League Wild Card

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

Source
The 2002 MLB draft was held on June 4-5.
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollege/SchoolNationalitySigned
114Russ AdamsSSNorth Carolina2002–06–07
255Dave BushRHPWake Forest2002–06–04
386Justin MaureauLHPWichita State–
4110Adam PetersonRHPWichita State2002–06–11
5146Chad PleinessRHPCentral Michigan–
6176Jason PerryOFGeorgia Tech2002–06–22
7206Brian GrantRHPC.B. Aycock High School –
8236Chris LeonardLHPMiami –
9266Russ SavickasRHPJohnston High School–
10296Eric Arnold2BRice–

Roster

Game log

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
PosPlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
CFVernon Wells159608167.27523100

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
PlayerGABHAvg.HRRBI
Joe Lawrence5515027.180215

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Other pitchers

Relief pitchers

Award winners

All-Star Game