2020 Toronto Blue Jays | ||
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American League Wild Card | ||
League | American League | |
Division | East | |
Ballpark | Sahlen Field (temporary) | |
City | Buffalo, New York (temporary) | |
Record | 32–28 (.533) | |
Divisional place | 3rd | |
Owners | Rogers, CEO Mark Shapiro | |
General managers | Ross Atkins | |
Managers | Charlie Montoyo | |
Television | Sportsnet Sportsnet One (Dan Shulman, Buck Martinez, Pat Tabler) | |
Radio | Blue Jays Radio Network Sportsnet 590 the FAN (Ben Wagner, Mike Wilner, Kevin Barker) | |
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The 2020 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 44th season in Major League Baseball.
On March 12, 2020, MLB announced that because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic (including in Toronto), the start of the regular season would be delayed by at least two weeks in addition to the remainder of spring training being cancelled.[1] Four days later, it was announced that the start of the season would be pushed back indefinitely due to the recommendation made by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to restrict events of more than 50 people for eight weeks.[2]
On June 23, commissioner Rob Manfred unilaterally implemented a 60-game season. Players were to report to training camps on July 1 in order to resume spring training and prepare for a July 23 or 24 Opening Day.[3] The team was forced to play their home games in the home of their AAA affiliate in Buffalo, New York.[4]
Due to the pandemic and the shortened season, Major League Baseball instituted certain rule changes which included the use of a universal designated hitter, a runner on second base to start extra innings, and a revised schedule.[5] On July 30, the league and the union agreed that all remaining doubleheaders on the season would be seven innings.[6]
On September 24, the Blue Jays clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2016, and on the next day they clinched their first winning season since 2016 as well. As the eighth seed in the expanded playoff format, they faced the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays in one of four 2020 American League Wild Card Series where they were swept 2–0 in the best-of-three series.
For the 2020 season, MLB instituted several new rule changes including the following:[7]
Further rule changes came into effect in response to the COVID-19 pandemic including the use of the DH in the National League, a shortened schedule, and starting extra innings with a runner at second base.[5]
The Blue Jays announced they would return to Montreal to finish their spring training for the seventh consecutive year. The opponents would have been the New York Yankees.[31] However, spring training games, including the aforementioned series in Montreal, were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[32] On June 23, MLB announced the resumption of spring training on July 1.[33]
On July 18, the Canadian government denied approval for the Blue Jays to play their home games at Rogers Centre in Toronto, due to concerns surrounding repeated cross-border travel between the United States and Canada by teams involved in its games.[34] With the Blue Jays denied permission to play in Toronto, this was the first season since 1968 (the year before the Montreal Expos were founded) to feature no regular season games played in Canada. After authorities in Pennsylvania rejected the Blue Jays' request to share PNC Park with the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Blue Jays struck an agreement to use Sahlen Field, home of their AAA affiliate Buffalo Bisons, for their home games. The first game in Buffalo took place on August 11; the Jays' "home" games prior to that date were scheduled to be played in their opponents' stadiums[35] (though some of these were later postponed). Under MLB's health and safety protocols, all Blue Jays home games were held behind closed doors.[36][failed verification] The Jays were the first major league baseball team to play its home games in Buffalo, New York since the Buffalo Blues of the Federal League ceased operations in 1915.
Legend | ||
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Blue Jays win | Blue Jays loss | Game postponed |
2020 Game Log: 32–28 (Home: 17–13; Away: 15–15)[37] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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July: 3–4 (Home: 0–2; Road: 3–2)
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August: 15–11 (Home: 8–5; Road: 7–6)
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September: 14–13 (Home: 9–6; Road: 5–7)
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Legend | ||
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Blue Jays win | Blue Jays loss | Game postponed |
2020 Postseason Game Log |
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Playoff rosters | |
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American League Wild Card Series
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AL East | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tampa Bay Rays | 40 | 20 | 0.667 | — | 20–9 | 20–11 |
New York Yankees | 33 | 27 | 0.550 | 7 | 22–9 | 11–18 |
Toronto Blue Jays | 32 | 28 | 0.533 | 8 | 17–9 | 15–19 |
Baltimore Orioles | 25 | 35 | 0.417 | 15 | 13–20 | 12–15 |
Boston Red Sox | 24 | 36 | 0.400 | 16 | 11–20 | 13–16 |
Division Leaders | W | L | Pct. |
---|---|---|---|
Tampa Bay Rays | 40 | 20 | 0.667 |
Oakland Athletics | 36 | 24 | 0.600 |
Minnesota Twins | 36 | 24 | 0.600 |
Division 2nd Place | W | L | Pct. |
---|---|---|---|
Cleveland Indians | 35 | 25 | 0.583 |
New York Yankees | 33 | 27 | 0.550 |
Houston Astros | 29 | 31 | 0.483 |
(Top 2 teams qualify for postseason) |
Wild Card teamsW | L | Pct. | GB |
---|---|---|---|---|
Chicago White Sox | 35 | 25 | 0.583 | +3 |
Toronto Blue Jays | 32 | 28 | 0.533 | — |
Seattle Mariners | 27 | 33 | 0.450 | 5 |
Los Angeles Angels | 26 | 34 | 0.433 | 6 |
Kansas City Royals | 26 | 34 | 0.433 | 6 |
Baltimore Orioles | 25 | 35 | 0.417 | 7 |
Boston Red Sox | 24 | 36 | 0.400 | 8 |
Detroit Tigers | 23 | 35 | 0.397 | 8 |
Texas Rangers | 22 | 38 | 0.367 | 10 |
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(Updated as of September 27, 2020)
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; Ref. = Reference
Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | AVG | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anthony Alford | 13 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | .188 | [45] |
Bo Bichette | 29 | 123 | 18 | 37 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 23 | 4 | 5 | .301 | [46] |
Cavan Biggio | 59 | 220 | 41 | 55 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 28 | 6 | 41 | .250 | [47] |
Jonathan Davis | 13 | 27 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 3 | .259 | [48] |
Brandon Drury | 21 | 46 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .152 | [49] |
Santiago Espinal | 26 | 60 | 10 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 4 | .267 | [50] |
Derek Fisher | 16 | 31 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 | .226 | [51] |
Randal Grichuk | 55 | 216 | 38 | 59 | 9 | 0 | 12 | 35 | 1 | 13 | .273 | [52] |
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | 60 | 221 | 34 | 58 | 13 | 2 | 9 | 33 | 1 | 20 | .262 | [53] |
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. | 57 | 208 | 28 | 64 | 14 | 0 | 11 | 33 | 3 | 14 | .308 | [54] |
Teoscar Hernandez | 50 | 190 | 33 | 55 | 7 | 0 | 16 | 34 | 6 | 14 | .289 | [55] |
Danny Jansen | 43 | 120 | 18 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 20 | 0 | 21 | .183 | [56] |
Caleb Joseph | 3 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .125 | [57] |
Alejandro Kirk | 9 | 24 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .375 | [58] |
Reese McGuire | 19 | 41 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .073 | [59] |
Billy McKinney | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .667 | [60] |
Joe Panik | 41 | 120 | 18 | 27 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 20 | .225 | [61] |
Travis Shaw | 50 | 163 | 17 | 39 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 17 | 0 | 16 | .239 | [62] |
Rowdy Tellez | 35 | 113 | 20 | 32 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 23 | 0 | 11 | .283 | [63] |
Jonathan Villar | 22 | 69 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 9 | .188 | [64] |
Daniel Vogelbach | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | [65] |
Team Totals | 60 | 2023 | 302 | 516 | 104 | 4 | 88 | 288 | 33 | 203 | .255 | [1] |
(Updated as of September 27, 2020)
Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; WHIP = Walks plus hits per inning pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts; Ref. = Reference
Player | G | GS | W | L | SV | ERA | WHIP | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chase Anderson | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7.22 | 1.63 | 332⁄3 | 45 | 29 | 27 | 10 | 38 | [66] |
Anthony Bass | 26 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 3.51 | 1.01 | 252⁄3 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 21 | [67] |
Travis Bergen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.50 | 12⁄3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | [68] |
Ryan Borucki | 21 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.70 | 1.44 | 162⁄3 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 21 | [69] |
A. J. Cole | 24 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3.09 | 1.20 | 231⁄3 | 19 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 20 | [70] |
Rafael Dolis | 24 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1.50 | 1.25 | 24 | 16 | 9 | 4 | 14 | 31 | [71] |
Wilmer Font | 21 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 9.92 | 2.27 | 161⁄3 | 28 | 19 | 18 | 9 | 15 | [72] |
Sam Gaviglio | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9.00 | 2.67 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | [73] |
Ken Giles | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9.82 | 2.18 | 32⁄3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | [74] |
Thomas Hatch | 17 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2.73 | 1.18 | 261⁄3 | 18 | 11 | 8 | 13 | 23 | [75] |
Anthony Kay | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5.14 | 1.71 | 21 | 22 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 22 | [76] |
Julian Merryweather | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.15 | 1.31 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 15 | [77] |
Brian Moran | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | [78] |
Patrick Murphy | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.50 | 1.33 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | [79] |
Nate Pearson | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 | 1.50 | 18 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 16 | [80] |
Hector Perez | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.80 | 3.60 | 12⁄3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | [81] |
Robbie Ray | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4.79 | 1.74 | 202⁄3 | 22 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 25 | [82] |
Sean Reid-Foley | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.35 | 1.35 | 62⁄3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 6 | [83] |
Tanner Roark | 11 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6.80 | 1.74 | 472⁄3 | 60 | 39 | 36 | 23 | 41 | [84] |
Jordan Romano | 15 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1.23 | 0.89 | 142⁄3 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 21 | [85] |
Hyun-jin Ryu | 12 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2.69 | 1.15 | 67 | 60 | 22 | 20 | 17 | 72 | [86] |
Matt Shoemaker | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.71 | 1.08 | 282⁄3 | 22 | 16 | 15 | 9 | 26 | [87] |
Ross Stripling | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6.32 | 1.60 | 152⁄3 | 18 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 13 | [88] |
Trent Thornton | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.12 | 3.18 | 52⁄3 | 15 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 6 | [89] |
Jacob Waguespack | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.15 | 1.47 | 172⁄3 | 27 | 20 | 16 | 9 | 16 | [90] |
Taijuan Walker | 6 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1.37 | 1.25 | 261⁄3 | 22 | 10 | 4 | 11 | 25 | [91] |
Shun Yamaguchi | 17 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 8.06 | 1.75 | 252⁄3 | 28 | 25 | 23 | 17 | 26 | [92] |
T. J. Zeuch | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.59 | 1.15 | 111⁄3 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | [93] |
Team Totals | 60 | 60 | 32 | 28 | 17 | 4.60 | 1.46 | 524.2 | 517 | 312 | 268 | 250 | 519 | [2] |
Main article: 2020 Major League Baseball draft |
The 2020 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft occurred on Monday, June 10 through June 11, 2020. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the draft was shortened to only five rounds.[94]
Round | Pick | Player | Position | College/School | Nationality | Signed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5 | Austin Martin | SS | Vanderbilt | July 8[95] | |
2 | 42 | CJ Van Eyk | RHP | Florida State | June 18[96] | |
3 | 77 | Trent Palmer | RHP | Jacksonville | June 18[96] | |
4 | 106 | Nick Frasso | RHP | Loyola Marymount | July 8[97] | |
5 | 136 | Zach Britton | OF | Louisville | June 18[98] |
See also: Minor League Baseball |
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Major League Baseball announced the cancellation of the entire Minor League Baseball season on June 30.[99] The Blue Jays taxi squad was based at Frontier Field in Rochester, New York.