With the Toronto Blue Jays 2023/24 season powering up, we thought we’d take a look at the TOP 10 players who lead the team in homeruns.
It’s a vibrant list of players who’ve managed to slug the ball over the heads of the Outfield, their boundaries and into Blue Jays history.
Let’s begin with a legend of the 1970s and 80s Blue Jays, Ernie Whitt.
No:10 Ernie Whitt – 131
First on our list of all-time Blue Jays’ homerun leaders is Ernie Whitt. Whitt is 10th on our leaders list with 131 homeruns to his name.
The Catcher played for 12 years with the Blue Jays, 1977 – 1989. Initially, his appearances were limited with only 23 games in 1977 and even less in 1978. He would spend 1979 with the Blue Blue Jays AAA affiliate, playing in the International League.
In 1980, he would become Blue Jays’ starting catcher and the rest of his career across the nine consecutive years would see him amass his 131 homeruns along with 518 RBI, 403 Walks, 424 Runs and 888 Hits.
No:9 Adam Lind – 146
Next up on our list is retired First Baseman Adam Lind. He’s the 9th player on our Blue Jays’ list of homer leaders with his 146, achieved over eight years with the team.
Lind would get his start with the Major League after being drafted in a September call-up from the Minor Leagues. His first double would come on September 2nd when the Blue Jays faced the Boston Red Sox.
Lind would have a topsy turvy time with the Blue Jays as he dealt with injury yet he still recorded some impressive gems over his career.
The Opening Day of the 2011 season, would see him score a homerun only for him to spent much of May with a lower back injury. He’d later bounce back in June with some impressive play later in the season.
His penultimate season with the Blue Jays would be his most impressive. In 2013, Lind would record 23 homeruns in 134 games, hitting .288 and 67 RBI while playing to his strengths on First Base.
No:8 Lloyd Moseby – 149
Now we check out Lloyd Anthony Moseby or ‘Shaker’ as he was better known. Moseby would score 149 homeruns with the Blue Jays making him the 8th all-time homerun leader.
He’d make his debut with the Blue Jays in on May 24th 1980 and despite some initial pains settling into the Major League, he’d become on of the team’s best all-rounder players; batting, fielding and running.
The mid-1980s (1984 / 1986 / 1987) would see Moseby at his peak, managing to rack up almost 100 runs, over 30 base steals and making a name for himself as part of the ‘Killer B’s’ outfield trio with George Bell and Jesse Barfield (also on this list).
Moseby would help the Blue Jays win their 9 – 7 victory over the Cleveland Indians (before they became the Guardians) with a two homerun walk off against pitcher Dan Spillner.
Shaker would conclude his tenure with the Blue Jays in 1989 on 651 RBI, 547 walks and 1319 Hits.
No:7 Jesse Barfield – 179
Occupying the position of 7th on the leaderboard is the Two-Time Gold Glove Award winner Jesse Barfield.
The Right Fielder would rack up an impressive 179 homeruns during his nine-year tenure with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Barfield would be one of the Blue Jays’ most prolific players during the 1980s, coming eighth in the American League Rookie of the Year for his debut in 1981. The 1982 season would see him become one of the Blue Jays’ regulars claiming the teams’ very first pinch hit grand slam.
His other claim to fame was forming part of the ‘Killer Bs’ Outfield Trio with George Bell and Lloyd Moseby. Together they were considered one of the best outfields of the decade.
He’d conclude his tenure with the Blue Jays on a high, accumulating 527 RBI, 162 Hits, .265 Batting Average and 342 walks.
No:6 George Bell – 202
Dovetailing our tour of the ‘Killer Bs’ Outfield trio is the three-time Silver Slugger Award winner and AL RBI Leader for 1987, George Bell.
Bell recorded 202 homeruns in his nine seasons with the Toronto Blue Blue Jays making him the sixth all-time homerun leader in the Blue Jays.
The Dominican Left Fielder would see his peak performance between 1985 and 1988. He helped the Blue Jays secure their very first American League title with a 5 – 1 win over the New York Yankees.
His very best came in 1987 when he recorded a .308 batting average, .352 on-base percentage, 111 runs, 47 homeruns and a slugging percentage of .608. He would lead the AL with 134 runs batted in, awarding him the American League MVP award.
While his on-base percentage was pretty poor, he is remembered for being a very powerful slugger with a low strikeout percentage.
No:5 Joe Carter – 203
We’re into the last five of the all-time homerun leaders in the Blue Jays and the fifth spot belongs to Joe Carter and his 203 homeruns.
You could say that Carter arrived at the Blue Jays at the right time for both the team and his own personal performance.
Carter would join the Blue Jays in 1991 from the San Diego Padres, and he would go on to do great things with them.
First off, he’d help them take the division title and clinch the AL East championship with his game-winning hit.
Then in 1992, he’d help the Blue Jays win the World Series beating the Atlanta Braves. It was the very first ever MLB title won by a Canadian Major League team.
Fast forward to 1993 and Carter would run his most memorable homerun to beat the Philadelphia Phillies. It was the second time in MLB franchise history that a World Series had been won on a homerun and by a time trailing in the bottom ninth inning of a championship clinching game.
Carter would leave the Blue Jays after 1996/97 season with 203 homeruns, 736 RBI, 286 Strikeouts and a batting average of .257.
No:4 Vernon Wells – 223
Fourth on our list of Blue Jays’ all-time homerun leaders is on of the longest playing Blue Jays players and the proud owner of 223 homeruns, it’s Vernon Wells.
He was one of those players that grew in skill and professionalism, taking on criticism from his team-mates for poor performance and bouncing back with vigour.
Wells became a regular on the roster in 2002, racking up 23 homeruns, 100 RBI and 87 runs and building a reputation for one of the best defence centerfield players.
The following seasons would be even better for Wells, even winning the Gold Glove in two consecutive years in 2004 and 2005.
When Wells was closing out his tenure with the Blue Jays, he was the fourth player in the Blue Jays to collect three or more seasons with 30 or more homeruns, joining Fred McGriff, Carlos Delgado and Joe Carter.
No:3 Edwin Encarnacion – 239
In third place is the Dominican Right batter and Pitcher Edwin Encarnacion with 239 homeruns.
Encarnacion was not actually what the then Blue Jays manager had wanted.
Blue Jays General Manager J. P. Ricciardi had only requested Josh Roenicke and Zach Stewart from the Cincinnati Reds, but any trade deal would have to include Encarnacion.
Despite a turbulent opening to his tenure with the Blue Jays, Encarnacion grew professionally particularly between 2012 and 2017, where he would rack up 193 homeruns.
He would leave the Blue Jays for the Cleveland Indians, closing out his tenure with 679 RBI, 477 Walks and a batting average of .268.
No:2 Jose Bautista – 288
Now we come to our second placed Blue Jays’ all-time homerun leader, Jose Bautista.
The Right Fielder and Third Baseman would rack up 288 homeruns with the Blue Jays across his decade of play between 2008 and 2018.
Bautista joined the Blue Jays in August 2008 and he would spend the start of the 2009 season on the bench before backing up Alex Rios and Adam Lind in the outfield.
While his performance was very inconsistent during the 2009 season, he would eventually hit his stride with a total of 13 homeruns, 40 RBI, .235 batting average and 79 hits across 113 games.
The next few years would see him get himself into the tablets of MLB history with accolades like becoming the third Blue Jays player to record 10 or more homeruns in two months (May 12 HR and July 11HR).
He would join the Blue Blue Jays 200 homerun club in September 2014, joining the likes of the players mentioned above.
No:1 Carlos Delgado – 336
First on our list of all-time Blue Jays’ home-run leaders is the highly esteemed Carlos Delgado. The Puerto Rican holds Blue Jays’ all-time homerun record of 336, the team’s highest.
Delgado spent almost two decades with the Toronto Blue Blue Jays (1993 – 2009), helping Blue Jays to their 1993 World Series success and amassing some mightily impressive records.
Along with his homer record he also hit an RBI of 1,058, 827 walks, .556 slugging percentage, 889 runs, among many others.
The First Baseman would go on to retire with 437 homeruns under his cap, the most achieved by a Puerto Rican player in Major League Baseball.
