The 2002 Toronto Blue Jays season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Blue Jays finishing 3rd in the American League East with a record of 78 wins and 84 losses.

[edit] Offseason

• J. P. Ricciardi became the Blue Jays fourth GM on Nov. 15, 2001 ^[1]
• December 7, 2001: Billy Koch was traded by the Blue Jays to the Oakland Athletics for Eric Hinske and Justin Miller.^[2]
• December 18, 2001: Brian Lesher was signed as a free agent by the Blue Jays.^[3]
• December 22, 2001: Luis Lopez was purchased from the Blue Jays by the Oakland Athletics.^[4]
• February 10, 2002: Ken Huckaby was signed as a free agent by the Blue Jays.^[5]

[edit] Regular season

[edit] 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 (who later won the Rookie of the Year Award for this year) 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.

[edit] Opening Day starters

• Homer Bush, 2B
• José Cruz, Jr., OF
• Carlos Delgado, 1B
• Darrin Fletcher, C
• Roy Halladay, P
• Eric Hinske, 3B
• Felipe López, SS
• Raúl Mondesí, DH
• Shannon Stewart, OF
• Vernon Wells, OF

[edit] Season standings

[edit] Notable transactions

• May 26, 2002: Dan Plesac was traded by the Blue Jays to the Philadelphia Phillies for Cliff Politte.^[6]
• July 1, 2002: Raúl Mondesí was traded by the Blue Jays to the New York Yankees for Scott Wiggins.^[7]

[edit] Roster

[edit] Game log

[edit] Player stats

[edit] Batting

[edit] Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In

[edit] Other batters

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

[edit] Pitching

[edit] Starting pitchers

[edit] Other pitchers

[edit] Relief pitchers

[edit] Award winners

• Eric Hinske, Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award
• Eric Hinske, The Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award

All-Star Game

• Roy Halladay, Pitcher^[8]

[edit] Farm system

^[9]

[edit] References

1. ^ J.P. Ricciardi has escape clause
2. ^ Billy Koch page at Baseball Reference
3. ^ Brian Lesher page at Baseball Reference
4. ^ Luis Lopez page at Baseball Reference
5. ^ Ken Huckaby page at Baseball Reference
6. ^ Dan Plesac page at Baseball Reference
7. ^ Raúl Mondesí page at Baseball Reference
8. ^ Blue Jays All-Stars | bluejays.com: History
9. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 2007

• 2002 Toronto Blue Jays team page at www.baseball-almanac.com