American League Roundup : Blue Jays, Behind Alexander, Win First Title

The Toronto Blue Jays, in their ninth season, have won their first divisional championship.

On a cold, rainy Saturday in Toronto, an overflow crowd of 44,608 in Exhibition Stadium saw the Blue Jays clinch the American League East by defeating the New York Yankees, 5-1.

In a touch of irony, the man of the hour was the Blue Jays’ Doyle Alexander, a 35-year-old right-hander and former Yankee who is still on the New York payroll. Alexander pitched a five-hitter, beating New York for the second time in the last three weeks to improve his record to 17-10.

Lloyd Moseby, who dropped a fly ball in the ninth inning Friday night to keep the Yankees alive; Ernie Whitt, an original from the 1977 expansion team, and Willie Upshaw each hit home runs to support Alexander’s almost flawless pitching.

Alexander, demeaned by Yankee owner George Steinbrenner and Manager Billy Martin before being released on May 31, 1983, downplayed the significance of beating his old teammates.

“It didn’t matter who we beat,” Alexander told the Associated Press. “It just happened to come against the Yankees.”

The fans, who streamed onto the field when left-fielder George Bell caught Ron Hassey’s fly for the final out, helped Alexander’s new teammates carry him off the field.

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Alexander said.

The victory ended a four-game Toronto losing streak and enabled the Blue Jays to avoid a “choke” label that some people were getting ready to try on for size.

“It’s the greatest moment in my life,” Toronto Manager Bobby Cox said. Not only did Martin come in to offer congratulations, but Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney called.

But the moment belonged to Alexander. It was perhaps fitting that the club’s biggest winner pitched the clincher.

On Sept. 15 at New York, Alexander was the winner as the Blue Jays beat the Yankees, 8-5, to build a 4 1/2-game lead. He blanked the Yankees for seven innings and left in the eighth holding an 8-2 lead.

In the clincher, Alexander faltered only in the fourth, when Ken Griffey doubled, and after first baseman Upshaw made a diving stop of a smash by Don Mattingly, Dave Winfield singled in the lone Yankee run. The rest of the time, Alexander was in charge.

It was an impressive performance by a pitcher whom Martin said he got rid of “because he never won a big game.”

In 1982, Steinbrenner ordered Alexander to undergo a physical examination, saying he feared the Yankee “fielders would get hurt playing defense behind him.”

The Yankees, who are paying Alexander $700,000 a year on a contract that runs through next season, gave Alexander his release when he had an 0-2 record early in 1983. The Blue Jays signed him near the end of June that season.

Before he straightened out later that season, Alexander lost six games for the Blue Jays. Since August 1983, however, he has been a tremendous asset to the team. Alexander won his last seven games that first season and was 17-6 last year. Since regaining his form, he is 41-16.

Winning was especially gratifying to Whitt, who had played on Toronto teams that lost more than 100 games in each of their first three seasons. “I can’t describe the feeling,” he said. “When Hassey popped the ball up for the final out, chills went up my spine--they’re still there.”

Although the Yankees’ desperate drive for the title fell a trifle short, Martin did a fine job after replacing Yogi Berra early in the season for his fourth go-round as Yankee manager. The team was 6-10 and apparently headed nowhere when Martin took charge.

There are some who found fault with several Martin decisions late in the season, but he did get the Yankees in a position to challenge for the title.

Finishing second did not please him, however. “Second place is for the birds,” he said. “I don’t take pride in that, at all. When you go after something, you go after all the marbles.

“In this game, if we had stayed close to them we might have won it. Give them credit, though.”

Friday night, with the Blue Jays needing one more out to clinch the title, Butch Wynegar hit a home run to tie the game. Before the home run, Tom Henke had retired five Yankees in a row. But after the home run, Bobby Meacham got an infield hit, Rickey Henderson walked and Don Mattingly hit a soft fly to center. The usually reliable Moseby dropped it, and the Yankees were still alive.

“It was tough to let go of the memory of what happened last night,” Moseby said. “I promised myself I would make amends. I didn’t know it included hitting a home run. I never knew anything could feel this good.”

Minnesota 8, Cleveland 2--Bert Blyleven, shortly after signing a multiyear contract calling for about $1.3 million through 1988, won his 17th game with a six-hitter at Minneapolis.

Blyleven finished 17-16 with an earned-run average of 3.19 and led the league in strikeouts (206), complete games (24), shutouts (5) and innings pitched (293).