In Toronto, Patience Has Finally Paid Off : It’s Taken Nine Years, but Blue Jays Are a Team Whose Time Has Arrived--That’s the Way Gillick Planned It

Detroit pitcher Jack Morris and Toronto General Manager Pat Gillick were both on the dais at a banquet in Canada last February when Morris bumped Gillick’s chair, causing both the chair and the Blue Jay executive to topple off a slightly raised platform.

Morris continued walking to the podium, stepped up to the microphone and said: “Well, we knocked them off last year and we’ve already started knocking them off in 1985.”

Morris got the laugh and Gillick wasn’t hurt. But--just in case you haven’t noticed the final standings--Gillick is having the last laugh.

The Blue Jays, who occupied first place in the American League East alone since May 20, have been feeling pretty good all year, as a matter of fact.

The defending champion Tigers finished 15 games behind. It was the Yankees who pushed the Blue Jays in the final days of the season and mounted threats in July, August and September.

And, it was a Yankee who hit the fly ball that Toronto outfielder Lloyd Moseby dropped in the ninth inning last Friday night. That single play not only kept the suspense going one more day, it sent shivers of doubt through even the most devout Blue Jay fanatics and had Yankee-lovers and Yankee-haters from Nova Scotia to San Diego thinking, “Toronto’s gonna choke.”

The Blue Jays will never admit to a moment’s doubt, though. “The pressure is on them, I don’t care what anybody says,” Moseby kept repeating.

Saturday, Moseby, Willie Upshaw and original Blue Jay Ernie Whitt hit homers to support former Yankee Doyle Alexander’s five-hit pitching as Toronto clinched the title with a 5-1 win over New York.

For Gillick, it marked the realization of a vision, a well-planned, carefully drawn out vision. This man is no dreamer, but he may very well be a genius. And, in another twist of irony, he slipped through George Steinbrenner’s hands and came back to haunt the Yankee owner more than all the ballplayers he’s ever alienated put together.

For Manager Bobby Cox, who called it “the greatest moment in my life,” it was testimony to his patience with his players. After all, this is a man who says: “If you’re going to bring a kid up to the majors, then you have to be willing to play him regularly for at least three years to give him a fair shot at proving his worth.”

For the players, it was the final step on the ladder of respectability. The Blue Jays, who have been legitimate contenders for the previous three seasons, now can completely forget their “Heckle and Jeckle days,” as Moseby calls the lean years.

For the fans of Toronto, it is a chance to celebrate. Monday was officially dubbed Jay Day and, all over the city, people slipped away from work early to attend a giant pep rally and bask in Canadian national glory--even if there isn’t even a single full-time Canadian resident on the roster.

Archie Bunker surely would have had a choice comment about the deterioration of society had he “lived” to see a team from Canada win a pennant. But Archie would be comforted to know that some things about baseball never change.

Even in Canada, players still sit around in their underwear before games and play cards.

The clubhouse is in Canada, but Ernie Whitt was sorting his cards just as they do in America. He was also reminiscing about less glorious days in the history of Blue Jay baseball, days when nobody even considered the possibility of Toronto’s winning a pennant. Not even the Blue Jays themselves.

“It was pretty frustrating back then,” he said, peering over his hand. “Teams used to juggle their rotations and save their good pitchers. It didn’t seem like management was making much effort to get better. They kept talking about the farm system but the money was there to go into the free-agent market, too.”

“Mr. (Peter) Bavasi (then club president) used to say we were the sizzle getting ready for the steak.”

It may have been a hollow motto then, but now the Blue Jays can say, “Bring on the filet mignon, the coals are ready.”

THE GENERAL MANAGER

This Blue Jay barbecue took a lot of planning, and Gillick has to get most of the credit.

Six of Toronto’s regulars, it’s winningest pitcher and bullpen ace were acquired from other teams. The 48-year-old Gillick seems to work harder, longer and better than most of his peers.

Gillick, who had spent 10 years in the Houston organization, was director of scouting for the Yankees when he decided to accept the challenge of starting from scratch when Toronto was awarded an expansion franchise in 1976.

“We decided to take a patient approach from the very beginning,” Gillick said. “The idea was to draft as many young, talented players, regardless of position, as possible and build from the ground up. We had a patient ownership and they embraced the idea.”

Gillick hired longtime superscouts Bobby Mattick and Al LaMacchia and put his grand scheme in motion. Results, as predicted, were slow in coming. Toronto won 270 games and lost 482 in the first five years (1977-81).

In those days, nobody was too interested in Gillick’s dream for a team of the 80’s. But then they weren’t calling for any lynchings, either.

“We were blessed with less than critical fans,” Gillick said, smiling.

So, while no one was watching, Gillick picked up Upshaw, George Bell, Jim Gott, whom the Blue Jays traded to San Francisco for reliever Gary Lavelle; Jim Acker, Manny Lee, Kelly Gruber and Luis Thornton for $25,000 apiece in the major league draft.

Reliever Tom Henke was taken from Texas as compensation for Cliff Johnson, who has since returned. He traded for Damaso Garcia, Buck Martinez, Rance Mulliniks, Bill Caudill, Al Oliver and Lavelle. And he bought the rights to Alexander and Jeff Burroughs. Johnson and pitcher Dennis Lamp are the only free agents.

THE MANAGER

Bobby Cox had been managing the Atlanta Braves for four years when owner Ted Turner fired him in 1981, saying: “If we hadn’t just fired Bobby and were looking for a new manager, he’d be one of the leading candidates.”

Cox wasn’t surprised by Turner’s contradictory farewell testimonial, but he was surprised that he was fired.

“I felt I did a great job in Atlanta,” Cox said. “But I still love Ted Turner.”

The feeling must be mutual. Rumors persist that Turner will attempt to lure Cox back to Atlanta by offering him the dual position of general and field manager.

Cox isn’t saying much about that these days. He’s directing all his energies toward bringing a World Series championship to Toronto before returning to his home in Marietta, Ga., for the off-season.

“I’ll tell you this, I’m awfully happy I landed on my feet in Toronto,” Cox said.

So are the Blue Jays. If the term player’s manager were in the dictionary, there would be a picture of Cox next to the definition.

“Bobby doesn’t make a whole lot out of strategy,” Gillick said. “He keeps the players in the right frame of mind and he makes moves that make sense. He backs his players, he sticks behind them and he has their respect.

“He’ll come down on them when he has to, but he always seems to maintain a good rapport.”

Cox’s greatest accomplishment has been his ability to keep the young Blue Jays on an even keel. He doesn’t take losses especially well. “I don’t care if we’re in sixth place or first place, losing a game creates the same terrible feeling,” he says. But his low-key approach and quiet optimism seem to bring out the best in his youthful team.

“This team has a lot of poise,” Whitt said. “They don’t let their emotions run up and down with the fortunes of each game. You’ve got to credit Cox for that, though. If you go out and play hard, he’ll leave you alone.”

THE PLAYERS

Last week, after Toronto had lost two in a row at Detroit, Tiger Manager Sparky Anderson cautioned reporters against predicting a Blue Jay swoon.

“Toronto didn’t win 98 games (at that point) because other teams felt sorry for them,” Anderson said. “I’ve got news. There’s nothing wrong with them.”

It certainly is easier to point out what’s right with the Blue Jays than it is to find their weaknesses. Their only disadvantage in the series opening with Kansas City tonight is inexperience. Only Alexander and Oliver have seen been in postseason play.

Otherwise, Toronto is the epitome of consistency and balance.

No Blue Jay drove in 100 runs or scored 100 runs, but nine Toronto players had 50 or more RBIs and eight scored 50 or more times. Seven players had 10 or more homers and four had 20 or more steals.

Their staff earned-run average (3.29) was the league’s best, and the bullpen recorded 47 saves, up from 33 last season.

“We’ve got terrific balance,” Cox admitted. “We’ve got the power to break games open and the speed to manufacture runs.”

Toronto has one of the best outfields in baseball and it should be set for a decade with a trio of 25-year-olds who combine speed, power and defense.

Left fielder Bell put up some pretty impressive numbers this year: .275 average, 28 home runs, 95 RBIs and 21 steals. Center fielder Moseby hit .259 with 18 homers, 70 RBI and 37 stolen bases. And right fielder Jesse Barfield had a .289 average to go with 27 homers, 89 RBIs and 22 stolen bases.

The Blue Jay beat goes on around the infield, too.

Garth Iorg, another of the three remaining players selected in the expansion draft--Whitt and pitcher Jim Clancy are the others--and Mulliniks platoon at third. Iorg hit .313 and drove in 37 runs. Mulliniks hit .295 and drove in 57.

The Dominican Republic double-play combination of Tony Fernandez at short and Garcia at second provided unexpected offense this season, too. No. 9 hitter Fernandez hit .289 to help leadoff man Garcia, who hit .285, drive in 66 runs.

First baseman Upshaw had a .275 average with 15 homers and 65 RBIs. Catcher Whitt’s average dropped to .245, but his power accounted for 19 homers and 64 RBIs.

The biggest difference between the 1985 Blue Jays and the two Toronto teams that won 89 games in ’84 and ’83 has been pitching, most specifically, improved relief pitching.

Caudill was hailed as a savior when he arrived from Oakland in the preseason, but he has struggled this year, if you want to call a 2.99 ERA and 14 saves struggling. The biggest difference has been Henke, the Canadian Goose as they call him. Henke has 13 saves in 28 appearances and a 2.03 ERA. Middle man Lamp put together an 11-0 record out of the bullpen and Lavelle and Acker combined for 18 saves.

Starter Dave Stieb, the one Blue Jay who runs the risk of being recognized in public outside the Exhibition Stadium parking lot, won 14 and lost 13 this season despite a league-leading 2.48 ERA. Starters Alexander (17-10) and left-hander Jimmy Key (14-6) have exceeded expectations.

“We’ve gotten help from everyone on the roster and that’s made it all that much more gratifying,” Cox said.

Moseby summed up his teammates’ feelings after the clincher Saturday night when he said: “I never knew anything could feel this good.”

Moseby, who has been with Toronto for six years, has long been a spokesman for the underrated, unheralded underdogs of the north, but now he’s not so sure he wants recognition.

“You ask anyone who the center fielder for the Blue Jays is and they don’t know. They might say Willie Mays,” he said. “No one knows us. Now that will all turn around and I’m not sure I really want that.”

The spotlight cometh, though, and there’s nothing the Blue Jays can do about it now.

“They’re a little late getting here,” Kansas City Manager Dick Howser said. “I picked ‘em three or four years ago. We knew this was coming.”

So did Pat Gillick.