World Series : Toronto Blue Jays vs. Atlanta Braves : NOTEBOOK
Al LaMacchia, Toronto Blue Jay vice president and one of their two original scouts from their first season in 1977, said there were three reasons the Blue Jays have finally made the World Series.
“We picked up Dave Winfield for his inspiration, we picked up Jack Morris because of his experience in big games and we got David Cone, who gave us the biggest boost of the year,” LaMacchia said. “We could not have won the division without Cone.”
LaMacchia said Blue Jays’ owners were willing to increase their payroll from $26 million to $42 million--ranking third in baseball behind the New York Mets and Dodgers--because they were weary of finishing second.
“The nature of these people is that they are really competitive,” LaMacchia said. “Because we have gotten so close, they didn’t want to leave any stone unturned. Nobody can say we didn’t do everything possible.”
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
