Alan Ashby turns 74 today.
Ashby was one of the original Blue Jays players. We picked him up in a trade from Cleveland on November 5, 1976, five months before our first-ever game. Ashby had played parts of the previous four seasons with Cleveland. He hit .227/.304/.320 in 200 games.
Ashby didn’t play in our first game, but he started game 2, batting ninth, and went 1 for 4 in our franchise’s first loss. Alan would play in 124 games that year, hitting .210/.301/.280 with two home runs, 50 walks, and 51 strikeouts. On the defensive side, he threw out 48% of base stealers.
In 1978, he played in 81 games, splitting time at catcher with Rick Cerone. He hit .261/.333/.420 with nine home runs.
After the season, the Jays traded Ashby to the Astros for Joe Cannon, Pete Hernandez, and Mark Lemongello.
Cannon was an outfielder who would play 131 games over the next two seasons with the Jays. He hit a big .177/.186/.208 and wouldn’t play in the majors again after 1980.
Hernandez was a utility-type player. He played in 11 games for the Blue Jays, 3 in 1979, and 8 in 1982, getting a total of 9 PA without getting on base.
Lemongello pitched in 18 games, making 10 starts in 1979, going 1-9 with a 6.29 ERA. In 83 innings, he allowed 97 hits, 14 home runs, 34 walks, and 40 strikeouts. And he wouldn’t pitch in the majors after 1979.
Ashby would play out the rest of his career with the Astros. He’d play in Houston for 11 seasons, hitting .252/.324/.324 in 965 games. His best season was 1987, when Alan hit .288/.367/.438, with 14 homers in 125 games. He was one of the better players on our early teams.
He finished his career with an 11.1 bWAR. He was one of the best original Jays.
In the early days, we had an excess of catchers, one of the few positions where we had a few guys who would be good major leaguers: Ernie Whitt, Rick Cerone, and Ashby. Cerone and Ashby ended up traded, and Whitt had an excellent career with the Jays.
After Ashby’s playing career was over, he coached and managed in the Astros’ minor league system. In 1998, he became the Astros’ colour commentator for their radio broadcasts and held the position through the 2006 season.
From 2007 through the 2012 season, he held the same position for the Blue Jays’ radio broadcasts, working alongside Jerry Howarth. Again, he was very good at the position. He was informative and exciting and could be critical if the situation required it.
After 2012, he went back to working on the Astros broadcasts. He retired a few years ago.
Happy Birthday, Alan.
It is also Jaime Garcia’s birthday. He turns 39 today.
The Jays signed Garcia before the 2018 season. He got an $8 million contract, with an option for a second year at $10 million and a $2 million buyout. The intention was that he would be our fifth starter.
And that’s how the season started. Garcia made 13 starts and had a 2-6 record, with a 6.16 ERA. Marcus Stroman came back from injury in mid-June, and Garcia was the weakest link in the rotation.
They tried Jaime in the bullpen, but that didn’t go much better, with a 4.85 ERA in 12 appearances; he was subsequently released. Then, the Cubs picked him up, and he performed much the same for them.
After the season, he retired at the age of 32.
Jaime had a pretty good career, playing 10 seasons, pitching in 218 games, 188 starts. He had a 70-62 record and a 3.85 ERA, mainly playing for the Cardinals.
Happy Birthday Jaime