The San Diego Padres were involved in one of the biggest trades in Toronto Blue Jays’ history.
In the early 1990s, the Blue Jays won back-to-back World Series, the last such time a Canadian team won a title in the Big Four North American sports leagues until the Toronto Raptors won the Larry O’Brien Trophy in 2019.
One reason why the Blue Jays were able to do that was thanks to a trade they made on December 10, 1990, as they sent Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez to the Padres for Joe Carter and Roberto Alomar. In this edition of Throwback Thursday, we’ll look at the trade.
Who the Jays got
Drafted by the Chicago Cubs, he played a few minor league seasons in the organization before making his Major League Baseball debut in 1983. That off-season, he was traded to Cleveland, where he spent the majority of his 20s. Before the 1990 season, the Padres acquired him, and he played one year with them. Before the trade, Carter was an average player who slashed .262/.304/.456 with 175 home runs in 4,242 plate appearances for a 103 wRC+.
After the trade, he broke out. In 1991, he slashed .273/.330/.503 with 33 home runs in 706 plate appearances for a 123 wRC+, the second-highest total of his career. Carter found similar success the following season, slashing .264/.309/.498 with a career-best 34 home runs.
In 1993, Carter slashed .254/.312/.489 with 33 home runs in 669 plate appearances. However, his most notable home run, and the biggest home run in Blue Jays history, came on a 2-2 count in the bottom of the ninth, hitting a three-run home run to win the Jays their second consecutive World Series.
Carter played another four seasons with the Blue Jays, slashing .251/.301/.452 with 103 home runs in 2,436 plate appearances. He played another season in the big leagues with the Baltimore Orioles and San Francisco Giants in 1998, but retired after that season.
As for Alomar, he spent five seasons with the Blue Jays, slashing .307/.382/.451 with 55 home runs in 3,105 plate appearances. He was an All-Star and won the Gold Glove every season he played for the Blue Jays.
Who the Jays gave up
Although this trade led to two World Series and a player from it hit one of the most memorable home runs in baseball history, the Padres also got a good deal.
McGriff was a great player for the Jays, slashing .278/.389/.530 with 99 home runs in 1,623 plate appearances. He also played for the Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Dodgers in his career.
By the end of his career, McGriff slashed .284/.377/.509 with 493 home runs in 10,174 plate appearances. In late 2022, he was voted into the Hall of Fame, joining Cooperstown in July 2023.
Before the trade, Fernandez slashed .289/.338/.399 with 40 home runs in 4,321 plate appearances, winning four Gold Gloves and earning two All-Star appearances in the process. After playing two seasons for the Padres, Fernandez was traded to the New York Mets, who later traded him to the Blue Jays before the 1993 trade deadline, helping the Jays win the World Series that season.
Fernandez played elsewhere for the next four seasons, but signed with the Blue Jays before the 1998 season. That year, he slashed .321/.387/.459 with nine home runs in 551 plate appearances. The following season, as a 37-year-old, Fernandez slashed .328/.427/.449 with six home runs in 576 plate appearances, earning his final All-Star nomination.
He spent a season in Japan before signing with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2001. After 72 plate appearances with the Brewers, Fernandez signed with the Blue Jays for his fourth stint with the team.
Tragically, Fernandez passed away on February 16, 2020. He was 57 years old. Rest in Peace, Tony.