2011 Toronto Blue Jays season
The 2011 Toronto Blue Jays season was the 35th season of Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays franchise, and the 22nd full season of play at the Rogers Centre. It was also the first season with John Farrell as the team's manager. The Blue Jays had an up-and-down season, finishing with an 81–81 record, in fourth place in the American League East.
Season summary
Following an unexpectedly successful 2010 season, one of the Blue Jays' priorities was to find a replacement for retiring manager Cito Gaston. After reviewing many candidates, the Blue Jays vetted four finalists, Sandy Alomar Jr., DeMarlo Hale, John Farrell and their third base coach Brian Butterfield. The Jays hired Farrell on October 22, 2010.Relief pitcher Scott Downs declined arbitration, becoming a free agent; he signed with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on December 10, 2010. Catcher John Buck was also expected to leave, as GM Alex Anthopoulos and several commentators noted that he deserved a full-time job and contract coming off an all-star season, but that the Jays would be looking to prospect J. P. Arencibia as their starting catcher, after he hit.301 with 32 home runs in 104 Triple-A games.
The Jays made several notable acquisitions through free agency, including relievers Jon Rauch and Octavio Dotel. On November 17, 2010, the Blue Jays traded for outfielder Rajai Davis from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for two minor league pitchers Trystan Magnuson and Danny Farquhar.
On January 21, the Blue Jays announced a blockbuster deal that sent the face of the franchise, Vernon Wells, to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, in exchange for catcher/first baseman Mike Napoli and outfielder Juan Rivera. Four days later, the Blue Jays traded Napoli to the Texas Rangers for reliever Frank Francisco, Rivera was Designated for assignment by the Blue Jays on July 3, 2011, and acquired by the Los Angeles Dodgers with cash for a player to be named later or cash back.
On February 17, the Blue Jays announced that José Bautista had agreed to a five-year contract extension worth $64 million. Bautista led the MLB with 54 home runs, won the AL Hank Aaron Award and placed fourth in MVP balloting in 2010.
On June 1, in a game against the Cleveland Indians, Eric Thames, Rajai Davis and Jayson Nix hit back-to-back-to-back triples for the first time in franchise history. It was also the first time in the Major Leagues since Mike Gates, Tim Raines and Tim Wallach of the Montreal Expos accomplished this incredibly rare feat back in 1981.
On July 27, the Blue Jays completed a three-team trade to acquire long sought-after center fielder Colby Rasmus from the St. Louis Cardinals. In total, the trade involved many players, with Rasmus, P. J. Walters, Brian Tallet, and Trever Miller traded from St. Louis to Toronto, Mark Teahen traded from the Chicago White Sox to Toronto, Zach Stewart and Jason Frasor traded from Toronto to Chicago, Edwin Jackson traded to the St. Louis Cardinals from the Chicago White Sox, along with outfielder Corey Patterson, relief pitchers Octavio Dotel, and Marc Rzepczynski. The trade was seen as a watershed moment in the Blue Jays development process in the Anthopoulous regime, providing the team a multi-tooled centre fielder to anchor a young, developing outfield trio.
On July 31, the Blue Jays retired their first number, Roberto Alomar's #12.
On August 10, ESPN reported a cover story claiming the Toronto Blue Jays organization engaged in sign stealing from visiting teams at the Rogers Centre, during the 2010 season. The story, by Peter Keating and Amy K. Nelson, alleged that a man in white, sitting in the outfield crowd, was raising his arms above his head to indicate an off-speed pitch. While the story was not validated by visiting players, managers or other MLB organizations, the Blue Jays responded with a press conference to denounce the allegations.
On August 23, Aaron Hill and John McDonald were traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for second baseman Kelly Johnson.
In August, J. P. Arencibia broke the Blue Jays single-season record for most home runs by a catcher, finishing the year with 23. Russell Martin would later tie this record in 2015.
2011 draft picks
The 2011 MLB draft was held on June 7–9.| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College/School | Nationality | Signed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 21 | Tyler Beede | RHP | Lawrence Academy |  RosterTop prospectsPlayer statsBattingNote: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging average
Source: PitchingNote: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts
Source: Honours and awardsAll-Star Game
Farm systemLEAGUE CHAMPIONS: New Hampshire, Vancouver |