1977 Toronto Blue Jays season

1977 Toronto Blue Jays
Inaugural season
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1977)
Eastern Division (since 1977)
Location
Exhibition Stadium (since 1977)
Toronto (since 1977)
Results
Record	54–107 (.335)
Divisional place	7th
Other information
Owner(s)	Labatt Breweries, Imperial Trust, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
General manager(s)	Peter Bavasi
Manager(s)	Roy Hartsfield
Local television	CBC Television (Don Chevrier, Tony Kubek, Tom McKee)
Local radio	CKFH (Early Wynn, Tom Cheek)
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The 1977 Toronto Blue Jays season was the first year of Major League Baseball played by the Toronto-based expansion franchise. The Blue Jays finished seventh in the American League East with a record of 54 wins and 107 losses, 45½ games behind the World Champion New York Yankees.

Offseason

• October 21, 1976: The Blue Jays traded a player to be named later to the Chicago White Sox for Phil Roof. The Blue Jays completed the deal by sending Larry Anderson to the White Sox on January 5, 1977.^[1]
• November 5, 1976: 1976 Major League Baseball expansion draft
  • Rico Carty was drafted by the Blue Jays from the Cleveland Indians with the 10th pick.^[2]
  • Jim Mason was drafted by the Blue Jays from the New York Yankees with the 30th pick.^[3]
• November 5, 1976: Al Fitzmorris was traded by the Blue Jays to the Cleveland Indians for Alan Ashby and Doug Howard.^[4]
• November 5, 1976: Chuck Hartenstein was purchased by the Blue Jays from the San Diego Padres.^[5]
• December 6, 1976: Rico Carty was traded by the Blue Jays to the Cleveland Indians for Rick Cerone and John Lowenstein.^[6]
• February 17, 1977: Dave Roberts was traded by the Blue Jays to the San Diego Padres for Jerry Johnson.^[7]
• February 24, 1977: Mike Weathers (minors) was traded by the Blue Jays to the Oakland Athletics for Ron Fairly.^[8]
• March 29, 1977: John Lowenstein was traded by the Blue Jays to the Cleveland Indians for Héctor Torres.^[9]

Spring training

The Blue Jays spring training was held in Dunedin, Florida. In their first pre-season game on March 11, the Jays beat the New York Mets by a score of 3–1. The first two times that they played the Montreal Expos, the Jays were triumphant as well. Perhaps the highlight of spring training was a match against the Cincinnati Reds. The Blue Jays defeated the defending World Series champions as the Reds were missing only one regular starter from their lineup.^[10] After spring training, the Blue Jays 25-man roster was set. Ron Fairly, who had previously played for the Montreal Expos, was one of the most recognizable players on the nascent team. The only marquee name was Bill Singer. Pat Gillick had a deal with the New York Yankees to trade Singer for a promising, young left-hander named Ron Guidry.^[10] Blue Jays president Peter Bavasi vetoed the deal as Singer was part of his plan to market and promote the team.^[10]

Regular season

The first game

On April 7, 1977, 44,649 fans were in attendance to watch the first game in Toronto Blue Jays franchise history as the squad played the Chicago White Sox.^[11] Notables in attendance that day included Paul Godfrey, Toronto mayor David Crombie, legendary broadcaster Foster Hewitt, and country singer Anne Murray.^[12] Besides the snow that adorned the field, there were hundreds of fans who missed the first pitch due to many traffic jams that day.

The umpires for the game included crew chief Nestor Chylak, Joe Brinkman, Rich Garcia, and 27-year-old Steve Palermo, who was making his major league debut.^[13] The game was broadcast on the CBC with Tom McKee (host), Don Chevrier (play by play) and New York Yankee legend Whitey Ford providing the commentary. McKee was the first ever face, and voice, to appear on the inaugural Blue Jays telecast. The Blue Jays would only appear on the CBC sixteen times that first season.^[12]

As the snow was squeegeed off the field (via Zamboni loaned to them by the Toronto Maple Leafs), the 48th Highlanders marched onto the field to perform the Star Spangled Banner. Canadian country music star Murray arrived to sing O Canada while wearing a red parka.^[13]

The fans chanted "We want beer", because Toronto's Exhibition Stadium was the only stadium in the major leagues to not serve beer.^[14]

Bill Singer took to the mound and threw the first pitch in Toronto Blue Jays history against Ralph Garr of the White Sox. The pitch was a high fastball called for a strike.^[14] From an 0–2 count, Garr battled back to get the count to 3–2, then drew a walk. Afterwards, Garr stole second base, and advanced to third base when Blue Jays catcher Rick Cerone's throw went into center field.^[14] The next batter was shortstop Alan Bannister who hit a fly ball for the first out of the game. Jorge Orta batted third and he hit a sacrifice fly which scored Garr, the first run at Exhibition Stadium.^[14] Richie Zisk followed and hit the first home run in the history of the stadium. The score was now 2–0 in favour of the White Sox.

Blue Jays manager Roy Hartsfield went to the mound to talk to Singer. As Hartsfield went to the mound, reliever Jerry Johnson started warming up in the bullpen. Singer was able to compose himself and he got Eric Soderholm to hit into a fielder's choice to end the inning.^[14]

John Scott was the first Blue Jay to take an at bat for the team. He faced White Sox pitcher Ken Brett, taking a strike on the first pitch thrown to him.^[12] He struck out, as did the next Jays batter, Héctor Torres.

The third Blue Jays batter into the game was Doug Ault, a 27 year old career minor leaguer with only nine games experience in the major leagues who had been the Blue Jays' sixteenth pick in the expansion draft.^[12] On a 1–1 pitch, Ault hit the first home run in Blue Jays history. The score was now 2–1 in favour of Chicago.

After the second inning it was 4–1 for Chicago.^[12] In the bottom of the second, Gary Woods bunted for a single, stole second, scoring on a hit by Pedro García.

In the third inning, Torres had a single and Ault was back at the plate. With the count 1–1, Ault hit his second home run down the right field line, and the game was tied at 4 runs apiece.^[12] Heading into the fourth inning, Toronto got the lead as Dave McKay singled in García from second base.^[15]

Singer was still in the game in the top of the fifth inning, striking out Chet Lemon, but Brian Downing and Ralph Garr singled off him.^[15] Hartsfield came out to the mound and pulled Singer out of the game. Singer left to a standing ovation as Jerry Johnson entered the game.^[15] Johnson got the final two outs of the fifth inning.

Al Woods came up to pinch hit for Steve Bowling in the bottom of the fifth inning.^[15] With Otto Vélez on the basepads, Woods homered to right field.^[15] The score was now 7–4 in favour of Toronto, with the team having scored in every inning of the game to that point.

The Sox scored a run in the sixth inning and it was 7–5. Pete Vuckovich started the eighth inning. He struck out two batters, gave up a walk and a single, but got a ground ball to end the inning.^[16] In the bottom of the inning, Ault returned to the plate and singled in another run to make the score 8–5. Another run was scored on a double play to make the score 9–5 in favour of the Blue Jays.

In the top of the ninth inning, Vuckovich retired Jorge Orta on a ground ball. Vuckovich then struck out Richie Zisk. For the day, Zisk had four hits in five at bats.^[16] With one out to go for the win, Jim Spencer hit a line drive to left field but Scott dropped the ball for a two-base error. Oscar Gamble was up at the plate and he grounded out to the shortstop.^[16] The Jays won their first game in franchise history with Jerry Johnson picking up the win while Vuckovich got the first save.^[16]

The heroes of opening day would not have a future with the Jays. Jerry Johnson would end up in Hollywood working as a stuntman. At the 1977 Winter Meetings, Toronto traded Vuckovich to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Tom Underwood.^[16] Doug Ault was back in the minors in 1979.^[17]

Linescore

April 7, Exhibition Stadium, Toronto, Ontario

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chicago	2	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	5	15	0
Toronto	1	1	2	1	2	0	0	2	0	9	16	1
W: Jerry Johnson (1–0)  L: Ken Brett (0–1)
HRs: Doug Ault (2), Alvis Woods (1), Richie Zisk (1)

Boxscore

Batting

Chicago White Sox	AB	R	H	RBI	Toronto Blue Jays	AB	R	H	RBI
Garr, lf	5	2	3	0	Scott, lf	5	1	1	0
Bannister, ss	5	0	1	1	Torres, ss	2	1	1	0
Nyman, ph	1	0	0	0	Mason, ph/ss	1	1	0	0
Nordbrook, ss	0	0	0	0	Ault, 1b	4	2	3	4
Orta, 2b	4	0	0	1	Vélez, dh	4	1	2	0
Zisk, rf	6	2	4	2	G. Woods, cf	5	1	1	0
Spencer, 1b	6	0	2	0	Bowling, rf	2	0	0	0
Gamble, dh	3	0	0	0	A. Woods, ph, rf	3	1	1	2
Soderholm, 3b	5	0	2	1	García, 2b	4	1	3	1
Lemon, cf	4	0	0	0	McKay, 3b	4	0	2	1
Downing, c	4	1	3	0	Cerone, c	4	0	2	0
Totals	43	5	15	5	Totals	38	9	16	8

Pitching

Chicago White Sox	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Brett, L (0–1)	3.0	9	5	5	0	4
Barrios	3.0	3	2	2	3	1
Hamilton	1.0	3	2	2	0	1
LaGrow	1.0	1	0	0	0	1
Totals	8.0	16	9	9	3	7

Toronto Blue Jays	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Singer	4.1	11	4	3	3	5
Johnson W (1–0)	2.2	3	1	1	3	1
Vuckovich, SV (1)	2.0	1	0	0	1	3
Totals	9.0	15	5	4	7	9

April

The Blue Jays would finish off their first ever homestand with a 5-2 record, sitting in first place in the American League East by 0.5 games, as the team took two of three against the Chicago White Sox and three of four from the Detroit Tigers. Pitcher Jerry Garvin picked up two of Toronto's five wins.

The Blue Jays struggled on their first ever road trip, as they were swept in a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox, followed by a split in a four-game series against the New York Yankees to return home with a 7-7 record.

On April 27, the Blue Jays were involved in their first ever extra innings game, as the team defeated the Cleveland Indians 6-5 in 12 innings.

The Jays would finish the month in fifth place with a 10-11 record, three games out of first place. Pitcher Jerry Garvin had an impressive 4-0 record with a 2.14 ERA. Outfielder Otto Vélez hit .442 with five home runs and 18 RBI and was named American League Player of the Month.

May

On May 4, the Blue Jays scored 10 runs in a game for the first time in team history, as they defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 10-3 at Exhibition Stadium. The team would get 10 runs again five nights later on May 9 in a 10-4 win in their first ever game against their expansion cousins, the Seattle Mariners.

On May 14, the Jays allowed double digits in runs for the first time in a 13-3 loss against the Minnesota Twins.

Toronto struggled during the month of May, as the team would post a record of 8-17. Following a 6-5 loss to the Oakland Athletics on May 25, the Blue Jays fell into last place in the American League East for the first time.

June

After losing their first two games in the month of June, the Blue Jays would win five of their next six games, as their only loss in that span was a 2-1 decision in 13 innings against the California Angels. Following that, Toronto would win only two of their next 14 games.

On June 27, Ron Guidry of the New York Yankees was carrying a no-hitter into the fifth inning when he walked the bases loaded, then gave up a grand slam to light hitting Hector Torres, which saw his Blue Jays win the game 7-6.

During the month, Toronto had a 10-17 record, bringing their overall record to 28-45, seventh place in the American League East.

July

The Blue Jays played their first ever Canada Day game on July 1, as Toronto lost to the Texas Rangers 11-8 at Exhibition Stadium.

The Blue Jays would go into the All-Star break with a 34-58 record, 19 games out of first place. At the 1977 Major League Baseball All-Star Game held at Yankee Stadium in New York City on July 19, first baseman Ron Fairly was the only Blue Jays representative. He struck out in his only at-bat against Tom Seaver.

After the All-Star break, the Blue Jays would continue to struggle, losing eight games in a row, before ending the month with a win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Toronto would have a record of 7-21 in July to bring their overall record to 35-66, and 24 games out of first place.

August

On August 9, the Blue Jays defeated the Minnesota Twins 6-2 in front of 23,450 fans at Exhibition Stadium, as the franchise broke the Major League record for attendance by an expansion team in a season.

It was another tough month for the ballclub, as Toronto went 10-18 during August, and a record of 45-84 during the season, 32.5 games out of first place. The Blue Jays lost their last five games in August.

September/October

Toronto began September with six losses in a row, bringing their overall losing streak to 11 games, before defeating the Boston Red Sox 3-2 on September 7.

On September 10, Roy Howell drove in a club record nine runs in a 19-3 win over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. It also marked the Yankees worst lose at home in over 50 years.

On September 15, the Blue Jays earned a 9-0 forfeit victory over the Baltimore Orioles when Orioles manager Earl Weaver removed his club from the field in the fifth inning.^[18]

The Blue Jays inaugural season came to a close on October 2, as they split a double header against the Cleveland Indians in front of 27,789 fans at Exhibition Stadium, bringing the Blue Jays total attendance to 1,701,052, an MLB record for an expansion team.

Toronto finished the year in last place in the American League East with a 54-107 record, 45.5 games behind the first place New York Yankees. Toronto also finished 9.5 games worse than their expansion cousins, the Seattle Mariners, who had a 64-98 record.

Season standings

AL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	100	62	0.617	—	55–26	45–36
Baltimore Orioles	97	64	0.602	2½	54–27	43–37
Boston Red Sox	97	64	0.602	2½	51–29	46–35
Detroit Tigers	74	88	0.457	26	39–42	35–46
Cleveland Indians	71	90	0.441	28½	37–44	34–46
Milwaukee Brewers	67	95	0.414	33	37–44	30–51
Toronto Blue Jays	54	107	0.335	45½	25–55	29–52

Record vs. opponents

1977 American League Records Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	6–8	5–6	5–5	11–4	12–3	4–7	11–4	6–4	8–7	8–2	7–3	4–6	10–5
Boston	8–6	—	7–3	3–7	8–7	9–6	5–5	9–6	4–6	8–7	8–3	10–1	6–4	12–3
California	6–5	3–7	—	8–7	6–4	4–6	6–9	5–5	7–8	4–7	5–10	9–6	5–10	6–4
Chicago	5–5	7–3	7–8	—	6–4	4–6	8–7	6–5	10–5	3–7	10–5	10–5	6–9	8–3
Cleveland	4–11	7–8	4–6	4–6	—	8–7	3–7	11–4	2–9	3–12	7–3	7–3	2–9	9–5
Detroit	3–12	6–9	6–4	6–4	7–8	—	3–8	10–5	5–5	6–9	5–5	5–6	2–8	10–5
Kansas City	7–4	5–5	9–6	7–8	7–3	8–3	—	8–2	10–5	5–5	9–6	11–4	8–7	8–2
Milwaukee	4–11	6–9	5–5	5–6	4–11	5–10	2–8	—	3–8	8–7	5–5	7–3	5–5	8–7
Minnesota	4–6	6–4	8–7	5–10	9–2	5–5	5–10	8–3	—	2–8	8–6	7–8	8–7	9–1
New York	7–8	7–8	7–4	7–3	12–3	9–6	5–5	7–8	8–2	—	9–2	6–4	7–3	9–6
Oakland	2–8	3–8	10–5	5–10	3–7	5–5	6–9	5–5	6–8	2–9	—	7–8	2–13	7–3
Seattle	3–7	1–10	6–9	5–10	3–7	6–5	4–11	3–7	8–7	4–6	8–7	—	9–6	4–6
Texas	6–4	4–6	10–5	9–6	9–2	8–2	7–8	5–5	7–8	3–7	13–2	6–9	—	7–4
Toronto	5–10	3–12	4–6	3–8	5–9	5–10	2–8	7–8	1–9	6–9	3–7	6–4	4–7	—

Notable transactions

• April 14, 1977: Canadian-born Paul Hodgson was signed as an amateur free agent by the Blue Jays.^[19]
• May 9, 1977: Steve Hargan and Jim Mason were traded by the Blue Jays to the Texas Rangers for Roy Howell.^[3]
• June 7, 1977: Future NBA star Danny Ainge was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 15th round of the 1977 Major League Baseball draft.^[20]

Roster

1977 Toronto Blue Jays
Roster
Pitchers 21 Tom Bruno 48 Jeff Byrd 18 Jim Clancy 28 Mike Darr 22 Dennis DeBarr 36 Jerry Garvin 26 Steve Hargan 24 Chuck Hartenstein 34 Jesse Jefferson 44 Jerry Johnson 23 Dave Lemanczyk 45 Tom Murphy 48 Bill Singer 30 Pete Vuckovich 33 Mike Willis		Catchers  8 Alan Ashby  9 Rick Cerone  4 Phil Roof 12 Ernie Whitt Infielders 25 Doug Ault  6 Ron Fairly 38 Pedro García 13 Roy Howell 10 Jim Mason 39 Dave McKay 16 Tim Nordbrook 10 Doug Rader  2 Steve Staggs 29 Héctor Torres		Outfielders  1 Bob Bailor  3 Steve Bowling  5 Sam Ewing 11 John Scott 19 Otto Vélez 20 Al Woods 35 Gary Woods		Manager  7 Roy Hartsfield Coaches 31 Bobby Doerr (Hitting) 43 Don Leppert (First Base) 15 Bob Miller (Pitching) 42 Jackie Moore (Third Base) 41 Harry Warner (Bullpen)

Game log

1977 Game Log 54–107 (Home 25–55, Away 29–52)
April 10–11 (Home 6–4, Away 4–7) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 1 April 7 White Sox 9–5 Johnson (1–0) Brett (0–1) Vuckovic (1) 44,649 1–0 2 April 9 White Sox 3–2 Knapp (1–0) Lemanczyk (0–1) LaGrow (1) 18,214 1–1 3 April 10 White Sox 3–1 Garvin (1–0) Stone (0–1) Vuckovic (2) 17,059 2–1 4 April 11 Tigers 5–3 Hargan (1–0) Hiller (0–1) 29,132 3–1 5 April 12 Tigers 6–1 Roberts (1–1) Singer (0–1) 11,505 3–2 6 April 13 Tigers 7–6 Lemanczyk (1–1) Arroyo (0–1) Willis (1) 12,113 4–2 7 April 14 Tigers 5–3 Garvin (2–0) Hiller (0–2) 13,369 5–2 8 April 15 @ White Sox 7–5 Barrios (1–0) Johnson (1–1) 10,840 5–3 9 April 16 @ White Sox 3–2 Stone (1–1) Vuckovic (0–1) 7,467 5–4 10 April 17 @ White Sox 4–2 Brett (2–1) Singer (0–2) Del Canton (1) 14,583 5–5 11 April 18 @ Yankees 5–1 Lemanczyk (2–1) Figueroa (0–2) 9,685 6–5 12 April 19 @ Yankees 8–3 Garvin (3–0) Patterson (0–1) 9,954 7–5 13 April 20 @ Yankees 7–5 Gullett (1–2) Hargan (1–1) Lyle (2) 10,819 7–6 14 April 21 @ Yankees 8–6 Holtzman (1–0) Hartenstein (0–1) Lyle (3) 10,502 7–7 – April 22 Red Sox Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for April 25 – April 23 Red Sox Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for September 5 15 April 24 Red Sox 9–0 Jenkins (2–1) Singer (0–3) 29,303 7–8 16 April 25 Red Sox 4–3 Vuckovich (1–1) Campbell (0–3) 8–8 17 April 25 Red Sox 6–5 Willoughby (1–0) Vuckovic (1–2) 15,016 8–9 – April 26 @ Indians Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for April 28 18 April 27 @ Indians 6–5 (12) Willis (1–0) Kern (0–1) 3,639 9–9 19 April 28 @ Indians 4–3 Fitzmorris (1–2) Jefferson (0–1) Waits (1) 2,724 9–10 20 April 29 @ Royals 6–1 Colborn (4–1) Singer (0–4) 15,523 9–11 21 April 30 @ Royals 2–1 Garvin (4–0) Splittorff (1–2) 15,301 10–11
May 8–17 (Home 5–10, Away 3–7) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 22 May 1 @ Royals 8–2 Gura (2–0) Lemanczyk (2–2) Littell (3) 34,066 10–12 23 May 2 Brewers 3–1 Haas (1–1) Hargan (1–2) Castro (5) 17,577 10–13 24 May 3 Brewers 6–2 Cort (1–0) Jefferson (0–2) 13,148 10–14 25 May 4 Brewers 10–3 Singer (1–4) Slaton (1–2) Willis (2) 25,699 11–14 26 May 5 Brewers 9–8 Vuckovic (2–2) Castro (3–1) 12,268 12–14 27 May 6 Twins 7–2 Zahn (5–0) Lemanczyk (2–3) Schueler (1) 26,355 12–15 28 May 7 Twins 4–1 Thormodsgard (2–1) Hargan (1–3) Johnson (4) 34,091 12–16 29 May 8 Twins 5–4 Goltz (1–2) Jefferson (0–3) Johnson (5) 20,902 12–17 30 May 9 Mariners 10–4 Singer (2–4) Thomas (1–4) 11,680 13–17 31 May 10 Mariners 9–3 Garvin (5–0) Montague (3–3) 13,017 14–17 32 May 13 @ Twins 4–3 (11) Schueler (2–1) Willis (1–1) 9,667 14–18 33 May 14 @ Twins 13–3 Goltz (2–2) Singer (2–5) 10,503 14–19 34 May 15 @ Twins 5–3 Burgmeier (4–1) Garvin (5–1) Schueler (2) 11,401 14–20 35 May 17 @ Brewers 3–1 Jefferson (1–3) Haas (3–2) Johnson (1) 6,810 15–20 36 May 18 @ Brewers 3–2 (10) Castro (4–1) Vuckovic (2–3) 7,208 15–21 37 May 19 @ Brewers 5–3 Slaton (2–4) Singer (2–6) McClure (3) 8,469 15–22 38 May 20 @ Rangers 4–3 Garvin (6–1) Blyleven (4–4) 21,965 16–22 39 May 21 @ Rangers 9–6 Jefferson (2–3) Briles (2–1) Willis (3) 20,351 17–22 40 May 22 @ Rangers 7–4 Alexander (6–1) Lemanczyk (2–4) Knowles (2) 21,831 17–23 41 May 23 Athletics 3–0 Langford (4–3) Vuckovic (2–4) 27,705 17–24 42 May 25 Athletics 6–5 (10) Giusti (1–2) Garvin (6–2) 36,097 17–25 43 May 27 Angels 4–1 Ross (2–2) Johnson (1–2) Hartzell (4) 24,779 17–26 44 May 28 Angels 6–4 Jefferson (3–3) Simpson (3–4) Vuckovic (3) 30,034 18–26 45 May 29 Angels 3–2 Ryan (8–4) Lemanczyk (2–5) 30,009 18–27 46 May 30 Royals 4–1 Splittorff (4–4) Garvin (6–3) Littell (6) 20,002 18–28
June 10–17 (Home 3–9, Away 7–8) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 47 June 1 Royals 11–3 Leonard (3–5) Singer (2–7) 33,004 18–29 48 June 3 @ Athletics 3–2 Lacey (2–2) Jefferson (3–4) 3,030 18–30 49 June 4 @ Athletics 4–2 Lemanczyk (3–5) Ellis (2–5) Vuckovic (4) 4,525 19–30 50 June 5 @ Athletics 7–3 Garvin (7–3) Blue (3–7) Johnson (2) 4,580 20–30 51 June 7 @ Angels 6–3 Willis (2–1) Hartzell (1–5) 10,239 21–30 52 June 8 @ Angels 2–1 (13) LaRoche (4–2) Bruno (0–1) 11,678 21–31 53 June 10 @ Mariners 4–3 Lemanczyk (4–5) Montague (5–4) Willis (4) 11,786 22–31 54 June 11 @ Mariners 5–4 Johnson (2–2) Romo (3–4) 21,318 23–31 55 June 12 @ Mariners 5–2 Pole (3–2) Vuckovic (2–5) 28,412 23–32 56 June 14 @ Tigers 7–2 Hiller (4–6) Jefferson (3–5) 11,808 23–33 57 June 15 @ Tigers 9–0 Arroyo (5–3) Lemanczyk (4–6) 11,349 23–34 58 June 16 @ Tigers 4–1 Fidrych (3–2) Garvin (7–4) 26,041 23–35 59 June 17 Orioles 5–3 Martínez (6–4) Vuckovic (2–6) 26,183 23–36 60 June 18 Orioles 4–2 Palmer (8–6) Jefferson (3–6) Martinez (2) 33,201 23–37 61 June 19 Orioles 7–1 Lemanczyk (5–6) Flanagan (2–7) 34,556 24–37 62 June 20 Indians 8–5 (11) Dobson (2–6) Willis (2–2) Kern (8) 24,568 24–38 63 June 21 Indians 4–0 Waits (4–0) Garvin (7–5) Kern (9) 18,039 24–39 64 June 22 Indians 7–5 (12) Kern (3–3) Johnson (2–3) Monge (4) 29,750 24–40 65 June 23 Indians 4–0 Garland (4–7) Jefferson (3–7) 16,747 24–41 66 June 24 @ Orioles 5–4 Lemanczyk (6–6) Holdsworth (0–1) Willis (5) 8,133 25–41 67 June 25 @ Orioles 5–2 Martínez (7–5) Byrd (0–1) 16,794 25–42 68 June 25 @ Orioles 3–1 Grimsley (7–3) Garvin (7–6) 16,794 25–43 69 June 26 @ Orioles 2–0 Vuckovic (3–6) Palmer (8–8) 16,761 26–43 70 June 27 Yankees 7–6 Jefferson (4–7) Guidry (5–4) Johnson (3) 29,138 27–43 71 June 28 Yankees 8–5 Lemanczyk (7–6) Clay (0–2) 40,116 28–43 72 June 28 Yankees 5–1 (11) Tidrow (6–2) Johnson (2–4) 40,116 28–44 73 June 30 Yankees 11–5 Hunter (4–3) Garvin (7–7) 33,283 28–45
July 7–21 (Home 5–10, Away 2–11) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 74 July 1 Rangers 11–8 Alexander (7–5) Byrd (0–2) Devine (4) 21,089 28–46 75 July 2 Rangers 10–7 Vuckovic (4–6) Barker (0–1) 19,176 29–46 76 July 3 Rangers 6–3 (10) Ellis (4–7) Willis (2–3) Knowles (3) 29–47 77 July 3 Rangers 5–3 Jefferson (5–7) Knowles (2–1) 32,066 30–47 78 July 4 @ Red Sox 9–6 Campbell (6–5) Hartenstein (0–2) 21,073 30–48 79 July 6 @ Red Sox 9–5 Campbell (7–5) Vuckovic (4–7) 34,956 30–49 80 July 7 @ Red Sox 5–2 Stanley (5–3) Jefferson (5–8) Campbell (16) 32,641 30–50 81 July 8 @ Indians 11–5 Eckersley (8–7) Lemanczyk (7–7) 12,719 30–51 82 July 9 @ Indians 3–2 Garland (6–9) Garvin (7–8) 19,594 30–52 83 July 10 @ Indians 5–3 Byrd (1–2) Dobson (3–8) Vuckovic (5) 12,935 31–52 84 July 11 @ Tigers 9–7 Grilli (1–0) DeBarr (0–1) 9,057 31–53 85 July 12 @ Tigers 2–1 Crawford (3–2) Jefferson (5–9) 25,007 31–54 86 July 13 @ White Sox 6–3 Knapp (8–4) Singer (2–8) Johnson (2) 31–55 87 July 13 @ White Sox 5–3 (11) Lemanczyk (8–7) Kucek (0–1) 25,669 32–55 88 July 14 @ White Sox 2–1 Kravec (6–2) Garvin (7–9) 15,937 32–56 89 July 15 Tigers 8–6 (13) Vuckovic (5–7) Crawford (3–3) 23,749 33–56 90 July 16 Tigers 11–3 Rozema (8–4) Willis (2–4) 35,151 33–57 91 July 17 Tigers 3–2 Jefferson (6–9) Arroyo (5–9) 34–57 92 July 17 Tigers 7–6 (11) Hiller (5–9) Lemanczyk (8–8) 36,613 34–58 93 July 22 White Sox 10–3 Wood (5–2) Garvin (7–10) LaGrow (17) 33,175 34–59 94 July 23 White Sox 10–3 Kravec (7–2) Lemanczyk (8–9) 24,263 34–60 95 July 24 @ Tigers 6–2 Sykes (2–3) Jefferson (6–10) 20,177 34–61 96 July 25 @ Tigers 8–3 Wilcox (2–0) Byrd (1–3) Crawford (1) 16,911 34–62 97 July 26 Rangers 14–0 Blyleven (10–9) Clancy (0–1) 22,357 34–63 98 July 28 Rangers 3–0 Perry (9–8) Garvin (7–11) 17,512 34–64 99 July 29 Brewers 7–3 Haas (7–7) Jefferson (6–11) 14,303 34–65 100 July 30 Brewers 3–2 Slaton (8–9) Byrd (1–4) 18,639 34–66 101 July 31 Brewers 4–1 Lemanczyk (9–9) Augustine (10–12) Murphy (1) 28,110 35–66
August 10–18 (Home 3–8, Away 7–10) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 102 August 1 Brewers 3–2 Clancy (1–1) Sorensen (2–5) 17,590 36–66 103 August 3 @ Royals 7–4 Splittorff (9–5) Garvin (7–12) Bird (1) 16,775 36–67 104 August 4 @ Royals 8–0 Gura (6–5) Jefferson (6–12) 17,661 36–68 105 August 5 @ Brewers 6–1 Byrd (2–4) Slaton (8–10) 13,609 37–68 106 August 6 @ Brewers 5–3 Lemanczyk (10–9) Augustine (10–13) Johnson (4) 12,720 38–68 107 August 7 @ Brewers 6–2 Sorensen (3–5) Garvin (7–13) McClure (4) 38–69 108 August 7 @ Brewers 7–5 Haas (8–7) Clancy (1–2) Hinds (2) 12,070 38–70 109 August 9 Twins 6–2 Jefferson (7–12) Thormodsgard (9–9) 23,450 39–70 110 August 11 Twins 7–3 Goltz (15–6) Byrd (2–5) Johnson (14) 18,430 39–71 111 August 12 Royals 9–8 Pattin (5–2) Lemanczyk (10–10) Bird (3) 19,143 39–72 112 August 13 Royals 5–3 Splittorff (10–6) Clancy (1–3) Bird (4) 25,027 39–73 113 August 14 Royals 6–3 Murphy (1–1) Leonard (12–10) Vuckovic (6) 27,430 40–73 114 August 15 Angels 7–4 Tanana (14–7) Jefferson (7–13) 18,453 40–74 115 August 16 Angels 7–2 Hartzell (6–7) Byrd (2–6) 15,424 40–75 116 August 17 @ Rangers 6–5 (10) Devine (9–6) Willis (2–5) 12,913 40–76 117 August 18 @ Rangers 8–0 Ellis (7–9) Clancy (1–4) 15,740 40–77 118 August 19 @ Angels 3–1 Garvin (8–13) Ryan (17–11) Vuckovic (7) 16,570 41–77 119 August 20 @ Angels 5–4 Vuckovic (6–7) LaRoche (7–5) 15,311 42–77 120 August 21 @ Angels 3–2 Tanana (15–7) Byrd (2–7) 12,421 42–78 121 August 22 @ Athletics 5–2 Medich (6–6) Lemanczyk (10–11) Lacey (7) 4,429 42–79 122 August 23 @ Athletics 8–1 Clancy (2–4) Umbarger (1–5) 3,797 43–79 123 August 24 @ Mariners 7–0 Garvin (9–13) Pole (7–11) 44–79 124 August 24 @ Mariners 9–3 Jefferson (8–13) Abbott (10–9) 13,253 45–79 125 August 26 Athletics 8–4 Torrealba (4–4) Byrd (2–8) 22,536 45–80 126 August 27 Athletics 9–8 Medich (7–6) Lemanczyk (10–12) Bair (2) 23,651 45–81 127 August 28 Athletics 6–2 Blue (13–15) Clancy (2–5) 24,087 45–82 128 August 29 @ Twins 7–6 (10) Schueler (7–6) Murphy (1–2) 45–83 129 August 29 @ Twins 6–5 Johnson (15–6) Willis (2–6) 10,364 45–84
September 8–22 (Home 2–13, Away 6–9) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 130 September 2 Mariners 4–3 Abbott (11–10) Lemanczyk (10–13) 13,502 45–85 131 September 3 Mariners 6–2 Montague (7–10) Jefferson (8–14) Romo (12) 15,109 45–86 132 September 4 Mariners 7–2 Mitchell (2–5) Garvin (9–14) 17,084 45–87 133 September 5 Red Sox 8–0 Aase (4–1) Byrd (2–9) 45–88 134 September 5 Red Sox 6–0 Cleveland (9–7) Clancy (2–6) 30,373 45–89 135 September 6 Red Sox 11–2 Lee (7–3) Darr (0–1) 17,666 45–90 136 September 7 Red Sox 3–2 Lemanczyk (11–13) Jenkins (10–10) 31,684 46–90 137 September 8 Red Sox 7–2 Paxton (9–4) Jefferson (8–15) 19,163 46–91 138 September 9 @ Yankees 2–0 Torrez (16–12) Garvin (9–15) 21,145 46–92 139 September 10 @ Yankees 19–3 Clancy (3–6) Hunter (9–9) 20,296 47–92 140 September 11 @ Yankees 4–3 Tidrow (10–4) Byrd (2–10) Lyle (23) 40,905 47–93 141 September 11 @ Yankees 6–4 Murphy (2–2) Gullett (11–4) Johnson (5) 40,905 48–93 142 September 12 Orioles 6–3 Palmer (16–11) Lemanczyk (11–14) Martinez (8) 13,498 48–94 143 September 14 Orioles 6–5 Flanagan (12–10) Jefferson (8–16) McGregor (3) 19,048 48–95 144 September 14 Orioles 4–2 May (17–12) Garvin (9–16) McGregor (4) 19,048 48–96 145 September 15 Orioles 4–0 (5) † Clancy (4–6) Grimsley (13–9) 14,015 49–96 – September 16 @ Indians Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for September 17 146 September 17 @ Indians 6–3 Eckersley (14–12) Byrd (2–11) Dobson (1) 49–97 147 September 17 @ Indians 6–5 Lemanczyk (12–14) Waits (8–6) Murphy (2) 5,593 50–97 148 September 18 @ Indians 7–4 Jefferson (9–16) Garland (11–19) Vuckovic (8) 4,376 51–97 149 September 19 @ Orioles 3–1 Garvin (10–16) May (17–13) 3,325 52–97 150 September 20 @ Orioles 5–2 Palmer (18–11) Clancy (4–7) 4,301 52–98 151 September 21 @ Orioles 4–0 Grimsley (14–9) Byrd (2–12) 4,237 52–99 152 September 22 @ Orioles 7–1 Flanagan (13–10) Lemanczyk (12–15) 9,261 52–100 153 September 23 Yankees 5–3 Gullett (13–4) Jefferson (9–17) 32,590 52–101 – September 24 Yankees Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for September 25 154 September 25 Yankees 15–0 Guidry (16–6) Garvin (10–17) 35,117 52–102 155 September 25 Yankees 2–0 Figueroa (16–10) Clancy (4–8) Lyle (25) 35,117 52–103 – September 26 @ Red Sox Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for September 27 156 September 27 @ Red Sox 6–5 Aase (6–2) Byrd (2–13) Campbell (30) 52–104 157 September 27 @ Red Sox 5–1 Tiant (12–8) Lemanczyk (12–16) Campbell (31) 23,952 52–105 158 September 28 @ Red Sox 3–2 Vuckovic (7–7) Lee (9–5) 20,362 53–105 159 September 29 @ Red Sox 7–3 Stanley (8–7) Garvin (10–18) 12,240 53–106 – September 30 Indians Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for October 1
October 1–1 (Home 1–1, Away 0–0) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record – October 1 Indians Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for October 2 – October 1 Indians Postponed (rain) Not rescheduled 160 October 2 Indians 2–1 (11) Lemanczyk (13–16) Andersen (0–1) 54–106 161 October 2 Indians 5–4 Camper (1–0) Clancy (4–9) Waits (2) 27,789 54–107 † Game forfeited by Baltimore.

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; Avg = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases

Pos	Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	Avg	HR	RBI	SB
C	Ashby, AlanAlan Ashby	124	396	25	83	16	3	.210	2	29	0
1B	Ault, DougDoug Ault	129	445	44	109	22	3	.245	11	64	4
2B	Staggs, SteveSteve Staggs	72	290	37	75	11	6	.259	2	28	5
3B	Howell, RoyRoy Howell	96	364	41	115	17	1	.316	10	44	4
SS	Torres, HéctorHéctor Torres	91	266	33	64	7	3	.241	5	26	1
LF	Woods, AlAl Woods	122	440	58	125	17	4	.284	6	35	8
CF	Woods, GaryGary Woods	60	227	21	49	9	1	.216	0	17	5
RF	Vélez, OttoOtto Vélez	120	360	50	92	19	3	.256	16	62	4
DH	Fairly, RonRon Fairly	132	458	60	128	24	2	.279	19	64	0

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; Avg = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases

Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	Avg	HR	RBI	SB
Bailor, BobBob Bailor	122	496	62	154	21	5	.310	5	32	15
Rader, DougDoug Rader	96	313	47	75	18	2	.240	13	40	2
McKay, DaveDave McKay	95	274	18	54	4	3	.197	3	22	2
Ewing, SamSam Ewing	97	244	24	70	8	2	.287	4	34	1
Scott, JohnJohn Scott	79	233	26	56	9	0	.240	2	15	10
Bowling, SteveSteve Bowling	89	194	19	40	8	1	.206	1	13	2
Garcia, PedroPedro Garcia	41	130	10	27	10	1	.208	0	9	0
Cerone, RickRick Cerone	31	100	7	20	4	0	.200	1	10	0
Mason, JimJim Mason	22	79	10	13	3	0	.165	0	2	1
Nordbrook, TimTim Nordbrook	24	63	9	11	0	1	.175	0	1	1
Whitt, ErnieErnie Whitt	23	41	4	7	3	0	.171	0	6	0
Roof, PhilPhil Roof	3	5	0	0	0	0	.000	0	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player	G	GS	IP	W	L	ERA	R	ER	BB	K
Lemanczyk, DaveDave Lemanczyk	34	34	252	13	16	4.25	143	119	87	105
Garvin, JerryJerry Garvin	34	34	244.2	10	18	4.19	127	114	85	127
Jefferson, JesseJesse Jefferson	33	33	217	9	17	4.31	123	104	83	114
Byrd, JeffJeff Byrd	17	17	87.1	2	13	6.18	68	60	68	40
Clancy, JimJim Clancy	13	13	76.2	4	9	5.05	47	43	47	44
Singer, BillBill Singer	13	12	59.2	2	8	6.79	54	45	39	33
Hargan, SteveSteve Hargan	6	5	29.1	1	3	5.22	17	17	14	11
Darr, MikeMike Darr	1	1	1.1	0	1	33.75	5	5	4	1

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	SV	ERA	R	ER	BB	K
Vuckovich, PetePete Vuckovich	53	148	7	7	8	3.47	64	57	59	123
Johnson, JerryJerry Johnson	43	86	2	4	5	4.60	50	44	54	54
Willis, MikeMike Willis	43	107.1	2	6	5	3.94	48	47	38	59
Murphy, TomTom Murphy	19	52	2	1	2	3.63	22	21	18	26
DeBarr, DennisDennis DeBarr	14	21.1	0	1	0	5.91	14	14	8	10
Bruno, TomTom Bruno	12	18.1	0	1	0	7.85	18	16	13	9
Hartenstein, ChuckChuck Hartenstein	13	27.1	0	2	0	6.59	22	20	6	15

Awards and honors

• Otto Vélez, OF-DH, Player of the Month Award, April

All-Star Game

• Ron Fairly, First Base, Reserve^[21]

Franchise firsts

• April 7, 1977:
  • Game & Win: Toronto 9, Chicago (White Sox) 5 (at Exhibition Stadium)
  • Batter: John Scott
  • Pitcher: Bill Singer
  • Home Run: Doug Ault vs. Chicago (AL)
  • Save: Pete Vuckovich vs. Chicago (AL)
• Grand Slam: June 27, 1977: Héctor Torres vs. New York (AL)
• Walk Off Win: July 15, 1977: Toronto 8, Detroit 6 (13 innings)

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
A-Short Season	Utica Blue Jays	New York–Penn League	Duane Larson

^[22]

Notes

References

• 1977 Toronto Blue Jays at Baseball Reference
• 1977 Toronto Blue Jays at Baseball Almanac