Forgotten Fan Favourites Vol #5: Ernie Whitt

Or...ERNIE! ERNIE! ERNIE!

Da man...Looking Badass

And on the move...Giddyup!

Leo Ernest Whitt....Some of you may laugh...some of you may not ...but in my mind if there is a franchise all-time catcher ..it's Ernie.

Ok...I'll tell you why I think this once the laughing dies down....I'll just go get a beer....or six.....

#TBT - Dunedin 1977 and some personal memories

My uncle, who died a week ago, and my aunt brought me back this coin from their trip to Dunedin in 1977. They made the trip every year until my aunt's health made it impossible to go.

#TBT - Barry Bonnell

Bonnell came over to the Jays in the Chris Chambliss trade in 1980 I mentioned last week. He was here for four years, the high point of his career. As a Jay, he put up a 3.4 WAR, slashing .281/.331/.416. (You can see his complete stats here.) He played all three outfield positions as well as third base.

#TBT - Pete Vuckovich

He was an original Blue Jay. He wasn't here long. He recorded the first Jays shutout. He recorded the first Jays save.

In Memoriam

So there's been a lot of celebrity deaths this year. There will probably be more before Sunday. But since the last few days have had a lot and there's nothing baseball-related to talk about, share the losses that rocked you the most and why. It can be from anytime this year.

The 2006 Blue Jays

Suggested by the wiener (6 months ago!) who said it was the best team of the Riccardi era. Better than 2008?  What are your thoughts?

Travelling to other ballparks

With it being cold and snowy across most of the country, I think it's time to bring up this idea suggested by Warren with additions from Karen. Warren suggested talking about the experiences of travelling to see the Jays in other ballparks (something I don't get to do because I'm a girl). Karen expanded the idea to wondering about your favourite stadium and best/ worst road experience.

Food, beer, fanbases!

Surviving September Baseball: The Conclusion (More Lies)

Part 4:

Quest For The Holy Grail.. OR.. Jane And Ted's Not So Excellent Adventure (False Advertising)

Summing Up Our Playoff History To This Point

Surviving September Baseball Part 3

Part 3:

Running Up That Hill ( A Deal FROM God....Sorry Kate) OR Flops Lead To Swaps And Make Us Tops....

 She's Crazy....Crazy Hot

 Searching For That Elusive Pennant

Surviving September Baseball Part 2

Part Two: 

Grate Expectations OR Stieb's A Lemon And I Want My Martinez Back...(No Apologies To Meatloaf)

 

Robin Always Was A Whiner

Surviving September Baseball

Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Dosh

 

(With profuse apologies to Stanley Kubrick)

Everyone's Seen This Movie Right?

Part One : Turning The Corner....

CNE Ballpark memories

This is very much a filler post but rather than create a 4-word post, I'd love for those who remember seeing games during the Ex to share memories.

The Canadian National Exhibition (also known as the CNE or The Ex) was the site of Exhibition Stadium (duh!), the first home of the Blue Jays. It's been running for 137 years and it signifies the end of summer in Toronto. It opened last Friday and will run until Labour Day.

For those too young to remember, a Jays ticket would get you free admission to the Ex. I can remember many a day of grabbing lunch at the Food Building before going to an afternoon game. I never did it myself but I know that if you went up the Bulova Tower or rode the gondola you could see inside the stadium.

So any special Ex/Jays memories? Or late summer Jays memories in general? (Yeah, yeah, we know about last year.)

Catch da taste - en français!

Andrew wrote yesterday in Toronto Life that Retroontario had found the original 1993 version of the famous "Catch da taste" Alomar commercial. Somehow he forgot to mention that they had also uploaded the French version. And since I need content, here it is:

Images of 1977

This is not the exact ticket but my dad has one of these.

In the ultimate mailing it in post, here are images I remember from the Blue Jays' first season.

Ode to getting to the park early

I'm going to be at the game tonight, an early birthday present from a friend. A friend who didn't get his act together enough to get the ticket to me in advance. (Why it couldn't be emailed to be I have no idea.) I am to meet him at Gate 11 at 6:50 pm (!).

That sucks, because I'm the person who loves to get there early.

Tools of Ignorance

The following is my personal view and experiences on Catching, but no Statistics, Analytics or pie charts were harmed or consulted in the making of this post.

Meeting Roy Halladay

I'm shamelessly cribbing a lot of this from a post I wrote for my theatre blog, dated September 28, 2007. From what I wrote then:

You always remember your first crush - JJ Cannon

This one's for my brother who, as a wee lad, fell in love with JJ Cannon. We all started calling him JJ (my aunt still does) which then shortened to J, which we all still use today.

So who was this guy?

The original hot dog

I was a kid when the Jays came to Toronto. I remember the names Roy Howell, Dave McKay, Doug Ault, Bob Bailor, and Pete Vuckovich but the first player that I can see in my mind is Rick Bossetti.

He was the perfect player for a kid. In 1979, he played all 162 games for the Blue Jays, hitting .260/.286/.362 (complete stats here) and leading all AL outfielders in putouts, assists, and errors.

He wasn't the greatest player but he played hard, was flashy and a prankster. He grabbed the imagination of the fans, who called him Hot Dog. What I didn't know as a kid was his habit of watering the field. During the game. Or that he hated clothes (something I can totally relate to.)