1977 Toronto Blue Jays season

1977 Toronto Blue Jays
League	American League
Division	East
Ballpark	Exhibition Stadium
City	Toronto
Record	54–107 (.335)
Divisional place	7th
Owners	Labatt Breweries, Imperial Trust, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
General managers	Peter Bavasi
Managers	Roy Hartsfield
Television	CBC Television (Don Chevrier, Tony Kubek, Tom McKee)
Radio	CKFH (Early Wynn, Tom Cheek)
Seasons

The 1977 Toronto Blue Jays season was the first season 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

Transactions

Transactions by the Toronto Blue Jays during the off-season before the 1977 season.

October 1976

October 21	Acquired Phil Roof from the Chicago White Sox for a player to be named later (Larry Anderson on January 5, 1977).
October 22	Purchased Dave Roberts from the San Diego Padres. Purchased Dave Hilton from the San Diego Padres. Purchased John Scott from the San Diego Padres.

November 1976

November 5

Participated in the 1976 Major League Baseball expansion draft Players acquired, in order of draft: Bob Bailor from the Baltimore Orioles Jerry Garvin from the Minnesota Twins Jim Clancy from the Texas Rangers Gary Woods from the Oakland Athletics Rico Carty from the Cleveland Indians Butch Edge from the Milwaukee Brewers Al Fitzmorris from the Kansas City Royals Alvis Woods from the Minnesota Twins Mike Darr from the Baltimore Orioles Pete Vuckovich from the Chicago White Sox Jeff Byrd from the Texas Rangers Steve Bowling from the Milwaukee Brewers Dennis DeBarr from the Detroit Tigers Bill Singer from the Minnesota Twins Jim Mason from the New York Yankees Doug Ault from the Texas Rangers Ernie Whitt from the Boston Red Sox Mike Weathers from the Oakland Athletics Steve Staggs from the Kansas City Royals Steve Hargan from the Texas Rangers Garth Iorg from the New York Yankees Dave Lemanczyk from the Detroit Tigers Larry Anderson from the Milwaukee Brewers Jesse Jefferson from the Chicago White Sox Dave McKay from the Minnesota Twins Tom Bruno from the Kansas City Royals Otto Velez from the New York Yankees Mike Willis from the Baltimore Orioles Sam Ewing from the Chicago White Sox Leon Hooten from the Oakland Athletics

November 5

Purchased Chuck Hartenstein from the San Diego Padres. Acquired Alan Ashby and Doug Howard from the Cleveland Indians for Al Fitzmorris.

December 1976

December 6

Acquired Rick Cerone and John Lowenstein from the Cleveland Indians for Rico Carty.

Source

January 1977

January 1	Signed free agent Lloyd Allen from the St. Louis Cardinals to a contract.
January 3	Signed free agent Pedro García from the Detroit Tigers to a contract.
January 5	Sent Larry Anderson to the Chicago White Sox to complete the October 21 trade for Phil Roof.

February 1977

February 16	Acquired Jerry Johnson from the San Diego Padres for Dave Roberts.
February 24	Acquired Ron Fairly from the Oakland Athletics for Mike Weathers and cash.

March 1977

March 21	Purchased Ken Reynolds from the San Diego Padres.
March 29	Acquired Héctor Torres from the Cleveland Indians for John Lowenstein. Released Lloyd Allen, Leon Hooten and Doug Howard.
March 31	Released Ken Reynolds.

Spring training

The team had announced on August 26, 1976 that they had selected Dunedin, Florida as its base for spring training. Dunedin was a 30-minute drive from the Tampa airport with daily flights to and from Toronto, and was near other spring training sites including the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater, the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals in St. Petersburg, the Cincinnati Reds in Tampa, and the Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton.

Dunedin's Grant Field was located near the downtown and had been used in the 1950s and 1960s by AAA minor league clubs for spring training. The city improved the ballpark with new seats, fences, and clubhouses, increasing seating from approximately 1,200 to 2,000.

The Blue Jays' first exhibition game was scheduled for March 10, 1977 against the Philadelphia Phillies, but was cancelled due to rain. Instead, the first game was March 11, 1977 against the New York Mets. Wire services reported, "Spectators who arrived too late to purchase tickets inhabited areas down both foul lines, outside the outfield fences and some even took seats in the Babe Ruth League grandstand located down the right field line, some 500 feet away from home plate." Bill Singer started the game for the Blue Jays and surrendered a lead off home run to the Mets' Lee Mazzilli. However, the Blue Jays came back and won 3–1 in front of 1,988 fans.

The first two times they played the Montreal Expos, the Blue Jays were triumphant as well. Perhaps the highlight of spring training was a game against the Cincinnati Reds. The Blue Jays defeated the defending World Series champions with the Reds missing only one regular starter from their lineup. 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, a pitcher who won 20 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1969 and threw a no-hitter in 1970. Pat Gillick had worked out a deal with the New York Yankees to trade Singer for promising young left-hander Ron Guidry. Blue Jays president Peter Bavasi vetoed the deal, as Singer was part of his plan to market and promote the team.

Regular season

The first game

A ticket from the Blue Jays' first regular season game.

On April 7, 1977, 44,649 fans attended the first game in Toronto Blue Jays franchise history, as the squad hosted the Chicago White Sox. Notables in attendance that day included Metro Toronto chairman Paul Godfrey, Toronto mayor David Crombie, legendary NHL broadcaster Foster Hewitt, and country singer Anne Murray. Besides the snow that adorned the field, hundreds of fans missed the first pitch because they were stuck in traffic. An enduring image was the Chicago catcher, Jim Essian, using his shin pads to ski around on the field by their dugout with bats used as poles before the game started.

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. The game was broadcast on the CBC with Tom McKee (host), Don Chevrier (play-by-play) and New York Yankees legend Whitey Ford providing the commentary and analysis. McKee was the initial face and voice to appear on that inaugural Blue Jays telecast. The Blue Jays would appear on the CBC only 16 times that first season. Tom Cheek and analyst Early Wynn called the game on the radio, this being the first of 4,306 consecutive games Cheek would call.

As the snow was squeegeed off the field (via a Zamboni on loan from the Toronto Maple Leafs), the 48th Highlanders marched onto the field to perform the Star Spangled Banner. Canadian country star Murray, wearing a red parka, then sang O Canada.

The fans chanted "We want beer," because Toronto's Exhibition Stadium was the only ballpark in the major leagues to not serve beer. This was essentially a political protest, since all Ontario stadia were forbidden by law at that time from selling alcoholic beverages. It would take more than five years of lobbying and petitioning from Blue Jays owners Labatt and other interested parties before the Legislative Assembly of Ontario legalized beer sales in the middle of the 1982 season.

Bill Singer threw the first pitch in Toronto Blue Jays history to Ralph Garr of the White Sox, a high fastball called for a strike. From an 0–2 count, Garr battled back to 3–2, then drew a walk. Afterwards, Garr stole second base, advancing to third when catcher Rick Cerone's throw went into centre field. Shortstop Alan Bannister then hit a fly ball for the first out of the game. Jorge Orta followed with a sacrifice fly to cash in Garr, who scored the first run in Exhibition Stadium history. Richie Zisk then hit the first home run at The Ex, making the score 2–0, White Sox. Blue Jays manager Roy Hartsfield went to the mound to talk to Singer as reliever Jerry Johnson started warming up in the bullpen. Singer was able to compose himself, getting Eric Soderholm to hit into a fielder's choice to end the inning.

Outfielder John Scott was the first Blue Jays player to have an at bat, facing White Sox pitcher Ken Brett, taking a strike on the first pitch thrown to him. He struck out, as did the next batter, Héctor Torres. Up came first baseman Doug Ault, a 27-year-old career minor-leaguer with only nine games' experience in the majors with the Texas Rangers and the Blue Jays' 16th pick in the expansion draft. On a 1–1 pitch, Ault slugged the first home run (and first hit) in Blue Jay history deep to left-centre. The score was now 2–1, Chicago.

The Chisox scored two runs in the top of the second, increasing their lead to 4-1. In the bottom of the second, Gary Woods bunted for a single, stole second, and scored on a single to right field by Pedro García. In the third inning, Torres singled 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. Toronto took their first lead in the fourth when Dave McKay singled in García from second base.

Singer struck out Chet Lemon to start the fifth inning, but Brian Downing and Ralph Garr singled off him. Hartsfield came out to the mound to make a pitching change. Singer left to a standing ovation as Jerry Johnson entered the game. Johnson recorded the final two outs of the fifth. In his first major-league at bat, Al Woods pinch hit for Steve Bowling in the bottom of the fifth. With Otto Vélez at second base, Woods homered to right field. The score was now 7–4 in favour of Toronto, the team having scored in every inning to that point.

The Sox scored a run in the sixth inning, making the score 7–5. Pete Vuckovich entered in relief of Johnson to begin the eighth. He struck out two batters, gave up a walk and a single, but got a ground ball to end the inning. In the bottom of the inning, Ault returned to the plate and singled in another run to make the score 8–5. Another run scored on a double play ground out, making the score 9–5, Blue Jays.

In the top of the ninth, Vuckovich retired Jorge Orta on a ground ball, then struck out Richie Zisk. For the day, Zisk had four hits in five at bats. 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 subsequently grounded out to the shortstop, at which the Blue Jays had won their first game in franchise history. Jerry Johnson picked up the win while Vuckovich earned the save.

The heroes of opening day would not have a future with the Jays. Jerry Johnson retired after the '77 season and 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. After seeing sporadic playing time in 1978, Doug Ault spent all of 1979 in the minors.

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	6	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 finished their first 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 road trip, as they were swept in a three-game series by the Chicago White Sox and split a four-game series with the New York Yankees, returning home with a 7–7 record.

On April 27, the Blue Jays were involved in their first extra innings game, defeating the Cleveland Indians 6–5 in 12 innings.

The Jays finished the month in fifth place with a 10–11 record, three games out of first place. 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, thumping the Milwaukee Brewers 10–3 at Exhibition Stadium. The team would score 10 runs again five nights later on May 9 in a 10–4 win over their expansion cousins, the Seattle Mariners.

On May 14, the Jays allowed double digits in runs for the first time, losing 13–3 to the Minnesota Twins.

Toronto struggled during the month of May, posting 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 June, the Blue Jays would win five of their next six, the only blemish being a 2–1 loss in 13 innings to 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 vaulted the Jays to a 7–6 victory. 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 Canada Day game on July 1, losing to the Texas Rangers 11–8 at Exhibition Stadium.

They went 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' struggles continued, losing eight games in a row before ending the month with a win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Toronto went 7–21 in July, bringing their overall record to 35–66; 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 single-season record for attendance by an expansion team. Despite that, August proved to be another tough month for the club. Toronto went 10–18, bringing their record to 45–84 for 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. This marked the Yankees worst home loss in over 50 years.

At home on September 15, the Blue Jays earned a 9–0 forfeit victory over the Baltimore Orioles when, in the fifth inning, Orioles manager Earl Weaver removed his club from the field in a dispute over a tarp on the bullpen mounds. It marked the first (and still the only) time since 1914 that an MLB team has deliberately forfeited a game.

The Blue Jays inaugural season came to a close on October 2, as they split a doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians in front of 27,789 fans at Exhibition Stadium, bringing their 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. The Blue Jays also finished 9.5 games worse than their expansion cousins, the Seattle Mariners, who went 64–98. The Blue Jays attained success far sooner than the Mariners; Toronto's first winning season took place in 1983, while Seattle failed to post a winning season until 1991.

Season standings

AL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	100	62	.617	—	55‍–‍26	45‍–‍36
Baltimore Orioles	97	64	.602	2½	54‍–‍27	43‍–‍37
Boston Red Sox	97	64	.602	2½	51‍–‍29	46‍–‍35
Detroit Tigers	74	88	.457	26	39‍–‍42	35‍–‍46
Cleveland Indians	71	90	.441	28½	37‍–‍44	34‍–‍46
Milwaukee Brewers	67	95	.414	33	37‍–‍44	30‍–‍51
Toronto Blue Jays	54	107	.335	45½	25‍–‍55	29‍–‍52

Record vs. opponents

1977 American League record Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
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	—

Transactions

Transactions for the Toronto Blue Jays during the 1977 regular season.

April 1977

April 14

Signed amateur free agent Paul Hodgson.

May 1977

May 9

Acquired Roy Howell from the Texas Rangers for Steve Hargan, Jim Mason and $200,000.

June 1977

June 8	Purchased Doug Rader from the San Diego Padres.
June 17	Signed free agent Greg Wells from the Cleveland Indians to a contract.
June 27	Released Pedro García.

July 1977

July 27

Purchased Tom Murphy from the Boston Red Sox.

August 1977

August 30

Purchased Tim Nordbrook from the Chicago White Sox.

September 1977

September 2	Claimed John Hale off of waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
September 14	Traded John Hale to the Seattle Mariners for cash.

Roster

1977 Toronto Blue Jays
Roster
Pitchers 21 Tom Bruno 27 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	Alan Ashby	124	396	25	83	16	3	.210	2	29	0
1B	Doug Ault	129	445	44	109	22	3	.245	11	64	4
2B	Steve Staggs	72	290	37	75	11	6	.259	2	28	5
3B	Roy Howell	96	364	41	115	17	1	.316	10	44	4
SS	Héctor Torres	91	266	33	64	7	3	.241	5	26	1
LF	Al Woods	122	440	58	125	17	4	.284	6	35	8
CF	Gary Woods	60	227	21	49	9	1	.216	0	17	5
RF	Otto Vélez	120	360	50	92	19	3	.256	16	62	4
DH	Ron 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
Bob Bailor	122	496	62	154	21	5	.310	5	32	15
Doug Rader	96	313	47	75	18	2	.240	13	40	2
Dave McKay	95	274	18	54	4	3	.197	3	22	2
Sam Ewing	97	244	24	70	8	2	.287	4	34	1
John Scott	79	233	26	56	9	0	.240	2	15	10
Steve Bowling	89	194	19	40	8	1	.206	1	13	2
Pedro Garcia	41	130	10	27	10	1	.208	0	9	0
Rick Cerone	31	100	7	20	4	0	.200	1	10	0
Jim Mason	22	79	10	13	3	0	.165	0	2	1
Tim Nordbrook	24	63	9	11	0	1	.175	0	1	1
Ernie Whitt	23	41	4	7	3	0	.171	0	6	0
Phil 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
Dave Lemanczyk	34	34	252.0	13	16	4.25	143	119	87	105
Jerry Garvin	34	34	244.2	10	18	4.19	127	114	85	127
Jesse Jefferson	33	33	217.0	9	17	4.31	123	104	83	114
Jeff Byrd	17	17	87.1	2	13	6.18	68	60	68	40
Jim Clancy	13	13	76.2	4	9	5.05	47	43	47	44
Bill Singer	13	12	59.2	2	8	6.79	54	45	39	33
Steve Hargan	6	5	29.1	1	3	5.22	17	17	14	11
Mike 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
Pete Vuckovich	53	148.0	7	7	8	3.47	64	57	59	123
Mike Willis	43	107.1	2	6	5	3.94	48	47	38	59
Jerry Johnson	43	86.0	2	4	5	4.60	50	44	54	54
Tom Murphy	19	52.0	2	1	2	3.63	22	21	18	26
Dennis DeBarr	14	21.1	0	1	0	5.91	14	14	8	10
Tom Bruno	12	18.1	0	1	0	7.85	18	16	13	9
Chuck Hartenstein	13	27.1	0	2	0	6.59	22	20	6	15

Awards and honours

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

All-Star Game

• Ron Fairly, first base, reserve

Franchise firsts

• April 7, 1977:
  • Game & Win: Toronto 9, Chicago (White Sox) 5 (at Exhibition Stadium)
  • Batter: John Scott
  • Pitcher: Bill Singer
  • Hit: Doug Ault
  • Home Run: Doug Ault
  • Stolen Base: Gary Woods
  • Save: Pete Vuckovich
• 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

See also: Minor League Baseball

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

References

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