Flashback Friday: Blue Jays Trios to Hit 30 Home Runs/100 RBI’s

There are only 16 regular season games left to play for the Toronto Blue Jays, and yet they’ve already reached a unique milestone; they have three batters in their lineup who have reached the 30 home run/100 RBI plateau.

Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion.

While teams are no strangers to having players reach this benchmark, it’s even more impressive that the Blue Jays have three players who have reached this peak.

It’s only happened a handful of times in Blue Jays history, so for this Flashback Friday, we look back at Blue Jays trios who have hit 30 home runs and 100 RBI’s in the same season.

The Toronto Blue Jays have possessed some potent lineups over the years and you’d think that would lead to more occurrences of this benchmark, but it’s only actually happened three times in Blue Jays history. This year with Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, and the year 1998 and 2000.

1998: Jose Canseco, Carlos Delgado, Shawn Green

1998 saw Jose Canseco put up monster numbers; 46 home runs and 107 RBI’s. Carlos Delgado surpassed 30 home runs for the first time in his career that year, and Shawn Green more than doubled his home run total in 1997 by slugging 37 home runs in 1998.

Although the 1998 Toronto Blue Jays possessed a very talented roster, perhaps one of the most underrated in franchise history, the finished 14 games above .500 but well out of a playoff spot.

Then in 2000, a different cast of characters began to take over as there was an apparent shift in the course of the franchise. This is when Carlos Delgado really started to take over as the pillar of the Blue Jays franchise.

2000: Carlos Delgado, Tony Batista, Brad Fullmer

Not surprisingly, Carlos Delgado finds himself on this list twice; Delgado’s overall statistics were staggering in 2000 and he garnered quite a few MVP votes in the process (he ultimately finished fourth).

Tony Batista come completely out of nowhere to hit 41 home runs when his previous career high was 31 home runs. And Brad Fullmer blossomed during his first year as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays in 2000.

As quickly as Brad Fullmer raced onto the scene, he was traded by the Blue Jays one year later to the Anaheim Angels.

2015: Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion

Of course, I would be remiss if there wasn’t recognition for the holy trinity of the 2015 Toronto Blue Jays lineup: Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion.

Their totals can only go up from here as there are still a few weeks left in the regular season for Donaldson, Bautista and Encarancion to pad their stats.

To have a trio of 30 home run/100 RBI hitters in the same lineup on any given year is a remarkable accomplishment. And if you want to know why the Blue Jays have performed so well this season, look no further than the three guys above.

Thanks to @DanPic3 for this week’s Flashback Friday suggestion. Feel free to send your Flashback Friday request to bluejayhunter@gmail.com.