Top Blue Jays Player #20: Pat Borders
Position: Catcher
Seasons with the
Jays: 8 (1988-1994, 1999)
MLB Awards: World
Series MVP (1992)
Stats: Games Played 747 Batting Average .256
Base Hits 590 Runs
Scored 205
Home Runs 54 RBIs 272
Doubles 127 Triples 9
Stolen Bases 6 Walks 112
While this may be upsetting to
all those who love Ernie Whitt, Pat Borders is the best catcher the Toronto
Blue Jays have ever had. While Borders’ numbers may not have compared to
Whitt’s, his prowess behind the plate and being able to handle a pitching
staff, plus his clutch play in the postseason has what has ranked him higher
than Ernie. There are no statistics to measure how valuable Borders was to his
team. But just go back and watch him at work, receiving the ball from a variety
of pitchers. Watch the blocked balls, the pitch selection and yes, even nailing
speedsters like Otis Nixon attempting to steal a base at a crucial point in the
World Series, and you’ll see his talents on display.
Borders was drafted by the Blue
Jays in the sixth round of the June Amateur Draft in 1982 and broke into the
Big Leagues with the club in 1988 when he played 56 games as the back-up to
Whitt. At the plate, Borders batted .273, hit five home runs and added 21 RBIs.
Another season as back-up followed in 1989 (.257, 3, 29) as the Jays won the AL
East. He even got an at bat in the ALCS and came through with an RBI single.
Whitt was gone in 1990 and
Borders shared the catching duties with Greg Myers, although Borders caught
most of the games (115). At the plate, he batted .286, hit 15 homers and had 49
RBIs. Another season of platooning followed in 1991, with Borders catching 102
games, but by the time the ALCS rolled around, he was the number one catcher.
All doubt about that was erased
in the middle of the 1992 season when Myers was traded away. While only batting
.242 in 1992 with 13 home runs and 53 RBIs, this was the season when Borders
took control of the pitching staff and his clutch hitting the postseason came
into the spotlight. In the ALCS against Oakland, he batted .318 with a homer
and three RBIs. Then in the World Series, he led the team with a .450 average,
and again hit one home run and three RBIs. He was awarded with the World Series
MVP Award.
In 1993, the Jays repeated as
World Series Champions. Relegated to the number nine spot in the batting order
because of the powerful lineup Toronto had, Borders still hit .254 with nine
home runs and 55 RBIs. In the ALCS against the Chicago White Sox, he collected
six hits in 24 at bats, and in the World Series against the Philadelphia
Phillies, seven hits in 23 at bats.
The team started to falter in
1994 and Borders stats did as well. The strike-shortened season saw him play in
only 85 games, and the Jays decided not to bring him back in 1995. He joined
the Royals, was traded to the Astros in August, signed with the Cardinals for
the 1996 season, traded to the Angels in June, then to the White Sox in July,
then finally signed with the Indians for 1997.
After two and a half season in
Cleveland, he was released at the end of August and picked up by the Jays, but
only played in six games. But his career was still not over. He would play
parts of five season with the Seattle Mariners (79 games altogether) and had a
brief stop in between in Minnesota (19 games) before finally calling it a
career.
He is currently in his second
season as manager of the Williamsport Crosscutters of the Class A New York-Penn
League.
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