Top Blue Jays Player #8: Vernon
Wells
Position: Centre
Field
Seasons With the
Jays: 12 (1999-2010)
MLB Awards: Silver
Slugger (2003)
Gold Glove (2004, 2005, 2006)
All-Star Game
Selection: 2003, 2006, 2010
Stats: Games Played 1393 Batting
Average .280
Base Hits 1529 Runs
Scored 789
Home Runs 223 RBIs 813
Doubles
339 Triples 30
Stolen Bases 90 Walks 406
Choosing the top ten Blue Jays
of all time was rather easy. Putting them in order once I got to the top ten
was a little bit more difficult. You could argue that Vernon Wells should be
higher than number eight, but that’s where I decided to put him. Wells is
without a doubt one of the most talented, all-round, five-tool ballplayers
Toronto ever had. But the fact that he never led his team to the postseason
(although not entirely his fault) is a strike against him.
Wells was drafted by the Blue
Jays in the first round (fifth pick overall) of the 1997 Amateur Draft and made
his debut with the club in 1999. Although, he was limited to a total of 57
games in his first three years, it was obvious the potential for a future super
star was there.
In 2002, Wells got the full-time
gig as the centre-fielder, and played in 159 games. He batted .275, hit 23 home
runs and added 100 RBIs. He had an even better year in 2003 when he had a .317
average, 33 homers, 117 RBIs, led the league with 49 doubles, made the All-Star
team, won a Silver Slugger Award and got some MVP consideration, finishing
eighth in the voting.
Next on the list were Gold Glove
Awards won in consecutive season in 2004 and 2005. His offense lagged a bit
(.272, 23, 67 in 2004 and .269, 28, 97 in 2005) but he was still the best
player on the team. Another All-Star season followed in 2006 as Wells raised
his batting average to .303, slugged 32 home runs and drove in 106 while
stealing 17 bases.
He won his third consecutive
Gold Glove Award and was given the largest contract (to that point) in Blue
Jays history when he signed $126 million over seven years. Unfortunately, now
the problems were going to begin.
In 2007, he suffered a shoulder
injury early in the year that dogged him for the entire season. He finally
ended his season prematurely to have surgery, having played in 147 games. His
stats were abysmal: .245 average, 16 home runs and 80 RBIs. But 2007 was just
the beginning.
In May of 2008, he broke his
wrist diving for a ball in the outfield. After missing a month, he strained his
hamstring, missing another month. Despite playing only 108 games, Wells posted
some decent numbers (.300, 20, 78) but questions were arising about his
durability.
Another hamstring injury
hampered him at the beginning of 2009. His numbers declined again, as he only
hit .260, 15 homers and 66 RBIs. Worse, the Toronto fans were beginning to boo
him, thinking that he should be playing better to justify the money the Blue
Jays were paying him.
He rebounded in 2010 (.273, 31,
88) but the Jays could no longer depend on him producing consistently as he had
proved unreliable when it came to durability. After the season, he was traded
to the Anaheim Angels, a promising, talented player leaving Toronto after
failing to live up to the expectations. He played two season with the Angels,
and one with the New York Yankees, never being able to repeat the type of
performances he put up during his All-Star seasons with the Blue Jays.
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