Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - Blue Jays Year in Review

On the Official Site, there's an excellent recap of the 2003 season by Spencer Fordin. It's in chronological order, with dozens of links to the major stories.

This enjoyable look back at a roller-coaster year got me thinking, which is always dangerous. There were so many highlights for Jays fans, it's hard to pick one as the best, or even compile a top ten. So I thought I'd invite everyone to help. How do you compare great plays, such as Kielty's catch, to accomplishments that took four at-bats (Delgado's homers), four days (the sweep in Yankee Stadium) or an entire season, like Doc's Cy Young award?

Of course, the most memorable moments are the ones you fully experience. If I hadn't been watching the miracle comeback against the Royals on TV, and "thinking out loud" in the game thread, it wouldn't rate so high for me. Among many events, good and bad, that made me emotional at the Dome, I have to include Greg Myers' inside-the-park HR, Phil Cuzzi's trigger-happy thumb and the entire game against the Indians that final Saturday, when Halladay and Wells set team records. There was electricity in the building, including Doc's megawatt smile when it was over. Many of us who attended the Pizza Feed and screamed with the Cheer Club can attest to the buzz, which wasn't just from the beer.

That's a partial list, off the top of my head. If you're in a nostalgic mood, take some time to browse through Fordin's list on MLB.com, maybe even through Da Box archives, and feel free to share your most indelible memories of a very entertaining season.

Posted by Coach on Sunday, December 28 2003 @ 04:09 AM EST.

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The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

_steve - Sunday, December 28 2003 @ 07:13 PM EST (#82253) #

although we lost in the game, i felt that the SARS $1 event was most memorable because it was the first time in quite some time that the dome was filled to the rafters.

_Ryan - Sunday, December 28 2003 @ 07:48 PM EST (#82254) #

The thing I remember most from 2003 is Mark Hendrickson's home run in Montreal. Of all the players to wear a Blue Jays uniform, a 6"9' pitcher would probably be the one least likely to knock a pitch out of the park.

I don't get to many baseball games these days due to my location, but I was fortunate enough to be at Fenway Park in July when Bobby Kielty reached into the bullpen to rob Trot Nixon of a home run. It was nice to see how the Boston fans gave him a warm round of applause as he went back to the Blue Jays dugout.

I was also lucky enough to see Jason Arnold, David Bush and Josh Banks pitch in person at various times during the year (the latter racking up nine K's in four innings in the game I was at, thanks in part to an incompetent umpire).

_JTJ - Sunday, December 28 2003 @ 09:38 PM EST (#82255) #

Being in the west coast I couldn't experience too many Blue Jay moments live. Although I did take in the entire series at Seattle. Tanyon Sturtze walking the bases loaded with nobody out and then striking out the side was both the most appalling and inspired pitching I had ever seen. The Jays lost that game in style.

_Cristian - Monday, December 29 2003 @ 12:58 AM EST (#82256) #

The game that sticks out the most in my mind is a June tilt against Boston. Halladay got rocked early and the Jays were down 7-0 in the 3rd inning. Tosca stuck with Halladay the Jays began to tee off on Tim Wakefield in the fourth and then on Matt White in the fifth. The game ended 11-8 Jays and Halladay got his seventh win. It definitely wasn't a Cy Young effort by Halladay but for some reason it's the victory that I will always associate with Roy's 2003 campaign--battling without his best stuff and waiting for the Jays offence to explode.

_Robbie Goldberg - Monday, December 29 2003 @ 11:06 AM EST (#82257) #

Just an off-topic question for everyone...
Does anyone know if and where you can get Baseball America? I live in Thornhill (just North of Toronto) --- so I'd prefer a location in North York or Vaughan, but since every convenience store I've passed by and checked out of convenience doesn't seem to have it, I guess any location would be appreciated...
Thanks....

Gerry - Monday, December 29 2003 @ 11:28 AM EST (#82258) #

Does anyone know if and where you can get Baseball America?

Your best bet is the closest Chapters/Indigo. I have seen it in some of them, but not in convenience stores.

Named For Hank - Monday, December 29 2003 @ 11:46 AM EST (#82259) #

There were so many fantastic moments for me this season, probably because I threw myself into it like never before (and ended up at 66 games -- thank you, Season's Pass).

Biggies: four homers for Carlos. We snuck down and were behind home plate for the third and fourth.

That nutty comeback win -- everyone in my section left in disgust, and I was sitting there all by myself, hoping that all the non-believers were listening on their car radios. Actually, I think that was the moment that I decided I was going to come to as many games as I could and be as loud and supportive a fan as possible. That game made me believe, y'know?

And the game after the BP Pizza Feed was great fun. Poor Jody Gerut.

Dave Till - Monday, December 29 2003 @ 12:04 PM EST (#82260) #

My most memorable moment, hands down, was watching Mike Maroth lose his 20th game. I was witnessing history!

My friends and I were sitting in the same row as Tiger GM Dave Dombrowski. I was sitting the closest, and I couldn't bring myself to strike up a conversation with him, as he looked mournful. (Besides, what could I use as an icebreaker?)

_Mick - Monday, December 29 2003 @ 12:32 PM EST (#82261) #

"Hey, Dave ... I'm Dave. Guess you won't have to worry about a '97 Marlins fire sale with these guys, huh? Can I buy you a beer or five?"

_Tassle - Monday, December 29 2003 @ 04:35 PM EST (#82262) #

Off topic, interesting note in the ATM reports this morning

2) According to the Denver Post, instead of signing free agent SS Rich Aurilia, the Rockies are more likely to make a trade, possibly for Chris Woodward (BlueJays) or Carlos Guillen (Mariners), if either of them loses their job to Aurilia, or could sign free agent SS Royce Clayton.

_S.K. - Monday, December 29 2003 @ 05:58 PM EST (#82263) #

My most memorable moment was seeing Shannon get traded the day (two days?) after Coach's rant about his defence. I had a spooky feeling that maybe our site had been run by JP all this time...

robertdudek - Monday, December 29 2003 @ 07:12 PM EST (#82264) #

Hijack.

According to Rotoworld, Cory Lidle has signed a 1-year, 2.75 million dollar contract with the Cincinnati Reds. If ever a team needed starting pitching they are it, which means it's a good signing for them.

_GregH - Monday, December 29 2003 @ 09:27 PM EST (#82265) #

My most memorable moment of 2003 was the Father's Day game against the Cubs in June. It was a gorgeous sunny day and my sons (aged 7 and 8) and I were sitting in our usual 500 level seats. Seeing Reed Johnson hit the lead-off and walk-off home runs was pure baseball bliss!

Named For Hank - Monday, December 29 2003 @ 09:49 PM EST (#82266) #

Oh, I forgot about father's day! That was a great one, too...I took my dad.

_Cristian - Tuesday, December 30 2003 @ 01:18 AM EST (#82267) #

http://www.all-baseball.com/bronxbanter/
I was made aware of this Roger Angell quote while reading Bronx Banter(comn). I thought I would transplant it here because it fits this thread so well.

There is a game of baseball that is not to be found in the schedules or the record books. It has no season, but it is best played in the winter, without the distraction of box scores and standings. This is the inner game, baseball in the mind, and there is no real fan who does not know it. It is a game of recollections, recapturings, and visions: Yet this is only the beginning, for baseball in the mind in not a mere yearning and returning. In time, this easy envisioning of restored players, winning hits, and famous rallies gives way to reconsiderations and reflections about the sport itself. By thinking about baseball like this, by playing it over and yet keeping it to ourselves, keeping it warm in a cold season, we begin to make discoveries. With luck, we may even penetrate some of its mysteries and learn once again how richly and variously the game can reward us.
Roger Angell, from "Baseball in the Mind"

_Blair - Tuesday, December 30 2003 @ 07:01 AM EST (#82268) #

On a seperate and erie note, Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci notes that Josh Beckett's World Series shutout of the Yankees in Game 6 was eerily similar to Jim Palmer's 6-0 shutout win over the Dodgers in Game 2 in 1966. Palmer was 20, Beckett 23. Palmer beat Sandy Koufax, Beckett beat Roger Clemens. It was the last game of Koufax's career and should be the final game for Clemens, too.

_Mick - Tuesday, December 30 2003 @ 09:43 AM EST (#82269) #

Well, I guess that means Beckett is heading toward a massive career-threatening injury in 2004. (Because he bounced back into the HOF, people tend to forget that Palmer was out most of 1967.)

_mathesond - Tuesday, December 30 2003 @ 11:23 AM EST (#82270) #

The only Jays game I saw this year was in Chicago. While Toronto was busily throttling the Sox 12-2 (behind the pitching of Cory Lidle, if I recall correctly), the real excitement was in the bleachers, when inebriated Sox fans and inebriated Cubs fans chose to ignore the game on the field in lieu of become verbally, and eventually physically, abusive with each other. It was annoying to the extent that the group of friends I invited out to the game - lifelong Chicagoans all - have put the kibosh on any return to the former New Comiskey Park.

Still, watching Cat hit a home run off Danny Wright in the 1st did set a pleasant tone for me, personally.

_jason - Tuesday, December 30 2003 @ 07:03 PM EST (#82271) #

Hello Robbie;
I live in Richmond Hill and at the bottom of the Hill, there is a strip mall on Younge; across from the London Pub, the same mall that has a cheese shop and Chinese Buffet. Well in there is a small Magazine/smoke shop. They have Baseballl America if you haven't found it at Indigos yet. And the Onion too.
Happy New Year,
jason

_pete - Tuesday, December 30 2003 @ 09:08 PM EST (#82272) #

the same mall that has a cheese shop

getting off-topic for a sec, Grande Cheese is great -- kickass cheeses, meats, breads, pastas, and all things Italian. that is all.

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