The 2002 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 26th season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing third in the American League East with a record of 78 wins and 84 losses.
Transactions Transactions by the Toronto Blue Jays during the off-season before the 2002 season. October 2001 Jason Dickson granted free agency (signed with Tampa Bay Devil Rays to a contract on November 14, 2001). Aaron Holbert granted free agency (signed with Seattle Mariners to a contract on January 30, 2002). Izzy Molina granted free agency (signed with Baltimore Orioles to a contract on November 20, 2001). Kevin Beirne granted free agency (signed with Los Angeles Dodgers to a contract on December 3, 2001). Matt DeWitt granted free agency (signed with San Diego Padres to a contract on December 18, 2001). Ryan Freel granted free agency (signed with Tampa Bay Devil Rays to a contract on November 8, 2001).
November 2001 Tony Fernández granted free agency. Jeff Frye granted free agency (signed with Cincinnati Reds to a contract on March 25, 2002). Brian Simmons selected off of waivers by the Chicago White Sox.
December 2001 Acquired Eric Hinske and Justin Miller from the Oakland Athletics for Billy Koch. Acquired Félix Heredia and a player to be named later (Jim Deschaine on December 13, 2001) from the Chicago Cubs for Alex Gonzalez. Released Alberto Castillo. Drafted Corey Thurman from the Kansas City Royals in the 2001 MLB Rule 5 draft. Acquired Luke Prokopec and Chad Ricketts from the Los Angeles Dodgers for César Izturis and Paul Quantrill. Signed free agent Brian Lesher from the Milwaukee Brewers to a one-year, $245,000 contract. Signed free agent Chad Mottola from the Florida Marlins to a one-year contract. Signed free agent Chris Peters from the New York Yankees to a contract. Luis Lopez selected off of waivers by the Oakland Athletics.
January 2002 Acquired Tom Wilson from the Oakland Athletics for Mike Kremblas. Acquired Brian Cooper from the Anaheim Angels for Brad Fullmer. Re-signed Kelvim Escobar to a one-year, $2.3 million contract. Re-signed Shannon Stewart to a one-year, $4.25 million contract.
February 2002 Signed free agent Dave Berg from the Florida Marlins to a one-year, $450,000 contract. Signed free agent Ken Huckaby from the Arizona Diamondbacks to a contract. Signed free agent Pedro Swann from the Atlanta Braves to a contract.
March 2002 Chris Latham selected off of waivers by the New York Mets. Released Chris Peters. Signed free agent Simon Pond from the Cleveland Indians to a contract.
Regular season
Summary The Blue Jays started the 2002 season with slow progress in performance. Buck Martinez was fired about a third of the way through the season, with a 20–33 record. He was replaced by third base coach Carlos Tosca, an experienced minor league manager. They went 58–51 under Tosca to finish the season 78–84. Roy Halladay, a talented but inconsistent prospect who was no more than a fifth starter who alternated between Toronto and Triple-A during his first three seasons, was relied on as the team's ace and rose to the challenge being the team's top pitcher, finishing the season with a 19–7 record and a 2.93 ERA. The hitters were led once again by Carlos Delgado. Ricciardi was credited for dumping Raúl Mondesí in mid-season to the New York Yankees to free up his salary, which in turn was used for the off-season signing of Mike Bordick, Frank Catalanotto and Tanyon Sturtze. Promising young players were assigned to key roles, including starting third baseman Eric Hinske (who later won the Rookie of the Year Award for this year) and 23-year-old centre fielder Vernon Wells, who had his first 100 RBI season replacing Mondesi. Another bright young player was Josh Phelps, a former catcher turned designated hitter, who hit 15 home runs.
Opening Day starters Homer Bush, 2B José Cruz Jr., OF Carlos Delgado, 1B Darrin Fletcher, C Roy Halladay, P Eric Hinske, 3B Felipe López, SS Raúl Mondesí, DH Shannon Stewart, OF Vernon Wells, OF
Season standings
American League Wild Card
Record vs. opponents
Transactions Transactions for the Toronto Blue Jays during the 2002 regular season. April 2002 Player rights of Alfredo Aceves sold to Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League.
May 2002 Selected Pete Walker off of waivers from the New York Mets. Released Homer Bush. Sent Pedro Borbón Jr. to the Houston Astros as part of a conditional deal. Acquired Cliff Politte from the Philadelphia Phillies for Dan Plesac.
June 2002 Signed free agent Scott Winchester from the Montreal Expos to a one-year contract.
July 2002 Acquired Scott Wiggins from the New York Yankees for Raúl Mondesí.
August 2002 Scott Eyre selected off of waivers by the San Francisco Giants. Selected Jason Kershner off of waivers from the San Diego Padres.
September 2002 Released Brian Cooper.
2002 draft picks Source
The 2002 MLB draft was held on June 4–5. Round Pick Player Position College/School Nationality Signed 1 14 Russ Adams SS North Carolina 2002–06–07 2 55 Dave Bush RHP Wake Forest 2002–06–04 3 86 Justin Maureau LHP Wichita State – 4 110 Adam Peterson RHP Wichita State 2002–06–11 5 146 Chad Pleiness RHP Central Michigan – 6 176 Jason Perry OF Georgia Tech 2002–06–22 7 206 Brian Grant RHP C.B. Aycock High School (NC) – 8 236 Chris Leonard LHP Miami (FL) – 9 266 Russ Savickas RHP Johnston High School – 10 296 Eric Arnold 2B Rice –
Roster 2002 Toronto Blue Jays Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders OutfieldersManager
Coaches (hitting) (pitching) (first base) (first base) (bullpen) (bench) (third base)
Game log
|- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 1 || April 1 || @ Red Sox || 12–11 || Escobar (1–0) || Urbina (0–1) || || 33,520 || 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor=#bbbbbb | -- || April 3 || @ Red Sox ||colspan=6|Postponed (rain) Rescheduled for July 2 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 2 || April 4 || Twins || 7–2 || Halladay (1–0) || Mays (0–1) || || 47,469 || 2–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 3 || April 5 || Twins || 4–3 || Reed (1–0) || Lyon (0–1) || Guardado (3) || 15,784 || 2–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 4 || April 6 || Twins || 7–5 || Hawkins (1–0) || Eyre (0–1) || Guardado (4) || 18,947 || 2–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 5 || April 7 || Twins || 10–6 || Radke (1–0) || Cooper (0–1) || || 21,071 || 2–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 6 || April 8 || Yankees || 16–3 || Wells (2–0) || Prokopec (0–1) || || 16,073 || 2–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 7 || April 9 || Yankees || 5–2 || Mussina (2–0) || Plesac (0–1) || Rivera (4) || 18,003 || 2–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 8 || April 10 || Yankees || 9–7 || Borbón (1–0) || Lilly (0–1) || Escobar (1) || 19,124 || 3–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 9 || April 11 || Yankees || 11–3 || Eyre (1–1) || Clemens (1–2) || || 20,091 || 4–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 10 || April 12 || @ Devil Rays || 14–7 || Miller (1–0) || Rupe (1–1) || || 11,058 || 5–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 11 || April 13 || @ Devil Rays || 5–4 || Prokopec (1–1) || Sturtze (0–2) || Escobar (2) || 11,143 || 6–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 12 || April 14 || @ Devil Rays || 5–4 (10) || Yan (1–0) || Coco (0–1) || || 11,222 || 6–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 13 || April 16 || Red Sox || 14–3 || Castillo (1–0) || Lyon (0–2) || Arrojo (1) || 16,069 || 6–7 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 14 || April 17 || Red Sox || 10–3 || Oliver (2–0) || Eyre (1–2) || || 16,572 || 6–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 15 || April 19 || @ Yankees || 6–5 || Rivera (1–1) || File (0–1) || || 36,136 || 6–9 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 16 || April 20 || @ Yankees || 5–4 (10) || Plesac (1–1) || Mendoza (0–2) || || 39,265 || 7–9 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 17 || April 21 || @ Yankees || 9–2 || Clemens (2–2) || Carpenter (0–1) || || 43,309 || 7–10 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 18 || April 23 || @ Rangers || 2–1 || Lyon (1–2) || Valdez (1–3) || Escobar (3) || 20,472 || 8–10 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 19 || April 24 || @ Rangers || 3–2 || Rogers (2–0) || Prokopec (1–2) || Irabu (2) || 21,072 || 8–11 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 20 || April 25 || @ Rangers || 11–9 || Van Poppel (1–0) || Plesac (1–2) || Irabu (3) || 24,162 || 8–12 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 21 || April 26 || @ Angels || 4–0 || Appier (2–1) || Smith (0–1) || Percival (3) || 25,296 || 8–13 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 22 || April 27 || @ Angels || 11–4 || Sele (1–2) || Borbón (1–1) || || 29,112 || 8–14 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 23 || April 28 || @ Angels || 8–5 (14) || Lukasiewicz (1–0) || Borbón (1–2) || || 25,073 || 8–15 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 24 || April 30 || Rangers || 10–3 || Rogers (3–0) || Prokopec (1–3) || || 12,571 || 8–16
|- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 25 || May 1 || Rangers || 8–1 || Burba (2–0) || Halladay (1–1) || || 13,055 || 8–17 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 26 || May 2 || Rangers || 5–3 || Bell (2–0) || Smith (0–2) || Irabu (6) || 13,011 || 8–18 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 27 || May 3 || Angels || 6–4 || Sele (2–2) || Lyon (1–3) || Percival (4) || 13,183 || 8–19 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 28 || May 4 || Angels || 4–1 || Miller (2–0) || Schoeneweis (1–4) || Escobar (4) || 20,558 || 9–19 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 29 || May 5 || Angels || 8–2 || Ortiz (3–3) || Prokopec (1–4) || || 24,046 || 9–20 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 30 || May 7 || @ Mariners || 4–1 || Halladay (2–1) || Baldwin (3–2) || Escobar (5) || 34,500 || 10–20 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 31 || May 8 || @ Mariners || 5–4 (10)|| Sasaki (2–0) || Eyre (1–3) || || 35,190 || 10–21 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 32 || May 9 || @ Mariners || 8–7 (11)|| Franklin (3–1) || Thurman (0–1) || || 37,734 || 10–22 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 33 || May 10 || @ Athletics || 6–2 || Prokopec (2–4) || Mulder (2–2) || || 10,824 || 11–22 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 34 || May 11 || @ Athletics || 7–4 || Zito (3–2) || Miller (2–1) || || 21,115 || 11–23 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 35 || May 12 || @ Athletics || 11–4 || Halladay (3–1) || Lidle (1–5) || Walker (1) || 19,519 || 12–23 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 36 || May 14 || Mariners || 6–3 || Loaiza (1–0) || García (4–3) || Escobar (6) || 14,308 || 13–23 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 37 || May 15 || Mariners || 8–6 || Rhodes (2–1) || Escobar (1–1) || Sasaki (9) || 17,012 || 13–24 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 38 || May 16 || Mariners || 15–2 || Piñeiro (4–0) || Prokopec (2–5) || || 14,280 || 13–25 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 39 || May 17 || Athletics || 7–1 || Halladay (4–1) || Mulder (2–3) || || 14,061 || 14–25 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 40 || May 18 || Athletics || 6–3 || Miller (3–1) || Fyhrie (1–3) || Escobar (7) || 17,846 || 15–25 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 41 || May 19 || Athletics || 11–0 || Loaiza (2–0) || Hudson (3–6) || || 23,408 || 16–25 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 42 || May 20 || @ Yankees || 6–3 || Mendoza (1–2) || Heredia (0–1) || Rivera (14) || 30,657 || 16–26 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 43 || May 21 || @ Yankees || 4–1 || Mussina (6–2) || Prokopec (2–6) || Karsay (1) || 26,531 || 16–27 |- align="center" bgcolor="bbffbb" | 44 || May 22 || @ Yankees || 8–3 || Halladay (5–1) || Hernández (0–1) || || 44,284 || 17–27 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 45 || May 24 || Indians || 5–2 || Drese (5–3) || Miller (3–2) || Wickman (10) || 16,385 || 17–28 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 46 || May 25 || Indians || 3–0 || Sabathia (4–4) || Loaiza (2–1) || Wickman (11) || 21,589 || 17–29 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb" | 47 || May 26 || Indians || 3–1 || Colón (6–3) || Prokopec (2–7) || || 22,380 || 17–30 |- align="center" bgcolor="ffbbbb"