Hal of Famers Robbie Alomar and Paul Molitor finished . behind teammate John Olerud in the 1993 AL batting race. The 1993 Blue Jays ran the bases and hit for average and the 2015 Jays mashed. The better offensive team?.

By Bob Elliott

So which is the better offensive team?

The 1993 World Series champions who had a batting champ (John Olerud) and three inductees into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown (Ricky Henderson, Robbie Alomar and Paul Molitor)?

Or Brook Jacoby’s Bombers with seven sluggers with 10 or more homers (Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Russell Martin, Troy Tulowitzki, Chris Colabello and Justin Smoak)?

“This one’s better,” said Alomar from Manhattan after the Blue Jays blanked the New York Yankees 6-0 Saturday afternoon moving to 2 1/2 games of first place in the American League East.

Really?

“Yep, we’re not playing any more, the 1993 team is all retired,” said Alomar, owner of quick hands, quick feet, quick hands and on Saturday a quick wit.

The memory bank might have memories of Joe Carter slugging, Devon White lining balls into the gap, Olerud winning the batting title, followed by Molitor and Alomar, plus Henderson starting the game-winning rally in Game 6 of the World Series.

Yet, the numbers show for the 1993 season show that the Jays led the AL in Runs per game slugging (.436) while scoring 5.23 runs per game, when the league average was 4.71 and the average ERA was 4.32. The Detroit Tigers score more runs than the Jays in 1993.

While that team had more HOFers, this year’s Jays has more depth leading in on-base (.333), slugging (.446) and OPS (.779) while scoring an average of 5.31 runs per game. The average runs per game mark is 4.27 while the League ERA is 3.92.

So, this team is scoring more than the league average in an era when they are facing better pitching.

“This lineup has more power than we did,” said Pat Hentgen from Shelby Township, Mich. “but White, Alomar, Molitor and Henderson had better speed. The base running advantage would go to the older team.

“Both teams have real deep lineups. We had Ed Sprague who became a 20-homer guy hitting eighth. This year’s team has a great hitter in Kevin Pillar eighth. This team is intimidating for an opposing pitcher, explosive.”

The top five spots in the 1993 lineup batted a collective .297 (best in the majors that year) and slugged .480 (second to the San Francisco Giants .482), with 112 home runs (fifth in majors).

This season, coming into Saturday afternoon, the Jays’ top five was batting .261 (19th in majors) and slugging .469 (tops in the majors), with 106 home runs (also tops in the majors).

Each top five contains a key addition at the deadline:

The team that beat the Chicago White Sox and then the Philadelphia Phillies in post-season play had Rickey Henderson, acquired from the Oakland A’s, White, Molitor, Carter and Olerud ... with Alomar hitting sixth.

This group has Tulowitzki, who general manager Alex Anthopoulos acquired from the Colorado Rockies, leading off, followed by Donaldson, Bautista, Encarnacion and either Colabello or Smoak ... with Martin hitting sixth.

After 112 games Martin has a better OPS than Pat Borders, Bautista beats Carter in right, Donaldson over Sprague, Pillar over White in centre and Tulowitzki over Fernandez at short. The team with the rings wins with Olerud at first, Alomar at second and Molitor at DH.

“This is more of a power house, our lineup we could produce runs, but this is more powerful,” Alomar said. “Alex has done what we needed to be done, he knew that when there is a time to go, you go for it go for it. Those chances don’t always come twice.

“I feel honored he gave me a shout to ask about a couple of things. Adding these players ... this is what everyone wanted.”

The most productive position in the 1993 lineup was the No. 5 spot where Olerud batted .350 with a 1.019 OPS, where as this year it is the No. 2 hole where Donaldson has hit .299 with a .974 OPS.

Besides Donaldson’s spot, this year’s team has an advantage at the Nos. 7-thru-9 spots.

“I respect both teams,” said Alomar as the Yellow cabs honked in the background on a Saturday in New York “this team has a chance to do things we did in 1992-93.”

We can compare offences from now until Game 162.

But there is no comparing the post-seasons ... not yet anyway.

1993
AL average Blue Jays
Runs per game 4.71 5.23
Average .267 .279
Homers 148 159
On-base mark .337 .350
Slugging .408 .436*
OPS .745 .780
(League ERA average 4.32)

2015
AL average Blue Jays
Runs per game 4.27 5.31
Average .254 .264
Homers 114 149
On-base .315 .333*
Slugging .406 .446*
OPS .721 .779*
(League ERA average 3.92)
(* Denotes either led league or leading league)

Production throughout the batting order
1993 Avg. OPS 2015 Avg. OPS
1. .264 .774 .262 .709
2. .282 .792 .299 .974
3. .337 .918 .240 .869
4. .257 .819 .248 .778
5. .350 1.019 .253 .694
6. .282 .787 .272 .787
7. .258 .694 .256 .713
8. .244 .641 .283 .788
9. .236 .664 .263 .679

2015 Toronto Blue Jays Batting vs. 1993 Blue Jays Batting

2015 Statistics Through First 112 games (AL Average runs per game average: 4.265) == Stats provided by Neil Munro, Gerry Fraley.

Pos	Name	Age	G	PA	AB	R	H	TB	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	IBB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	GDP	HBP	SH	SF
C	Russell Martin	32	95	377	330	58	84	152	19	2	15	50	4	4	36		74	.255	.337	.461	.797	14	7		4
1B	Justin Smoak	28	88	200	180	26	41	81	8	1	10	35			20		55	.228	.305	.450	.755	9
2B	Devon Travis	24	62	239	217	38	66	108	18		8	35	3	1	18		43	.304	.361	.498	.859	4	2		1
SS	Jose Reyes	32	69	311	288	36	82	111	17		4	34	16	2	17		38	.285	.322	.385	.708	3		4	2
3B	Josh Donaldson	29	110	490	435	81	128	248	30		30	82	4		45		96	.294	.363	.570	.933	11	5	1	5
LF	Chris Colabello	31	69	261	242	40	77	120	13		10	41	2		16		64	.318	.360	.496	.856	9	1		2
CF	Kevin Pillar	26	111	438	408	53	107	152	20	2	7	39	15	3	21	1	62	.262	.300	.373	.672	5	2	4	3
RF	Jose Bautista	34	105	453	371	72	88	187	20	2	25	77	5	2	71	2	69	.237	.360	.504	.864	14	4		7
DH	Edwin Encarnacion	32	104	439	375	59	94	178	21		21	64	1	2	55	2	74	.251	.348	.475	.822	11	4		6
MI	Ryan Goins	27	82	260	230	28	53	75	9	2	3	27		1	20		48	.230	.291	.326	.617	7	1	6	3
LF	Danny Valencia	30	58	173	162	26	48	82	13		7	29	2	1	9		40	.296	.331	.506	.838	4		1	1
OF	Ezequiel Carrera	28	70	164	147	23	41	55	5		3	21	2	1	9		36	.279	.327	.374	.701	1	2	5	1
UT	Dioner Navarro	31	37	130	115	12	26	40	5		3	17			11	1	20	.226	.285	.348	.632				4
CF	Dalton Pompey	22	23	91	83	10	16	28	6		2	6	2		6		22	.193	.264	.337	.601		2
UT	Steven Tolleson	31	19	45	41	9	11	18	5	1		3	2		4		9	.268	.333	.439	.772	1
SS	Troy Tulowitzki	30	11	49	42	12	11	22	2		3	6	1		5		9	.262	.367	.524	.891		2
	Team Totals		112	4257	3783	595	997	1685	215	10	151	574	59	18	375	6	775	.264	.332	.445	.777	96	31	25	40

2015 Projected Blue Jays Season Ending Stats

Pos	Name	Age	G	PA	AB	R	H	TB	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	IBB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	GDP	HBP	SH	SF
C	Russell Martin	32	137	545	4776	84	122	222	28	3	22	72	6	6	52		107	.255	.336	.464	.801	20	10		6
1B	Justin Smoak	28	127	289	260	38	59	118	12	1	15	51			29		80	.227	.304	.454	.758	13
2B	Devon Travis	24	81	311	282	49	86	139	23		10	45	4	1	23		56	.305	.362	.493	.855	5	3		1
SS	Jose Reyes	32	69	311	288	36	82	111	17		4	34	16	2	17		38	.285	.322	.385	.708	3		4	2
3B	Josh Donaldson	29	159	709	629	117	185	357	43		43	119	6		65		139	.294	.363	.568	.931	16	7	1	7
LF	Chris Colabello	31	100	378	350	60	111	175	19		15	59	3		23		93	.317	.358	.500	.858	13	1		3
CF	Kevin Pillar	26	161	634	590	77	155	220	29	3	10	56	22	4	30	1	90	.263	.300	.373	.673	7	3	6	4
RF	Jose Bautista	34	152	655	537	104	129	272	29	3	36	111	7	3	103	4	100	.240	.363	.507	.869	20	6		10
DH	Edwin Encarnacion	32	150	635	542	85	136	256	30		30	93	1	3	80	3	107	.251	.349	.472	.821	16	6		9
MI	Ryan Goins	27	119	376	333	41	77	108	13	3	4	39		1	29		69	.231	.293	.324	.618	10	2	9	4
LF	Danny Valencia	30	58	173	162	26	48	82	13		7	29	2	1	9		40	.296	.331	.506	.838	4		1	1
OF	Ezequiel Carrera	28	70	164	147	23	41	55	5		3	21	2	1	9		36	.279	.327	.374	.701	1	2	5	1
UT	Dioner Navarro	31	54	188	166	17	38	57	7		4	25			16	1	29	.229	.287	.343	.631				6
CF	Dalton Pompey	22	33	132	120	15	23	41	9		3	9	3		9		32	.192	.265	.342	.607		3
UT	Steven Tolleson	31	19	45	41	9	11	18	5	1		3	2		4		9	.268	.333	.439	.772	1
SS	Troy Tulowitzki	30	59	247	222	46	64	109	12		11	33	1		19	1	49	.288	.351	.491	.842	6	3		1
	Projected Team Totals		162	6157	5472	861	1442	2437	311	14	218	830	85	26	542	9	1121	.264	.332	.445	.777	139	45	36	58

1993 Statistics Through First 112 games (AL Average runs per game average: 4.706)

Pos	Name	Age	G	PA	AB	R	H	TB	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	IBB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	GDP	HBP	SH	SF
C	Pat Borders	30	96	360	340	28	83	122	18		7	37		2	10		44	.244	.268	.359	.626	10	2	5	3
1B	John Olerud	24	110	473	385	71	151	255	42	1	20	86		1	78	27	44	.392	.493	.662	1.155	8	4		6
2B	Roberto Alomar	25	107	479	421	81	134	196	21	4	11	58	36	14	50	4	53	.318	.392	.466	.858	11	3	2	3
SS	Tony Fernandez	31	97	412	361	42	97	141	16	8	4	44	14	5	42		31	.269	.345	.391	.735	14	1	6	2
3B	Ed Sprague	25	105	422	388	38	97	149	20	1	10	51			20	1	71	.250	.297	.384	.681	17	8	1	5
LF	Rickey Henderson	34	5	24	20	4	6	8		1		2		1	3		1	.300	.375	.400	.775				1
CF	Devon White	30	101	460	415	85	114	192	30	6	12	37	24	3	36	1	85	.275	.343	.463	.805	1	7	2
RF	Joe Carter	33	108	461	418	64	105	200	27	4	20	83	3	3	29	2	83	.251	.308	.478	.786	7	8		6
DH	Paul Molitor	36	111	501	437	88	142	213	19	2	16	73	17	3	58		45	.325	.404	.487	.891	8	2	1	3
UT	Darnell Coles	31	45	149	130	18	32	44	4	1	2	16		1	15		16	.246	.324	.338	.663	3	1	1	2
OF	Turner Ward	28	32	82	72	5	13	25	1	1	3	28	1		8	1	12	.181	.272	.347	.619	2	1	1
RF	Darrin Jackson	29	46	189	176	15	38	61	8		5	19		2	8		53	.216	.250	.347	.597	9		5
SS	Dick Schofield	30	30	105	90	11	19	24	1	2		5	3		14		23	.211	.317	.267	.584	1		1
C	Randy Knorr	24	27	77	70	6	11	23	1	1	3	9			6		24	.157	.224	.329	.552	2		1
SS	Alfredo Griffin	35	30	75	71	9	17	20	3			3			2		7	.239	.260	.282	.542	2		2
	Team Totals		112	4433	3941	584	1089	1710	215	32	114	565	101	38	388	36	620	.276	.344	.434	.778	100	38	34	32

1993 Blue Jays Season-Ending Stats

Pos	Name	Age	G	PA	AB	R	H	TB	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	IBB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	GDP	HBP	SH	SF
C	Pat Borders	30	138	520	488	38	124	181	30		9	55	2	2	20	2	66	.254	.285	.371	.656	18	2	7	3
1B	John Olerud	24	158	679	551	109	200	330	54	2	24	107		2	114	33	65	.363	.473	.599	1.072	12	7		7
2B	Roberto Alomar	25	153	683	589	109	192	290	35	6	17	93	55	15	80	5	67	.326	.408	.492	.900	13	5	4	5
SS	Tony Fernandez	31	94	390	353	45	108	156	18	9	4	50	15	8	31	3	26	.306	.361	.442	.803	13		5	1
3B	Ed Sprague	25	150	596	546	50	142	211	31	1	12	73	1		32	1	85	.260	.310	.386	.696	23	10	2	6
LF	Rickey Henderson	34	44	203	163	37	35	52	3	1	4	12	22	2	35	1	19	.215	.356	.319	.675	1	2	1	2
CF	Devon White#	30	146	668	598	116	163	262	42	6	15	52	34	4	57	1	127	.273	.341	.438	.779	3	7	3	3
RF	Joe Carter	33	155	669	603	92	153	295	33	5	33	121	8	3	47	5	113	.254	.312	.489	.802	10	9		10
DH	Paul Molitor	36	160	725	636	121	211	324	37	5	22	111	22	4	77	3	71	.332	.402	.509	.911	13	3	1	8
UT	Darnell Coles	31	64	217	194	26	49	72	9	1	4	26	1	1	16	1	29	.253	.319	.371	.691	3	4	1	2
OF	Turner Ward#	28	72	198	167	20	32	52	4	2	4	28	3	3	23	2	26	.192	.287	.311	.599	7	1	3	4
RF	Darrin Jackson	29	46	189	176	15	38	61	8		5	19		2	8		53	.216	.250	.347	.597	9		5
SS	Dick Schofield	30	36	128	110	11	21	26	1	2		5	3		16		25	.191	.294	.236	.530	1		2
C	Randy Knorr	24	39	112	101	11	25	44	3	2	4	20			9		29	.248	.309	.436	.745	2		2
SS	Alfredo Griffin	35	46	102	95	15	20	23	3			3			3		13	.211	.235	.242	.477	3		4
	Team Totals		162	6319	5579	847	1556	2434	317	42	159	796	170	49	588	57	861	.279	.350	.436	.786	138	52	46	54

Comparing 1993 Jays offence to 2015 Jays offence