A total of 16 voters will decide if Cito Gaston is elected to the Hall of Fame at the winter meetings in Nashville. The group will meet Saturday and Sunday the results will be made public.

December 1, 2023

By Tyson Shushkewich

Canadian Baseball Network

With another offseason comes another round of Hall of Fame voting, a yearly tradition to honour the best former players, managers, executives and umpires with a place in the halls of Cooperstown, N.Y.

As decided by the accredited members of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), a select few may see their names surpass the 75% threshold mark to cement their legacy.

This year, numerous Blue Jays-affiliated players are attached to the Hall of Fame ballot for the 2024 class, and one particular name stands out on the Era Committee ballot as well.

This year, the Era Committee will be looking at managers, executives, and umpires within the Contemporary Era (1980 to present). Former Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston has found himself on the eight-man ballot, alongside other prestigious managers like Jim Leyland, Lou Piniella and Davey Johnson, plus former St. Louis Cardinal and AL president Bill White, along with umpires Joe West and Ed Montague.

Gaston, who was at the helm when the Blue Jays won both the 1992 and 1993 World Series, spent parts of 11 seasons in the majors before moving into a coaching role, initially being hired as a hitting coach by manager Bobby Cox for the Jays in 1982 before becoming the Blue Jays manager in May of 1989.

His initial run lasted nine seasons, with his final season coming in 1997 when he was fired by Gord Ash towards the end of the season. The Texas product would return to the Blue Jays manager role in 2008, replacing the recently ousted John Gibbons in the middle of June and leading the team the rest of the season. That tenure lasted through the 2010 campaign.

As a manager, Gaston owns an 894-837 record (.516) and helped the Blue Jays not only advance to the American League Championship Series where they lost on multiple occasions (to the Oakland A’s in 1989, the Minnesota Twins in 1991) but also managed Toronto to its only World Series championships.

For his work on the field, Gaston was added to the Level of Excellence at the Rogers Centre on July 30, 1999, and is the only Jays’ manager to be bestowed such an honour from the organization. He also managed the American League squad in two all-star games (1993 and 1994). He was respected by members of the team and described as a player’s manager. Gaston retired with the most games managed in Jays history.

Hall of Fame players Jeff Bagwell, Tom Glavine, Chipper Jones, Ted Simmons and Jim Thome, plus retired manager Joe Torre and former Commissioner Bud Selig, both Hall of Famers, are on the 16-person voting committee. Executives Sandy Alderson, Bill DeWitt, Michael Hill, Ken Kendrick, Andy MacPhail and Phyllis Merhige plus media members/historians Sean Forman, Jack O’Connell and Jesus Ortiz.

Outside of the Era Committee, there are some Blue Jays making their first appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot this offseason, most notably ...

_ José Bautista.

Acquired in a trade from the Pittsburgh Pirates during the 2008 season, Bautista had bounced around as a Rule V draft and had been unable to lock down a full-time role on a big league roster. He had never hit more than 16 home runs in a single season and was trying to make it as a third baseman. Bautista’s breakout season came in 2010 when the right-hander slugged a league-leading 54 home runs and posted a .995 OPS, earning him his first Silver Slugger award, his first all-star nomination, and some MVP votes. This trend continued as Bautista eventually finished his Jays career with 288 home runs, 766 RBIs, and a .878 OPS while adding two more Silver Slugger awards and finishing with six total all-star nods.

Defensively, Bautista, who attended Chipola College, was moved to right field where he showcased his arm. He cemented himself in Jays’ legacy, as he hit arguably the second biggest home run in franchise history in the fifth and deciding game of the 2015 ALDS. He crushed a seventh-inning three-run shot over the left-field wall off Texas Rangers reliever Sam Dyson on what is now known as “the bat flip.”

For his efforts, Bautista joined Gaston on the Level of Excellence this year, with the former big leaguer ranking first in franchise history in position player bWAR (38.3) and within the top five on most offensive categories.

Joining Bautista on the ballot are ...

_ José Reyes.

The former Jays shortstop who spent parts of three seasons with the Blue Jays after being acquired via the Miami Marlins blockbuster during the 2012-13 offseason. With the Jays, Reyes authored a .289/.334/.404 slash line with 23 home runs, 61 stolen bases, and a .738 OPS through 305 games, struggling to stay healthy with the club with various injuries to his ankle, hamstring, and ribs.

At shortstop, the Dominican product struggled to find consistency, committing 41 errors and posting a combined -26 DRS through 2,637 innings. Reyes was included in the trade package to the Colorado Rockies as part of the Troy Tulowitzki deal at the 2015 trade deadline.

_ Mark Buehrle.

This former teammate of Bautista and Reyes (also in the Miami trade) is in his fourth year on the Hall of Fame ballot after continuously staying above the 5% minimum threshold needed to remain on the ballot.

An absolute workhorse on the mound, Buehrle posted 14 consecutive seasons of 200-plus innings pitched and was 1 1/3 short of a 15th season in his last campaign with the Jays in 2015. That’s not for a lack of trying, as the Missouri product got the ball on the last game of the year on short rest but fell short as the Tampa Bay Rays snagged eight runs off the veteran in the first inning, although all of them came unearned.

The 2015 season would be Buehrle’s last in the big leagues, as the fast-paced starter who used pinpoint accuracy called it a career his way, with no official retirement announcement and walking off into the distance.

In total, Buehrle pitched to a 3.78 ERA through 97 starts with the Jays and amassed a 59.1 career bWAR through 16 big league campaigns with the Jays, Marlins, and Chicago White Sox, where he called home for 12 seasons. The left-hander finished his career with a 3.81 ERA through 3,283 1/3 innings with a 2.0 BB/9 and a 5.1 K/9 while winning a World Series with the White Sox in 2005 and nailing down five all-star nominations and four Gold Glove awards.

_ Omar Vizquel,

Rounding out the former Blue Jays contingent on the ballot this year is Vizquel who called Toronto home for one season, his last year in the majors. A defensive specialist (with 11 Gold Gloves to boot), the shortstop appeared in 60 games and posted a .235 average with just 36 hits through 153 at-bats. In his last game of the season, Vizquel notched hit number 2,877, moving him into 40th position on the all-time hits list.

After 24 seasons in the big leagues, Vizquel is currently in his seventh year on the ballot and has seen a steady decline in recent voting phases, as the infielder finished last winter with a 19.5% on the ballots, a significant downfall from the 52.6% he was sitting at in 2020.

For those of you who still hold on to memories of the Montreal Expos, former big-leaguer ...

_ Bartolo Colón

He is a first-timer on the ballot as well. The right-hander made 16 starts for the Expos in 2002 after being acquired at the 2002 trade deadline, pitching to a 2.55 ERA with a 1.316 WHIP and a 5.7 K/9 through 117 innings. Colón’s time in Montreal would be short-lived, as he was traded to the Chicago White Sox the following offseason in exchange for Orlando Hernández, Rocky Biddle, and Jeff Liefer.

Of the group mentioned above, the most likely candidate to reach Cooperstown this winter is Gaston, who like the rest of the nominees needs a 75% vote approval on the Eras Committee ballots to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

There is a high likelihood that both Reyes, Colon, and Bautista will be one-and-done candidates, as all three don’t have the longevity of success that voters have been leaning toward in recent memory. Even with Bautista’s accomplishments with the Jays, it seems like a bit of a long shot for him to remain above the 5% threshold given the rest of the ballot nominees.

There is a chance Vizquel could drop further down in the rankings and also be on the hot seat for falling off the ballot as recent off-the-field issues dating to his managing/coaching jobs following his playing days have not helped his case with the BBWAA voters.

Buehrle, on the other hand, likely won’t be inducted this winter but will likely continue to stay above the 5% minimum needed to reach a fifth year on the ballot next winter.

The results of the voting will be released on Jan. 23, 2024.

Shushkewich: Gaston heads Blue Jays-Expo HOF ballot contingent