This article celebrates the birthdays of former Blue Jays players Josh Donaldson and Vernon Wells, highlighting their achievements and impact on the team.
We have four former Blue Jays having birthdays today. Josh Donaldson turns 39 today. We picked up Josh in trade from the A’s for what turned out to be a handful of magic beans. In his four seasons with the Jays, he hit .281/.383/.548 with 116 home runs in 462 games. He won an AL MVP award and finished fourth and 22nd in voting the next two seasons. By bWAR, he had the seventh and eighth-best seasons ever for a Jays position player.
He’s number 14 on our all-time list for bWAR (among batters) and 17th in home runs. The less said about the circumstances of his trade, the better. After leaving Toronto, Josh played for Cleveland, Atlanta, Minnesota, Yankees and Brewers. He retired after the 2023 season. He played 13 seasons, 1383 games, hitting .261/.358/.489 with 279 home runs and a 46.7 bWAR. 19.5 of that came with the Jays as did 116 of his home runs. Happy Birthday, Josh. I hope it is a good one. Vernon Wells turns 46 today. Still a young man. Vernon’s father, Vernon Wells Sr., was a football player and a receiver who played in the CFL with the Calgary Stampeders and the Ottawa Rough Riders. Our Vernon was the Jays’ first round of the 1997 draft, 5th pick overall. He rose quickly through the minors; in 1999, he played in four levels, starting the season in A-Ball, finishing in the Majors, and getting called up to the Jays at the end of August. He got 88 at-bats. In 2000, he was a September call-up, and again in 2001, he spent most of the season in Triple-A with a couple of call-ups. He was considered the Jays’ top prospect and twice participated in the MLB Futures game. 2002 was Vernon’s first full season with the Jays. He played 159 games, mostly in center. Vernon had a good season, batting .275 with 23 home runs and 100 RBIs. At 23, he was the youngest Jay to drive in 100 runs. Vlad beat him out, getting 111 at age 22. In 2003, Wells had his best season. He played in 161 games, hit .317/.359/.550, and led the league with 215 hits, 49 doubles, and 373 total base
BASEBALL BLUE JAYS FORMER PLAYERS JOSH DONALDSON VERNON WELLS BIRTHDAYS
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