On this day 16 years ago,
the Blue Jays defeated the Rays 17-7.
Toronto hit eight home runs: Aaron Hill hit two, while Adam Lind, Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista, and Lyle Overbay each added one.
And, of course, J.P. Arencibia—playing in his first MLB game—hit two home runs and went 4-for-5 with a double.
At that moment, the future looked bright.
From the recap:
What a way to begin a major league career: he homered on the first pitch he saw, doubled in his second at-bat, singled in his third, and hit
another home run in his fourth. He finished with 11 total bases, 3 runs, and 3 RBI. It seemed impossible not to pencil J.P. Arencibia into the lineup every day after such a debut, though I was sure Cito would find a way not to.
J.P. started just 9 of the remaining 52 games, hitting .143/.189/.343 in 37 plate appearances that season and going hitless in 15 September at-bats. I can’t help but wonder how different his career might have been if Cito had shown more faith and played him regularly from the start. When young players only get sporadic opportunities, they sometimes feel pressure to be great every time out—a tough way to begin a career.
Also, from the recap:
Arencibia became just the third Blue Jay to homer in his first career game, joining Alvis Woods and Junior Felix. During his postgame interview, he was covered in shaving cream, doused with two buckets of Gatorade, and then got another round of shaving cream. Please, Cito, play him tomorrow.
Cito didn’t play him the next day.
There are five Blue Jays who started their career with a home run:
- Al Woods (1977)
- Junior Félix (1989)
- J.P. (2010)
- Davis Schneider (August 4, 2023)
- Charles McAdoo (June 1, 2026)
Jordan Bastian tweeted that, since 1900, no other player had 4 hits and 2 home runs in his MLB debut.
As we know, J.P.’s career didn’t unfold as hoped. He struggled with breaking balls and never mastered the strike zone, finishing with 85 walks and 484 strikeouts.
He spent four seasons with Toronto, hitting .212/.258/.408 with 64 home runs over 380 games.
After the Jays, he played 62 games for the Rangers in 2014 (primarily at first base) and 24 games for the Rays in 2015.
His defense was always a work in progress. He had a decent arm, throwing out 27% of base stealers, but also allowed his share of passed balls and wild pitches. If he had hit better, his defense would have been more forgivable. Off the field, he was great with fans—I once saw him in Calgary, playing with children and clearly enjoying himself.
Other performances of note:
Travis Snider led off and was 2 for 2 with 2 walks.
Yunel Escobar went 3 for 6.
Bautista hit his 34th home run, leading the A.L.
Edwin Encarnacion went 3 for 5 and made his 10th error of the season.
On the pitching side:
Brad Mills started and gave up 5 runs in 4 innings.
Brian Tallet pitched 3 innings of relief, got the win, and allowed 2 unearned runs.
Jason Frasor pitched a scoreless inning.
David Purcey started the 9th, giving up 2 hits and 2 walks, getting just 1 out.
Casey Janssen got the last 2 outs of the game, giving up a hit and a walk and allowing both of his inherited runs to score.
25 Years Ago
Chris Woodward belted three home runs against the Mariners. Amazingly, the Jays lost 5-4
Despite spending seven seasons and 362 games with the Jays—hitting just 26 home runs for Toronto—three of those came in this single game, which is remarkable.
In total, Woodward played 12 years in MLB and finished with 33 career home runs, so 9.1% of his career homers were hit in this one outing
The Mariners lineup at the time featured some greats:
- Ichiro Suzuki led off and collected two hits.
- John Olerud went 1-for-4.
- Edgar Martinez hit cleanup and notched two hits, including a home run and two RBI.
The Jays carried a 3-2 lead into the eighth inning, but reliever Scott Cassidy allowed a run in the eighth and then the go-ahead run in the ninth. I have no memory of Cassidy, though he pitched in 58 games that year—his rookie season—with a 5.73 ERA. A wild stat: in seven save opportunities, he blew all seven (in fairness, he wasn’t a closer, but Buck Martinez and Carlos Tosca—managers that season—used him as a setup man, and the team lacked reliable relievers or starters. It was basically Roy Halladay and pray for rain.
Luke Prokopec surrendered a walk-off home run to catcher Dan Wilson in the 10th, taking the loss. Prokopec finished the year with a 6.78 ERA in 22 games (12 starts).
