April 2 in Toronto Blue Jays’ history: Caudill, Clemens, Thomas, Stairs, Pillar

April 2, 2024

By Kevin Glew

Cooperstowners in Canada

April 2 has been a memorable date in Toronto Blue Jays’ history.

Some historic transactions have been made by the club on this date, as well as some significant regular season debuts.

Here’s a rundown:

1987 – It was 37 years ago today that the Blue Jays released reliever Bill Caudill.

After the Blue Jays dealt shortstop Alfredo Griffin and outfielder Dave Collins to the Oakland A’s for him on December 8, 1984, Caudill was thought to be the missing link the Blue Jays needed to capture their first division title. But Caudill struggled in Toronto, although his first season wasn’t as bad as most remember it. He finished with a 2.99 ERA in 67 appearances, but he walked 35 batters in 69 1/3 innings and lost his closer’s job to Tom Henke in late July.

Caudill followed that up by posting a gaudy 6.19 ERA in 40 relief appearances for the Blue Jays in 1986. So, it wasn’t a surprise when he was released by the Jays the following spring.

“Needless to say, I’m glad it’s over,” Caudill told the Toronto Star after his release. “I had some rough times here, but there’s no bitterness. They’ve always treated me like a gentleman and a human being. It was just a smart business decision on their part, the right move for both of us if they were going to use me like they did last year. I mean, if I’m going to have to sit and watch, I’d rather do it in front of my big screen TV back home, not some dugout.”

1997 – In his regular season debut with the Blue Jays 27 years ago, Roger Clemens started and earned a complete game win in the Blue Jays’ 6-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox at SkyDome. Clemens threw 122 pitches and allowed six hits and struck out nine. The Blue Jays had signed Clemens to a three-year, $24.75-million contract the previous December.

“That to me is what Roger is all about,” Toronto Blue Jays GM Gord Ash told the Toronto Star after the game.

The Blue Jays were hoping Clemens would draw fans back to the Rogers Centre, but the attendance was a disappointing 31,110 for his much-hyped first start. The team had been expecting closer to 45,000.

“What we have discovered is that the fans are not yet sold,” Ash told the Toronto Star about the attendance. “They want to wait and see if we’re for real.”

Clemens continued to be dominant for the Blue Jays that season, winning the American League pitching triple crown with 21 wins, a 2.05 ERA and 292 strikeouts. For his efforts, he won his first of back-to-back Cy Young awards with the Blue Jays. His 1997 numbers are now, of course, viewed under a cloud of suspicion.

2007 – The Blue Jays defeated the Detroit Tigers 5-3 in 10 innings at Comerica Park. Troy Glaus notched the game-winning RBI for the Blue Jays in the 10th inning. The game marked the Blue Jays debuts of Frank Thomas and Matt Stairs (Fredericton, N.B.).

Batting fourth and DHing, Thomas went 1-for-4 and was hit by a pitch. Stairs, meanwhile, pinch-hit for shortstop Royce Clayton (who was also making his Blue Jays’ regular season debut) in the top of the ninth and grounded into a double play.

Things would get better at the plate for Thomas and Stairs that season. The 39-year-old Thomas would lead the Blue Jays in home runs (26), RBIs (95) and on-base percentage (OBP) (.377). Stairs, also 39, would bat .289 with 21 home runs and a .368 OBP.

2019 – The Blue Jays traded centre fielder Kevin Pillar to the San Francisco Giants for infielder Alen Hanson, right-hander Derek Law and pitching prospect Juan De Paula. One of the few remaining players from the Blue Jays’ 2015 and 2016 postseason squads and the longest tenured Blue Jay at the time, the popular Pillar had gone 1-for-16 in five games to open the season.

A 32nd round pick in 2011, Pillar transformed himself into a Gold Glove outfielder and into a decent big league hitter. But in 2019, the Blue Jays outfield was crowded and they needed to find playing time for Anthony Alford, Teoscar Hernandez, Randal Grichuk and Lourdes Gurriel.

“This city and this country allowed me to almost become kind of a mythical kind of superhuman baseball player, and I can’t thank them enough for that,” Pillar told Toronto reporters after the trade.

Pillar proceeded to enjoy one of his best offensive seasons with the Giants, batting .264 with 21 homers and 87 RBIs in 156 games.

Law registered a 4.90 ERA in 58 relief appearances for the Blue Jays in 2019 and Hanson batted .163 in 18 contests. De Paula peaked at the class-A level in the Blue Jays’ system in 2021.