Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are a member of the Eastern Division of the American League.

Stadium
The Blue Jays played their games from their founding in 1977 at Exhibition Stadium. The team moved to the SkyDome in 1989. In 2004, the SkyDome was bought by Rogers Communications, who renamed the venue the Rogers Centre.

Nickname
The "Blue Jays" got their name because of a contest held by the team's first owners - Labatt Breweries. "Labatt's Blue" was (and still is) its main brand of beer, and they accept thed name because they hoped it would be shortened to "Blues" in popular parlance, thus achieving crossover free advertising. However, everyone refers to the team simply as the "Jays."

History
An expansion franchise, the club was founded in Toronto, in 1977. They are the first and only team outside the United States to win a World Series, the first team to win a World Series in Canada, and the fastest AL expansion franchise to win a World Series (winning in their 16th year, beating the Kansas City Royals' record by one year). The only other Canadian franchise - the Montreal Expos - moved to Washington, D.C. after the 2004 season, and so the Blue Jays are currently the only MLB team outside the U.S.

Record By Decade

1977-1979
Roy Hatsfield had the reins of the Blue Jays during the first three years of the club's existence. They lost over a hundred games in each of these three years.

1980-1989
Bobby Mattick took over for the first two years of this decade, and then was replaced by Bobby Cox for four years. In his fourth year, Cox's Blue Jays won the Division title. Cox left for greener pastures, and Jimmy Williams took over for the last four years of the decade. He had winning seasons in each of his four years.

1990-1999
In 1990, Cito Gaston became coach of the team. His first years were successful ones, with a Division title and two World Series wins, but then the team fell into the doldrums. Tim Johnson had the reins in 1998, Jim Fregosi in 1999.

2000-2008
Jim Fregosi coached his last season in 2000, and then was replaced by Buck Martinez who coached for a year and a half. Martinez was replaced mid-season by Carlos Tosca who coached for two and a half years. Since 2005, the coach of the team has been John Gibbons. The Blue Jays have had winning seasons since his tenure.

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