Today marks Joey Hamilton’s 56th birthday. Coincidentally, it’s also my middle son’s birthday—happy birthday, Tommy!
Joey arrived in Toronto as part of one of the worst trades of the Gord Ash era. The Jays sent Woody Williams, Carlos Almanzar, and Peter Tucci to San Diego in exchange for him. Dave Stewart, who had just joined the Jays as assistant GM after serving as the Padres’ pitching coach, strongly recommended Joey. Stewart had played with him, saw something special in his demeanor, and believed he was destined to be a star.
In his four full seasons with the Padres, Joey averaged over 200 innings a season, posting a 55-44 record and a 3.83 ERA.
However, Joey led the NL in walks the season before the trade and was never a high strikeout pitcher. Ash should have recognized that a pitcher with a 1.39 strikeout-to-walk ratio was unlikely to thrive in the AL East.
In his first year as a Jay, he went 7-8 with a 6.52 ERA in 18 starts. The following season, 2000, he spent most of the year on the DL, making only six starts for the team. 2001, Joey was 5-8 with a 5.89 ERA when the team released him on August 3rd. It is tough to let go of a guy you are paying $7.25 million to, but JP Riccardi had no trouble admitting Gord Ash’s mistakes.
All in all, the Jays paid $17 million for just 14 wins—not exactly what you’d hope for from someone expected to replace Roger Clemens.
“I think he’s just coming into his own,” Stewart said. “What I like about Joey is that he is a real, real strong competitor. And, I still think there’s room for growth.”
“We have in Joey Hamilton a pitcher who can go in the front end of our rotation,” Toronto general manager Gord Ash said.
Woody Williams went on to win 104 more games in his career. Almanzar had a few decent, though inconsistent, seasons, while Tucci never made it to the big leagues. Gord Ash, meanwhile, was eventually fired.
The Reds picked up Joey, and he pitched for them during the remainder of the 2001 season, all of 2002, and made three appearances in 2003 before being released. As a Red, he went 5-12 with a 5.90 ERA over 46 games (21 starts).
He finished his career 74-73 with a 4.44 ERA in 242 games (209 starts). It was a solid career, though the best years came before his time with the Jays.
Anyway, happy birthday, Joey—I hope it’s a great one.
It’s also Edwin Jackson‘s 43rd birthday.
Edwin was a Jay for about 10 minutes back in 2011. He arrived from the White Sox along with Mark Teahen, Jason Frasor, and Zach Stewart.
But he was quickly traded to the Cardinals, along with Octavio Dotel, Corey Patterson, and Marc Rzepczynski, in exchange for Trever Miller, Colby Rasmus, Brian Tallet, and P.J. Walters.
The Jays picked him up again from the A’s off waivers in May 2019. He made eight appearances (five starts), posting an 11.12 ERA (and people complain about Mitch White). The Jays released him at the end of July. The Tigers then signed him, and he had an 8.47 ERA over 39.1 innings, which marked the end of his career.
He finished with a record of 107-133 and a 4.78 ERA in 412 games (318 starts).
Happy birthday, Edwin.
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