TORONTO BLUE JAYS MEDIA NEWSLETTER VOLUME 2007, ISSUE 7 Released July 19, 2007 IN THIS ISSUE.. The Homestand Ahead: Jays try to play catch-up The Road Trip that Follows: Jays visit the Windy City and Sunshine State Rookie League Takes Flight in 19 th Season Mascots Create Magic on Weekend Flashback Friday Reaches into the Broadcast Booth Canadian Brings Home Title at All-Star Game The Minor League Report THE HOMESTAND AHEAD Toronto tries to play catch-up in Wild Card race as they host Seattle and Minnesota. Friday, July 19 Saturday, July 20 Sunday, July 21 Monday, July 22 Tuesday, July 23 Flashback Friday presented by the FAN590: Rance Mulliniks Blue Jays vs. Mariners (7:07 pm, Rogers Sportsnet) Jr. Jays Saturday presented by the Toronto Star Blue Jays vs. Mariners (1:07 pm, CBC) Mascot Weekend Mascot Weekend Blue Jays vs. Mariners (1:07 pm, Rogers Sportsnet) Pre-game giveaway: Ontario Power Authority ACE Bobblehead Blue Jays vs. Twins (7:07 pm, TSN) Blue Jays vs. Twins (7:07 pm, TSN) Wednesday, July 24 Blue Jays vs. Twins (12:37 pm, No Television) Pre-game giveaway: Blue Jays School Packs (kids 14 and under) >>>>Blue Jays 2007 July Schedule >>>>Blue Jays 2007 Giveaway Schedule >>>>Blue Jays 2007 Ticket Information Centre THE ROAD TRIP THAT FOLLOWS The Blue Jays close out July on the road with two three game series versus the Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Toronto looks to change their road woes as they take on the Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay Devil Rays to close out the month. As of July 19 th, the Blue Jays owned a 19 30 road record placing them 12 th in the American League. With both the White Sox and Devil Rays struggling at home this season, the Jays will need to attack and take advantage of every opportunity.
This is the first trip to the windy city for the Blue Jays this season. Having faced the White Sox in Toronto earlier in the year, the Blue Jays hold a 3 1 series advantage. During the club s four game series, they held Chicago to three runs or less in each game. Overall, they outscored their opponent 15 9. This is the last time these two clubs will face each other in the regular season. The young, but talented, Tampa Bay squad will host the Blue Jays in a three game series which is sure to provide excitement. The teams have faced each other nine times this year with Toronto holding a slight 5 4 advantage in the series. Thus far in nine games, the Blue Jays have outscored Tampa Bay by 4 runs earning a 47 43 run differential. There have been four one-run games alone in the series. The Numbers: The Blue Jays will travel 4,086 km (or 2,539 miles) during this road trip. On Call: Jay Stenhouse, VP ~ Communications, will be traveling with the team. He can be reached via cell phone and email at 416-618-7842 or jay.stenhouse@bluejays.com. IN THE NEWS ROOKIE LEAGUE TAKES FLIGHT IN 19 TH SEASON The Jays Care Foundation (JCF) and Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) are pleased to announce the 19 th season of Rookie League Baseball kicking off on Friday, July 20 th at 11:00 am at Riverdale Park. To help usher in the season, Paul Godfrey, President and CEO ~ Toronto Blue Jays, will be joined by Toronto Mayor David Miller, Dr. Mitchell Kosney, Chairman of the Board of Directors for TCHC as well as Vernon Wells, Honorary Commissioner for Rookie League. The afternoon will feature a home run derby between Mayor David Miller, Vernon Wells and Rookie League participants before the ceremonial first pitch is thrown and the first game gets underway. Rookie League is a joint program between the Toronto Blue Jays Jays Care Foundation and the Toronto Community Housing Corporation which brings the love, passion and sport of baseball to children in 22 Community Housing Units. Teaching the game, along with the importance of physical activity and healthy life-skill development, this program allows kids to be kids during a critical part of their development. The eight week summer program brings together teams from across the city to play each other once a week at Riverdale Park. Stepping up to lead the charge for a fifth season is Honorary Commissioner Vernon Wells. This year, Wells will lead approximately 400 children in the program by teaching, encouraging and leading by example. Since the program s creation, over 10,000 children have participated.
>>>>http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/tor/community/bo_programs.jsp#league MASCOTS CREATE MAGIC ON WEEKEND Toronto Blue Jays mascot, ACE, will be honoured on Sunday with the distribution of the first ever ACE Bobblehead. The giveaway item is being sponsored by Ontario Power Authority which is extending electricity conservation awareness across Ontario. As part of the celebrations, ACE has invited some of his mascot friends to town to celebrate with him and entertain the fans of Toronto. The mascots, including Toronto s own Raptor and Carlton as well as Seattle s Mariner Moose, Kansas City s Slugger, Arizona s Baxter and Tampa s Raymond will be on hand throughout the weekend. On Friday morning they will be in attendance at Variety Village s Baseball Summer Camp encouraging participants to have fun and play together. On Saturday they will appear at the Jr. Jays Saturday Stage Show outside Gate 5 at approximately 12:00 pm. There is no telling what adventures and fun these furry friends will get into. Finally, on Sunday, the mascots will help ACE distribute the bobblehead to fans in attendance as well as participate in various on-field and in-game activities. FLASHBACK FRIDAY REACHES INTO THE BROADCAST BOOTH Rance Mulliniks will step out of the broadcast booth on Friday, July 19 th to be honoured by the Blue Jays on Flashback Friday presented by the FAN590. The California native played 16 seasons in the Major Leagues being drafted by the California Angels (1977 1979) and appearing with the Kansas City Royals (1980 1981) before landing in Toronto (1981 1992). Although originally drafted as a shortstop, Mulliniks was moved to third base when he joined the Blue Jays and currently sits third in games played at that position. As a Blue Jay, Mulliniks batted.280 with 68 home runs and 389 RBI in 1,225 games. For the past three seasons, Mulliniks has been the colour commentator for Rogers Sportsnet and CBC Blue Jays broadcasts where his experience and insights keep fans tuned in. Mulliniks will be signing autographs from 5:45 6:30 p.m. at Gate 6A on Friday, July 20 and will also make an appearance at Gateway Chevrolet (2 Gateway Blvd, Brampton) on Saturday, July 21 in the morning. CANADIAN BRINGS HOME TITLE AT ALL-STAR GAME Toronto Blue Jays OF Alex Rios had company in San Francisco during the recent All- Star Break celebrations. 10 year old Tristan Pompey represented the Blue Jays in MLB s Pitch, Hit & Run contest and walked away with the title for the 9/10-year-old division. He is the first Canadian to participate in the finals and claim the top spot. The Mississauga boy plays shortstop with the Oakville minor mosquito A s. Pompey beat out more than 600,000 youngsters from across North America on his way to claiming the title.
MLB Pitch, Hit & Run competition features three components: pitching balls at a 2x3- foot target from 44 feet way; hitting off a tee for both distance and accuracy; and a timed run from second base to home plate. The competition was close as he faced opponents from Rhode Island, Texas and Ohio. Thanks to an impressive 8.04 second run from second to home plate, Pompey etched his name in the record books. >>>> http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070710&content_id=2079176&vkey=allstar 2007&fext=.jsp THE MINOR LEAGUE REPORT (through games of 07/16/2007) Syracuse Chiefs (Class AAA) Record: 42-51 Place in the Standings: 5 th in North, 9.5 GB Notable Performances: OF John-Ford Griffin represented the Chiefs at the 2007 Triple-A All-Star game played on Wednesday, July 11 th at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, NM. In 83 games played with Syracuse this season, Griffin has a.262 average,.342 OBP, and a.524 slugging percentage. He leads the Chiefs in runs scored (50), doubles (20), and home runs (19). His 19 home runs rank 3 rd in the International League. Griffin recorded one at bat in the game. He was also chosen to participate in the 2007 Triple-A All-Star Game Home Run Derby. New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Class AA) Record: 49-44 Place in the Standings: 2 nd in Northern, 10.0 GB Notable Performances: C Robinzon Diaz participated in the 2007 XM Satellite Radio Futures Game on Sunday, July 8 th at AT&T Park in San Francisco, CA. Diaz started the game as the catcher for the World team. He went 2-2 with 2 singles and a stolen base in four innings played. Diaz s efforts helped the World team to a 7-2 victory over the U.S. squad. Dunedin Blue Jays (Class A Advanced) Record: 16-9 (second half) Place in the Standings: T-1 st in West Notable News: 1B Josh Kreuzer is doing what he can keep the Dunedin Blue Jays battling for top spot in the West Division. Until yesterday, Kreuzer was enjoying a six game hitting streak while leading the team with a.319 batting average. In the League, Kreuzer ranks 1 st in OPS (.991), 2 nd in SLG (.565) and 2 nd in OBP (.426). Lansing Lugnuts (Class A) Record: 14 9 (second half) Place in the Standings: 2 nd in Eastern, 2.0 GB Notable Performances: OF Travis Snider broke out of a 4-33 slump on Saturday, July 7 th by hitting the fourth cycle in the history of the Lansing Lugnuts. Snider completed the feat in reverse order, hitting a home run, triple, double, and single in consecutive at-bats. He added an additional single in his final at-bat of the evening. For the 2007 season,
Snider ranks among the Midwest League leaders in average (9 th -.313), slugging percentage (4 th -.509), extra-base hits (3 rd 35), and triples (2 nd -7). Auburn Doubledays (Class A) Record: 16-11 Place in the Standings: 1 st in NYP Pinckney Notable Performances: SP Brett Cecil, who was drafted 38 th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft, has provided a spark for the Doubledays. Over his first five appearances with the club, the 6 3 southpaw has gone 1-0 while holding opposing batters to three runs on 18 hits over 18.2 innings of work. His 1.45 ERA ranks second among Auburn hurlers behind reliever Drew Taylor s miniscule 0.79 average. Cecil has also collected 22 strikeouts, the most of any pitcher with fewer than 20 innings pitched. Gulf Coast League Blue Jays (Rookie) Record: 12-12 Place in the Standings: 5 th in North, 2.5 GB Notable Performances: 3B Jonathan Del Campo is currently riding a six-game hitting streak during which he has hit.333 (8-24) with six runs and six RBI. Over the course of the entire season, the 19-year old switch-hitter owns the second-highest batting average on the team (.311) and highest on-base percentage (.380). Del Campo was selected in the 20 th round (600 th overall) of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays.