If you’re a certain vintage of Jays and dare I say it…a Yankees fan, this latest inductee to the Canadian Baseball Hall Of Fame may be a familiar name to you.
There is a clue to their identity in the title - “by way of Joliet, Illinois”. This Inductee was born in Joliet on October 29, 1959, and drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays with the 233rd overall selection in the 9th round of the 1977 MLB Draft out of Joliet Central HS.
After making their MLB debut Sep.2/1981 (14504th player in MLB history) they put together the following MLB career :
Until June 17/1992, the outfielder patrolled out in right with Toronto and with the New York Yankees. SMH, way to go from friend to foe in a hurry! This inductee was part of a trade with the Yankees in April 1989 where the Jays received LHP Al Leiter in return.
In 1993, a trip to Japan was on the cards where our Inductee spent 104 games with the Central League’s Yomiuri Giants in Nippon Professional Baseball slashing .215/.357/.477 with 26 HR and 53 RBI.
AWARDS
All-Star (1986)
2x Gold Glove (1986, 1987)
Silver Slugger (1986)
MLB Home Run Leader (1986, 40HR)
A free-swinging hitter with power is probably best known for an absolute hose of a right arm, where he should be in the discussion as historically one of the best OF arms in the game. Our latest Inductee In An Instant is…
VIDEO/HIGHLIGHTS
Thank you for checking in today with our latest Inductee In An Instant. Until the next time, as always…KEEP IT 80 GRADE!
SOURCES, RESOURCES, & READINGS
https://baseballhalloffame.ca/hall-of-famer/jesse-barfield/
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/barfije01.shtml
https://www.fangraphs.com/players/jesse-barfield/1000537/stats?position=OF