Ahaha! We might need such an alternative if we’re going to honour these guys before they’re a hundred years old.

3/3: ...here the Phillies are in 1981, in Stieb’s 3rd season (although because he debuted in June 1979 & the #MLB strike in 1981, he had had only one 162-game season).

Imagine if then #BlueJays GM, Pat Gillick, had let go of Stieb and Jim Clancy/Alfredo Griffin before 1982? 🤯

2/3: Okay, "The Pope" is what they called the Phillies' GM, Paul Owens, presumably because he was the architect of Philadelphia's first World Series win, in 1980, for the franchise. The Phillies were the franchise throughout the 1980s who chased Stieb the most, and...

2/2: We thank the Blue Jays for their usual service in promoting their greatest players.

Carlos Delgado's inclusion was accomplished with exactly zero effort by the front office and its alumni dept.

(The less said about Dave Stieb the better. As usual!)

TABLE: eligible batters

2/2: Stieb's first-ever injury that kept him out for two-thirds of the 1991 season had quite the ripple effect. The #BlueJays unload prospects for Tom Candiotti, it gives Juan Guzman his MLB shot, but Stieb not a sure thing for early 1992 leads to the signing of you-know-who.

3/3: ...that emanated from Stieb's camp which slipped into public view. Lemanczyk said he could help Stieb and gave him an out if he wasn't going to use him. Stieb didn't, and moved onto agent, Bob LaMonte, who clinched a deal in 1983. And then Comte and Lemanczyk came for Stieb.

2/3: Stieb had been hamstrung with an ineffective agent, Steve Comte, from his MLB debut in 1979 to 1982. *Lots* of bad will from auto-renewals, failed arbitration cases, and no progress on contract extensions (as well as 4 losing seasons), contributed to much of the vitriol...

3/3: To the BBWAA's eternal shame, he wouldn't even last more than one ballot.

Even worse, in 2025, the Eras Committee went with a pitcher with 15 points less of bWAR...and it's not like Stieb achieved that 56.4 because he hung around past his prime.

#Retire37, #BlueJays

2/3: Nobody enjoyed the '98 Dave Stieb comeback more than us, after 5 years away, but it had an unintended consequence on his Baseball Hall of Fame chances. Today in '03, the @baseballhall.org ballot is released. Stieb is on it, but as Jon Bois explains, it wouldn't go well...

2/2: Below is Whitaker v. Stieb, and Stieb v. everyone.

Hitters had a .667 OPS season average v. Stieb, with the league's average of .725.

Lou's OPS v. Stieb (min. 60 PAs) was a paltry .483, well below his career .789 OPS. (Fun fact: Lou faced Stieb in his 2nd career start.)

2/2: Stieb roared back after 2 subpar years in 1986 and 1987. He made the All-Star Game, won 17, had an ERA of 3.04, and finished off 1988 with those back-to-back lost no-hitters with 2 outs in the 9th inning (and a shutout before those two).

3/3: ...Damaso Garcia in 1982 (even though Stieb won A.L. Pitcher Of The Year). Stieb wins 1983 Pitcher and then loses in 1984 to Doyle and then laughably finishes FIFTH on the Jays in 1985. Stieb wins for 1988-90 before Roy Halladay wins his 6th in 2008.

2/3: It's Stieb's 5th Pitcher Of The Year Award in his 11th full season. Still, that seems low, so why? Well, the #BlueJays writers (who vote for this award) only separated the award for position player and pitcher in 1983. So, Stieb won overall MVP in 1981 and somehow lost to...

2/2: Stieb's second half - a 7-3, 3.05 split keying the Jays' respectable 21-27 post-strike finish - heralds a five-year stretch in which he's clearly the AL's best pitcher.

Last month, Stieb was the first pitcher to be named #BlueJays MVP by the Toronto media.