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In honor of Tony Fernandez, the Toronto Blue Jays will wear No.1 patches on their uniforms this season.
During the upcoming season, in honor of Tony Fernandez, the Toronto Blue Jays will wear commemorative No. 1 patches. A five-time All-Star in 17 major league seasons, including four All-Star selections as a Blue Jay, Fernandez died in February at the age of 57 after suffering a stroke.
A longtime fan favorite in Toronto, Fernandez played parts of 12 seasons with the Blue Jays over a 17-year major-league career. He posted a .297/.353/.412 slash-line with 60 home runs, 613 RBI, 291 doubles, and 72 triples with 172 stolen bases in 1,450 games in a Blue Jays’ uniform. He also won four consecutive Gold Gloves for his smooth work at shortstop from 1986-89, and he earned down ballot AL MVP votes in all four of those years.
Fernandez was sent to the San Diego Padres along with first baseman Fred McGriff in the December 1990 blockbuster trade that brought second baseman Roberto Alomar and outfielder Joe Carter to Toronto. He made the NL All-Star team with the Padres in 1992.
During the 1993 season, Fernandez was traded back to the Blue Jays by the New York Mets. He was part of the franchise’s second of back-to-back titles that fall, and he hit .333 with nine RBI in the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Who was Tony Fernandez?
Fernandez is the Blue Jays franchise leader in games (1,450), hits (1,583) and triples (72). After stops with the Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians, with whom he played in the 1997 World Series, he spent the 1998 and 1999 seasons back with the Blue Jays again. As a 36 and 37-year old, he hit better than .320 in both campaigns with more than 70 RBI over more than 480 at-bats. He earned an All-Star nod in 1999.
Fernandez started the final season of his career, 2001, with the Milwaukee Brewers before they released him. He landed back with the Blue Jays one last time, and he hit .305 over 59 at-bats. Fernandez was seemingly always a Blue Jay, and he’s easily best remembered in that uniform.