# 1989 Toronto Blue Jays season

The 1989 Toronto Blue Jays season was the franchise's 13th season of Major League Baseball. It resulted in the Blue Jays finishing first in the American League East with a record of 89 wins and 73 losses. The Blue Jays' ace pitcher Dave Stieb led the staff with 17 victories, and the team was offensively buoyed by the league's home run king Fred McGriff. Toronto won the AL East pennant in the final weekend of the season against the favored Baltimore Orioles. The Blue Jays lost the ALCS in five games to the eventual World Series champion Oakland Athletics. It was the team's last season at Exhibition Stadium, before moving to SkyDome halfway into the season. The Blue Jays hit eight grand slams, the most in MLB in 1989.

## Transactions

Transactions by the Toronto Blue Jays during the off-season before the 1989 season.

### October 1988

| October 9 | Signed amateur free agent Carlos Delgado to a contract. |
| October 15 | Steve Davis granted free agency. Lou Thornton granted free agency. Dave Walsh granted free agency. |
| October 24 | Jim Clancy granted free agency. |
| October 28 | Released Frank Wills. |
| October 31 | Released Doug Bair. |

### November 1988

| November 4 | Mike Flanagan granted free agency. Rick Leach granted free agency. |

### December 1988

| December 5 | Gerónimo Berroa drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 1988 MLB Rule 5 draft. Matt Stark drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 1988 MLB Rule 5 draft. Eric Yelding drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 1988 MLB Rule 5 draft. |
| December 6 | Drafted Tom Gilles from the Minnesota Twins in the 1988 Minor League Draft. Drafted Mauro Gozzo from the Kansas City Royals in the 1988 Minor League Draft. |
| December 22 | Player rights of Cecil Fielder sold to the Hanshin Tigers of the NPB. |
| December 24 | Re-signed free agent Mike Flanagan to a contract. |

### January 1989

| January 12 | Re-signed free agent Frank Wills to a contract. |
| January 18 | Signed free agent Bob Brenly from the San Francisco Giants to a contract. |
| January 23 | Signed free agent Tom Lawless from the St. Louis Cardinals to a one-year, $175,000 contract. |
| January 28 | Signed free agent Chico Walker from the Chicago Cubs to a contract. |

### February 1989

| February 17 | Re-signed free agent Doug Bair to a one-year, $150,000 contract. |

### March 1989

| March 9 | Acquired DeWayne Buice from the California Angels for Cliff Young. |
| March 29 | Player rights of Mark Eichhorn sold to the Atlanta Braves. |

## Regular season

The regular season would represent a turning point for the Blue Jays in many different ways. The Blue Jays started the 1989 season in Kansas City against the Royals. Behind the pitching of Jimmy Key, the Jays won the first game of the season 4–3. The rest of the month would result in a losing record for the Jays. After the first month of the season, the Blue Jays had 10 wins and 20 losses and sat 6.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the standings. The result was that Pat Gillick made his first trade in 605 days. On April 30, Gillick sent Jesse Barfield to the New York Yankees in exchange for Al Leiter. The reason for the deal was that management was convinced that Rob Ducey was ready to be an everyday outfielder. The spot eventually went to the surprising Junior Felix that year, and Ducey never became the everyday player the Jays imagined him to be.
The Blue Jays had never fired a manager in the middle of the season. After the Jays were swept by the Minnesota Twins in a three-game series, including a 13–1 loss in the final game of the series, the Jays had 12 wins and 24 losses. The Jays had also lost 15 of their last 19 games. Gillick decided that a change was needed. On Monday, May 15, Jimy Williams had become the first Jays manager to be fired in mid-season. Williams would be replaced by Cito Gaston, the first black manager in the history of the franchise.
The Blue Jays' last game at Exhibition Stadium was against the first team they played there, the Chicago White Sox. From there, the Blue Jays opened the new Skydome with a loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. On September 30, they clinched the American League East division title at the new ballpark.

### Notable games

* April 16, 1989 – Blue Jays third baseman Kelly Gruber hits for the cycle in a 15–8 victory over the Kansas City Royals.
* May 4, 1989 – In a game versus the California Angels, Junior Felix hits a home run in his first Major League at-bat, becoming only the 60th Major Leaguer to achieve the feat.
* May 28, 1989 – The Blue Jays play their final game at Exhibition Stadium, a 7–5 10-inning win over the Chicago White Sox. Coincidentally, the White Sox had been the Jays' opponents in their first game at Exhibition Stadium (also the first game in franchise history) twelve years before.
* June 4, 1989 – The Blue Jays stage a remarkable comeback in a game against the Red Sox in Boston. Trailing 10–0 after six innings, they slowly close the gap, finally taking an 11-10 lead on a ninth-inning grand slam by Ernie Whitt. Boston ties the score in the bottom half of the inning, but Junior Felix smokes a two-run home run in the top of the 12th inning, giving Toronto a 13–11 victory.
* June 5, 1989 – The Blue Jays play their first game in the brand-new SkyDome, a 5–3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
* August 4, 1989 – With the Blue Jays leading the New York Yankees 2–0, Dave Stieb comes one out away from pitching a perfect game, but the Yankees' Roberto Kelly cracks a double into left field to break it up. Steve Sax then singles Kelly home to cut the lead to 2–1, but the Blue Jays ace holds on for the victory. It marks the third time in two seasons that Stieb has lost a no-hitter with two out in the ninth inning.
* September 30, 1989 – In the next-to-last game of the regular season (and the last edition of NBC Sports' Saturday afternoon Game of the Week before the series moved to CBS the following season), the Blue Jays clinch their second American League East division title. Tom Henke strikes out the Baltimore Orioles' Larry Sheets for the final out.

### Opening Day starters

* Jesse Barfield
* George Bell
* Pat Borders
* Bob Brenly
* Kelly Gruber
* Jimmy Key
* Manuel Lee
* Nelson Liriano
* Fred McGriff
* Lloyd Moseby

### Season standings

vteAL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 89 | 73 | .549 | — | 46‍–‍35 | 43‍–‍38 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 87 | 75 | .537 | 2 | 47‍–‍34 | 40‍–‍41 |
| Boston Red Sox | 83 | 79 | .512 | 6 | 46‍–‍35 | 37‍–‍44 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 81 | 81 | .500 | 8 | 45‍–‍36 | 36‍–‍45 |
| New York Yankees | 74 | 87 | .460 | 14½ | 41‍–‍40 | 33‍–‍47 |
| Cleveland Indians | 73 | 89 | .451 | 16 | 41‍–‍40 | 32‍–‍49 |
| Detroit Tigers | 59 | 103 | .364 | 30 | 38‍–‍43 | 21‍–‍60 |

### Record vs. opponents

1989 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 6–7 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 10–3 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 4–8 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 7–6 |
| Boston | 7–6 | — | 4–8 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 11–2 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–8 |
| California | 6–6 | 8–4 | — | 8–5 | 5–7 | 11–1 | 4–9 | 7–5 | 11–2 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 7–5 |
| Chicago | 6–6 | 5–7 | 5–8 | — | 7–5 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 10–2 | 5–8 | 5–6 | 5–8 | 7–6 | 3–10 | 1–11 |
| Cleveland | 6–7 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 5–7 | — | 5–8 | 8–4 | 3–10 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 2–10 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 5–8 |
| Detroit | 3–10 | 2–11 | 1–11 | 8–4 | 8–5 | — | 6–6 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 2–11 |
| Kansas City | 6–6 | 8–4 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 4–8 | 6–6 | — | 8–4 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 7–5 |
| Milwaukee | 6–7 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 2–10 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 4–8 | — | 9–3 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 6–7 |
| Minnesota | 8–4 | 6–6 | 2–11 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 3–9 | — | 6–6 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 9–3 |
| New York | 5–8 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 6–5 | 4–9 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 6–6 | — | 3–9 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 7–6 |
| Oakland | 7–5 | 5–7 | 8–5 | 8–5 | 10–2 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 9–3 | — | 9–4 | 8–5 | 7–5 |
| Seattle | 6–6 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 4–9 | — | 6–7 | 5–7 |
| Texas | 3–9 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 10–3 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 7–6 | — | 5–7 |
| Toronto | 6–7 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 11–1 | 8–5 | 11–2 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 7–5 | — |

### Transactions

Transactions for the Toronto Blue Jays during the 1989 regular season.

#### April 1989

| April 30 | Acquired Al Leiter from the New York Yankees for Jesse Barfield. |

#### May 1989

| May 1 | Signed amateur free agent Robert Pérez to a contract. |

#### June 1989

| June 12 | Released Dane Johnson. |
| June 16 | Player rights of Doug Bair sold to the Pittsburgh Pirates. |
| June 24 | Signed free agent Ozzie Virgil Jr. from the Atlanta Braves to a contract. |

#### July 1989

| July 18 | Released Bob Brenly. |
| July 31 | Acquired Mookie Wilson from the New York Mets for Jeff Musselman and Mike Brady. Selected Lee Mazzilli off of waivers from the New York Mets. |

#### August 1989

| August 24 | Acquired Jim Acker from the Atlanta Braves for Francisco Cabrera and Tony Castillo. |
| August 26 | Signed amateur free agent Paul Spoljaric to a contract. |

#### Draft picks

* June 5, 1989: John Olerud was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 3rd round of the 1989 amateur draft. Player signed August 26, 1989.
* June 5, 1989: Aaron Small was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 22nd round of the 1989 amateur draft. Player signed June 8, 1989.

### Game log

1989 Game Log :
April: 9–16 (Home: 4–5; Away: 5–11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 3@ Royals4–3Key (1–0)Gubicza (0–1)Henke (1)38,5951–0
2April 5@ Royals2–1Gordon (1–0)Stottlemyre (0–1)17,1261–1
3April 6@ Royals3–2Montgomery (1–0)Ward (0–1)Farr (1)18,8831–2
4April 7@ Rangers10–9Castillo (1–0)Guante (1–1)Henke (2)22,9142–2
5April 8@ Rangers5–4Moyer (1–0)Key (1–1)Russell (2)26,0732–3
6April 9@ Rangers3–2Rogers (1–0)Henke (0–1)19,4982–4
7April 10@ Yankees8–0Stieb (1–0)Hawkins (0–2)17,1923–4
8April 11@ Yankees11–6 (10)Henke (1–1)Righetti (0–1)20,2774–4
9April 12@ Yankees5–3Candelaria (1–1)Castillo (1–1)Guetterman (1)17,9004–5
10April 14Royals3–0Key (2–1)Leibrandt (0–1)46,0285–5
11April 15Royals10–5Aquino (2–0)Ward (0–2)25,2475–6
12April 16Royals15–8Wells (1–0)Saberhagen (1–1)Castillo (1)35,2106–6
13April 17Yankees7–2Hawkins (1–2)Flanagan (0–1)23,2606–7
14April 18Yankees2–0LaPoint (1–1)Musselman (0–1)Righetti (1)25,0406–8
15April 19Yankees4–2Candelaria (2–1)Key (2–2)Guetterman (3)26,4716–9
16April 21Rangers6–3Stieb (2–0)Brown (1–1)Ward (1)22,1867–9
17April 22Rangers4–2Ward (1–2)Hough (2–1)27,2788–9
18April 23Rangers4–1Ryan (2–1)Stottlemyre (0–2)31,4738–10
19April 24@ Athletics5–4Nelson (2–1)Henke (1–2)25,0998–11
20April 25@ Athletics3–1Davis (2–1)Cerutti (0–1)Eckersley (7)12,4378–12
21April 26@ Mariners7–6Trout (2–1)Wells (1–1)Jackson (1)7,3998–13
22April 27@ Mariners6–1Flanagan (1–1)Dunne (0–1)8,6009–13
23April 28@ Angels9–0McCaskill (4–1)Stottlemyre (0–3)30,9589–14
24April 29@ Angels4–3 (10)Minton (1–0)Ward (1–3)49,9069–15
25April 30@ Angels1–0 (11)McClure (1–0)Henke (1–3)31,1259–16 :
May: 11–15 (Home: 8–9; Away: 3–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
26May 2Athletics8–5Honeycutt (1–0)Ward (1–4)Plunk (1)23,4399–17
27May 3Athletics2–0Flanagan (2–1)Moore (3–2)22,37010–17
28May 4Angels3–2 (10)Harvey (1–0)Ward (1–5)Minton (3)21,18810–18
29May 5Angels5–3Abbott (2–2)Cerutti (0–2)Harvey (5)24,18810–19
30May 6Angels5–4McClure (2–0)Ward (1–6)39,12310–20
--May 7AngelsPostponed (rain) Rescheduled for July 17
31May 8Mariners10–1Stieb (3–0)Dunne (1–2)23,29311–20
32May 9Mariners4–3Hanson (4–2)Flanagan (2–2)Schooler (7)24,23412–20
33May 10Mariners3–2Key (3–2)Langston (4–4)33,21612–21
34May 12@ Twins6–5Berenguer (1–0)Wells (1–2)Reardon (6)24,07312–22
35May 13@ Twins10–8Rawley (3–4)Stieb (3–1)Reardon (7)29,71212–23
36May 14@ Twins13–1Viola (2–5)Flanagan (2–3)33,98012–24
37May 15Indians5–3Key (4–2)Farrell (2–3)22,33013–24
38May 16Indians7–6Henke (2–3)Atherton (0–2)Ward (2)23,21414–24
39May 17Indians6–3Black (2–5)Stieb (3–2)Jones (7)24,40614–25
40May 19@ White Sox9–3Flanagan (3–3)King (4–4)11,28215–25
41May 20@ White Sox11–1Key (5–2)Hillegas (1–5)18,02916–25
42May 21@ White Sox9–3Cerutti (1–2)Pérez (2–5)Ward (3)16,48817–25
43May 22Twins6–2Anderson (5–2)Stieb (3–3)40,13417–26
44May 23Twins2–1Wells (2–2)Berenguer (2–2)24,44318–26
45May 24Twins10–4Viola (3–6)Flanagan (3–4)27,13818–27
46May 26White Sox11–3Key (6–2)Hillegas (1–6)30,10519–27
47May 27White Sox5–3Pérez (3–5)Cerutti (1–3)Thigpen (7)37,43719–28
48May 28White Sox7–5 (10)Henke (3–3)Thigpen (0–1)46,12020–28
49May 29@ Indians5–3Candiotti (6–2)Flanagan (3–5)Jones (10)19,94720–29
50May 30@ Indians6–2Farrell (3–5)Sanchez (0–1)6,20420–30
51May 31@ Indians7–4Black (4–6)Key (6–3)Jones (11)12,89020–31 :
June: 17–10 (Home: 6–5; Away: 11–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
52June 2@ Red Sox7–2Cerutti (2–3)Dopson (5–4)Ward (4)33,58421–31
53June 3@ Red Sox10–2Stieb (4–3)Boddicker (3–5)33,94222–31
54June 4@ Red Sox13–11 (12)Ward (2–6)Lamp (0–1)33,76023–31
55June 5Brewers5–3August (5–6)Key (6–4)Plesac (13)48,37823–32
56June 6Brewers6–4Aldrich (1–0)Ward (2–7)Crim (3)45,52023–33
57June 7Brewers4–2Cerutti (3–3)Bosio (6–4)45,37224–33
58June 9Tigers2–0Stieb (5–3)Tanana (5–6)Wells (1)48,21925–33
59June 10Tigers11–8Williams (3–2)Key (6–5)48,43025–34
60June 11Tigers4–0Flanagan (4–5)Schwabe (1–1)Ward (5)48,27426–34
61June 12Tigers5–4 (11)Henke (4–3)Gibson (2–4)48,53127–34
62June 13@ Brewers4–3Ward (3–7)Plesac (2–3)15,46928–34
63June 14@ Brewers6–1Stieb (6–3)Krueger (2–1)14,80829–34
64June 15@ Brewers6–4Fossas (1–0)Key (6–6)Plesac (15)16,96429–35
65June 16Mariners4–3Henke (5–3)Schooler (1–1)48,36330–35
66June 17Mariners3–2Ward (4–7)Jackson (2–1)48,33631–35
67June 18Mariners8–2Bankhead (4–4)Wills (0–1)48,32931–36
68June 19@ Angels8–1Stieb (7–3)Finley (7–6)24,43032–36
69June 20@ Angels6–2Key (7–6)McCaskill (7–4)23,95633–36
70June 21@ Angels6–1 (14)Henke (6–3)Minton (1–2)24,25934–36
71June 22@ Athletics4–2 (13)Hernandez (1–0)Corsi (0–1)Wells (2)21,41835–36
72June 23@ Athletics10–8Buice (1–0)Young (2–8)Henke (3)27,79536–36
73June 24@ Athletics7–1Stewart (12–3)Stieb (7–4)39,65936–37
74June 25@ Athletics6–3Davis (6–3)Key (7–7)Honeycutt (8)49,21936–38
75June 27@ Orioles16–6Tibbs (5–0)Flanagan (4–6)30,13636–39
76June 28@ Orioles2–1Hickey (2–2)Cerutti (3–4)Olson (12)35,75736–40
77June 29@ Orioles11–1Cummings (1–0)Schmidt (7–7)39,52837–40
78June 30Red Sox3–1Boddicker (5–7)Wells (2–3)Murphy (3)48,42937–41 :
July: 15–12 (Home: 6–7; Away: 9–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
79July 1Red Sox3–1Hetzel (1–0)Stottlemyre (0–4)Smith (10)48,63937–42
80July 2Red Sox4–1 (11)Murphy (1–3)Wells (2–4)Smith (11)48,51637–43
81July 3Red Sox3–2Cerutti (4–4)Smithson (4–7)Ward (6)48,48338–43
82July 4Orioles8–0Schmidt (8–7)Stieb (7–5)Williamson (7)44,02538–44
83July 5Orioles5–4Milacki (5–8)Key (7–8)Olson (13)49,23938–45
84July 6Orioles4–1Stottlemyre (1–4)Ballard (10–4)Ward (7)46,62939–45
85July 7@ Tigers6–4Cummings (2–0)Hernández (2–2)Henke (4)25,21340–45
86July 8@ Tigers8–3Cerutti (5–4)Alexander (4–9)Ward (8)31,34241–45
87July 9@ Tigers2–0Stieb (8–5)Tanana (7–9)Henke (5)32,42842–45
88July 13Athletics11–7Burns (5–2)Key (7–9)48,20742–46
89July 14Athletics4–1Stieb (9–5)Welch (10–5)Ward (9)48,32543–46
90July 15Athletics6–1Flanagan (5–6)Stewart (13–5)48,23844–46
91July 16Athletics6–2Moore (12–5)Cerutti (5–5)Burns (7)48,40544–47
92July 17Angels6–4Wells (3–4)Abbott (8–6)Henke (6)45–47
93July 17Angels5–4Wells (4–4)McClure (2–1)Henke (7)48,64146–47
94July 18Angels1–0Blyleven (10–2)Key (7–10)48,71746–48
95July 20@ Mariners5–2Bankhead (10–4)Stieb (9–6)Powell (2)15,72346–49
96July 21@ Mariners8–1Flanagan (6–6)Harris (1–3)17,59147–49
97July 22@ Mariners7–1Cerutti (6–5)Dunne (1–5)Ward (10)22,04448–49
98July 23@ Mariners5–2Johnson (4–2)Key (7–11)17,97348–50
99July 24@ Rangers6–3Stottlemyre (2–4)Álvarez (0–1)Henke (8)33,75449–50
100July 25@ Rangers4–0Stieb (10–6)Ryan (11–6)Ward (11)25,29750–50
101July 26@ Rangers11–1Brown (9–6)Flanagan (6–7)16,63350–51
102July 28@ Yankees6–2Cerutti (7–5)LaPoint (6–9)37,22251–51
103July 29@ Yankees7–2Cary (1–0)Key (7–12)42,17951–52
104July 30@ Yankees7–6Guetterman (3–5)Ward (4–8)45,10751–53
105July 31@ Yankees6–5Wells (5–4)Hawkins (12–10)Henke (9)21,01952–53 :
August: 20–9 (Home: 6–4; Away: 14–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
106August 1Royals2–1Saberhagen (11–5)Stottlemyre (2–5)48,52852–54
107August 2Royals8–0Cerutti (8–5)Gubicza (9–9)48,76553–54
108August 3Royals5–0Gordon (12–4)Key (7–13)48,73153–55
109August 4Yankees2–1Stieb (11–6)Parker (3–2)48,78954–55
110August 5Yankees5–4Hawkins (13–10)Ward (4–9)Righetti (18)49,15554–56
111August 6Yankees6–5Stottlemyre (3–5)Terrell (0–2)49,02555–56
112August 7Rangers2–1Cerutti (9–5)Jeffcoat (5–5)48,77356–56
113August 8Rangers7–0Gozzo (1–0)Witt (9–10)48,68957–56
114August 9Rangers4–3Hough (7–11)Stieb (11–7)Russell (24)48,96257–57
115August 11@ Royals6–2Saberhagen (13–5)Flanagan (6–8)40,02757–58
116August 12@ Royals2–0Stottlemyre (4–5)Gubicza (10–10)Henke (10)40,93458–58
117August 13@ Royals8–3Gordon (14–4)Cerutti (9–6)33,61958–59
118August 14@ Red Sox4–2Gozzo (2–0)Boddicker (10–9)Henke (11)35,05859–59
119August 15@ Red Sox7–2Stieb (12–7)Smithson (6–11)Ward (12)34,80060–59
120August 16@ Red Sox7–3Wells (6–4)Murphy (3–6)Henke (12)35,31061–59
121August 17@ Orioles11–6Ballard (12–6)Cerutti (9–7)40,14761–60
122August 18@ Orioles9–2Gozzo (3–0)Johnson (2–2)31,66862–60
123August 19@ Orioles5–1Key (8–13)Milacki (7–11)38,11163–60
124August 20@ Orioles7–2Harnisch (3–6)Stieb (12–8)Thurmond (4)37,24263–61
125August 22Tigers3–2 (14)Gozzo (4–0)Núñez (2–3)49,07264–61
126August 23Tigers11–4Wills (1–1)Robinson (3–3)49,23365–61
127August 24Tigers11–3Flanagan (7–8)Morris (3–11)49,20166–61
128August 25Brewers3–1Key (9–13)Peterek (0–1)Henke (13)49,45767–61
129August 26Brewers7–0Stieb (13–8)Higuera (9–5)49,50768–61
130August 27Brewers5–4Stottlemyre (5–5)Bosio (14–9)Ward (13)49,50769–61
131August 28Brewers8–2Filer (5–2)Cerutti (9–8)Krueger (3)49,21969–62
132August 29White Sox3–2Flanagan (8–8)Pall (4–5)Henke (14)49,56570–62
133August 30White Sox2–1Key (10–13)Dotson (4–8)Ward (14)49,43571–62
134August 31White Sox5–1Stieb (14–8)Rosenberg (4–10)49,42272–62 :
September: 17–10 (Home: 8–3; Away: 9–7)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
135September 1Twins7–3Stottlemyre (6–5)Guthrie (1–1)49,35073–62
136September 2Twins4–2Cerutti (10–8)Smith (10–5)Henke (15)49,29174–62
137September 3Twins9–4Aguilera (1–3)Flanagan (8–9)49,07374–63
138September 4@ White Sox5–2Key (11–13)Dotson (4–9)Henke (16)9,31875–63
139September 5@ White Sox6–1Stieb (15–8)Rosenberg (4–11)7,85876–63
140September 6@ White Sox4–2Stottlemyre (7–5)King (7–9)Ward (15)7,35077–63
141September 7@ Indians12–4Cerutti (11–8)Candiotti (12–8)6,09878–63
142September 8@ Indians5–4Jones (7–8)Acker (0–1)13,48978–64
143September 9@ Indians7–5 (16)Wills (2–1)Kaiser (0–1)15,15479–64
144September 10@ Indians5–4 (10)Acker (1–1)Olin (1–2)12,04580–64
145September 12@ Twins8–2West (3–1)Stottlemyre (7–6)14,84980–65
146September 13@ Twins3–2Tapani (2–0)Cerutti (11–9)Reardon (29)14,90380–66
147September 14@ Twins2–0Guthrie (2–1)Flanagan (8–10)Reardon (30)14,26280–67
148September 15Indians5–2Key (12–13)Swindell (13–5)Henke (17)49,44481–67
149September 16Indians3–2 (11)Wells (7–4)Jones (7–9)49,21882–67
150September 17Indians2–1 (10)Acker (2–1)Bailes (4–9)49,50183–67
151September 18Red Sox6–3Boddicker (13–11)Cerutti (11–10)Murphy (8)49,57983–68
152September 19Red Sox6–5 (13)Henke (7–3)Harris (2–2)49,35284–68
153September 20Red Sox10–3Clemens (16–10)Key (12–14)49,57184–69
154September 22@ Brewers7–3Stieb (16–8)Reuss (9–8)15,56985–69
155September 23@ Brewers4–1August (12–11)Stottlemyre (7–7)Plesac (32)24,64085–70
156September 24@ Brewers8–3Filer (7–3)Cerutti (11–11)Crim (7)17,48585–71
157September 25@ Tigers2–0Key (13–14)Dubois (0–4)Henke (18)15,99086–71
158September 26@ Tigers4–3Henneman (11–4)Ward (4–10)16,18586–72
159September 27@ Tigers8–1Stieb (17–8)Alexander (6–18)Henke (19)18,33187–72
160September 29Orioles2–1 (11)Henke (8–3)Williamson (10–4)49,63688–72
161September 30Orioles4–3Wills (3–1)Williamson (10–5)Henke (20)49,55389–72 :
October: 0–1 (Home: 0–1; Away: 0–0)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
162October 1Orioles7–5McDonald (1–0)Gozzo (4–1)49,46989–73 :
1989 Playoff Game Log :
American League Championship Series: 1–4
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceSeries
1October 3@ Athletics7–3Stewart (1–0)Stieb (0–1)49,4350–1
2October 4@ Athletics6–3Moore (1–0)Stottlemyre (0–1)Eckersley (1)49,4440–2
3October 6Athletics7–3Key (1–0)Davis (0–1)50,2681–2
4October 7Athletics6–5Welch (1–0)Flanagan (0–1)Eckersley (2)50,0761–3
5October 8Athletics4–3Stewart (2–0)Stieb (0–2)Eckersley (3)50,0241–4 :

## Player stats

* = Indicates team leader
* = Indicates league leader

### Batting
#### Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Ernie Whitt | 129 | 385 | 101 | .262 | 11 | 53 |
| 1B | Fred McGriff | 161 | 551 | 148 | .269 | 36 | 92 |
| 2B | Nelson Liriano | 132 | 418 | 110 | .263 | 5 | 53 |
| 3B | Kelly Gruber | 135 | 545 | 158 | .290 | 18 | 73 |
| SS | Tony Fernández | 140 | 573 | 147 | .257 | 11 | 64 |
| LF | George Bell | 153 | 613 | 182 | .297 | 18 | 104 |
| CF | Lloyd Moseby | 135 | 502 | 111 | .221 | 11 | 43 |
| RF | Junior Félix | 110 | 415 | 107 | .258 | 9 | 46 |
| DH | Rance Mulliniks | 103 | 273 | 65 | .238 | 3 | 29 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| Manuel Lee | 99 | 300 | 78 | .260 | 3 | 34 |
| Pat Borders | 94 | 241 | 62 | .257 | 3 | 29 |
| Mookie Wilson | 54 | 238 | 71 | .298 | 2 | 17 |
| Bob Brenly | 48 | 88 | 15 | .170 | 1 | 6 |
| Jesse Barfield | 21 | 80 | 16 | .200 | 5 | 11 |
| Rob Ducey | 41 | 76 | 16 | .211 | 0 | 7 |
| Tom Lawless | 59 | 70 | 16 | .229 | 0 | 3 |
| Lee Mazzilli | 28 | 66 | 15 | .227 | 4 | 11 |
| Glenallen Hill | 19 | 52 | 15 | .288 | 1 | 7 |
| Greg Myers | 17 | 44 | 5 | .114 | 0 | 1 |
| Alexis Infante | 20 | 12 | 2 | .167 | 0 | 0 |
| Francisco Cabrera | 3 | 12 | 2 | .167 | 0 | 0 |
| Ozzie Virgil | 9 | 11 | 2 | .182 | 1 | 2 |
| Kevin Batiste | 6 | 8 | 2 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| John Olerud | 6 | 8 | 3 | .375 | 0 | 0 |

### Pitching
#### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Jimmy Key | 33 | 216.0 | 13 | 14 | 3.88 | 118 |
| Dave Stieb | 33 | 206.2 | 17 | 8 | 3.35 | 101 |
| John Cerutti | 33 | 205.1 | 11 | 11 | 3.07 | 69 |
| Mike Flanagan | 30 | 171.2 | 8 | 10 | 3.93 | 47 |
| Todd Stottlemyre | 27 | 127.2 | 7 | 7 | 3.88 | 63 |
| Al Leiter | 1 | 6.2 | 0 | 0 | 4.05 | 4 |

#### Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Frank Wills | 24 | 71.1 | 1 | 0 | 3.66 | 41 |
| Mauro Gozzo | 9 | 31.2 | 4 | 1 | 4.83 | 10 |
| Steve Cummings | 5 | 21.0 | 2 | 0 | 3.00 | 8 |
| Alex Sanchez | 4 | 11.2 | 0 | 1 | 10.03 | 4 |
| Jeff Musselman | 5 | 11.0 | 0 | 1 | 10.64 | 3 |
| José Núñez | 6 | 10.2 | 0 | 0 | 2.53 | 14 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Tom Henke | 64 | 8 | 3 | 20 | 1.92 | 116 |
| Duane Ward | 66 | 4 | 10 | 15 | 3.77 | 122 |
| David Wells | 54 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2.40 | 78 |
| Tony Castillo | 17 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6.11 | 10 |
| Jim Acker | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1.59 | 24 |
| Xavier Hernandez | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.76 | 7 |
| DeWayne Buice | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.82 | 10 |

## ALCS
### Game 1

October 3, 1989, at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Toronto | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| Oakland | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | X | 7 | 11 | 0 |
| W: Dave Stewart (1-0) L: Dave Stieb (0-1) |||||||||||||
| HR: TOR – Ernie Whitt (1) OAK – Dave Henderson (1), Mark McGwire (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 2

October 4, 1989, at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Toronto | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| Oakland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | X | 6 | 9 | 1 |
| W: Mike Moore (1-0) L: Todd Stottlemyre (0-1) S: Dennis Eckersley (1) |||||||||||||
| HR: OAK – Dave Parker (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 3

October 6, 1989, at SkyDome
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Oakland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
| Toronto | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | X | 7 | 8 | 0 |
| W: Jimmy Key (1-0) L: Storm Davis (0-1) |||||||||||||
| HR: OAK – Dave Parker (2) |||||||||||||

### Game 4

October 7, 1989, at SkyDome
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Oakland | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 1 |
| Toronto | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 0 |
| W: Bob Welch (1-0) L: Mike Flanagan (0-1) S: Dennis Eckersley (2) |||||||||||||
| HR: OAK – Rickey Henderson 2 (2), José Canseco (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 5

October 8, 1989, at SkyDome
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Oakland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Toronto | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| W: Dave Stewart (2-0) L: Dave Stieb (0-2) S: Dennis Eckersley (3) |||||||||||||
| HR: TOR – Lloyd Moseby (1), George Bell (1) |||||||||||||

## Award winners

* George Bell, Player of the Month Award, August
* Tony Fernández, Gold Glove Award
* Fred McGriff, Player of the Month Award, April
* Fred McGriff, American League Leader in Home Runs (36)
* Fred McGriff, Silver Slugger Award
All-Star Game
* Kelly Gruber, third base
* Tony Fernandez, shortstop

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Syracuse Chiefs | International League | Bob Bailor |
| AA | Knoxville Blue Jays | Southern League | Barry Foote |
| A | Dunedin Blue Jays | Florida State League | Doug Ault |
| A | Myrtle Beach Blue Jays | South Atlantic League | Mike Fischlin |
| A-Short Season | St. Catharines Blue Jays | New York–Penn League | Bob Shirley |
| Rookie | Medicine Hat Blue Jays | Pioneer League | Rocket Wheeler |