The Medicine Hat Blue Jays were the Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....

 rookie-level affiliate in the Pioneer League beginning in 1978 and remained with their parent club for 25 seasons. They played their home games at Athletic Park

Athletic Park (Medicine Hat)

Athletic Park is a stadium in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. It is primarily used for baseball and was the home of the Medicine Hat Blue Jays of the Pioneer League. The ballpark has a capacity of 3,000 people and was opened in 1977....

. Over the years, the club generally struggled on the field and with attendance, but the Jays did have some noteworthy seasons. In 1982, they captured their only championship. They reached the championship series again in 1995 but lost the title to the Helena Brewers

Helena Brewers

The Helena Brewers are a minor league baseball team in the Pioneer League and are the Advanced Rookie League affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Helena, Montana...

. The Blue Jays only reached the playoffs one other time, losing to the Great Falls Dodgers in 2000. After the 2002 season, Toronto ended their affiliation with the club (switching to the Pulaski Blue Jays

Pulaski Blue Jays

The Pulaski Mariners are a minor league baseball team based in Pulaski, Virginia, United States. They are an Advanced Rookie League team in the Appalachian League, and a farm team of the Seattle Mariners. The team plays its home games at Calfee Park. They have previously been affiliated with...

), and the Pioneer League abandoned Medicine Hat

Medicine Hat, Alberta

Medicine Hat, known to locals as "The Hat", is a city of 61,097 people located in the southeastern part of the province of Alberta, Canada. It is enclaved within Cypress County along with the nearby Town of Redcliff, although neither is part of the county....

.

The team arrived in Medicine Hat in 1977 as an affiliate of the Oakland A's, relocated from Boise

Boise, Idaho

Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...

, Idaho

Idaho

Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

, where they played two seasons as the Boise A's in the Northwest League

Northwest League

The Northwest League of Professional Baseball is a Class A-Short Season minor baseball league. The league is the descendant of the Western International League which ran as a class B league from 1937-1951 and class A from 1952-1954...

. The A's were previously in the Northwest League at Lewiston

Lewiston, Idaho

Lewiston is a city in and also the county seat of Nez Perce County in the Pacific Northwest state of Idaho. It is the second-largest city in the northern Idaho region, behind Coeur d'Alene and ninth-largest in the state. Lewiston is the principal city of the Lewiston, ID - Clarkston, WA...

, Idaho, as the Lewiston Broncos

Lewiston Broncos

The Lewiston Broncos were an American Single-A minor league baseball team based in Lewiston, Idaho. The parent organization was Lewiston Baseball Club, Inc. formed in 1952 by Lewiston businessmen Sam Canner Sr., Jack Lee, Billy Gray, George Thiessen and others. Gray later sold his shares to Thiessen...

.

Notable players

Over the years, some of the most notable players to wear a Medicine Hat uniform include David Wells

David Wells

David Lee Wells , nicknamed "Boomer", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Wells was considered to be one of the game's better left-handed pitchers, especially during his years with the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays. He pitched the fifteenth perfect game in baseball history...

, Lloyd Moseby

Lloyd Moseby

Lloyd Anthony Moseby was a Major League Baseball player. A center fielder, and good all-around athlete, Moseby's nickname Shaker was said to stem from his ability to get away from or "shake" players who attempted to defend him on the basketball court.Born in Portland, Arkansas, Moseby graduated...

, Fred Manrique

Fred Manrique

Fred Eloy Manrique Reyes [man-RE-kay] is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Toronto Blue Jays , Montreal Expos , St. Louis Cardinals , Chicago White Sox , Texas Rangers , Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics...

, John Cerutti

John Cerutti

John Joseph Cerutti was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, and later a broadcaster for the Toronto Blue Jays.-Playing career:...

, Gustavo Chacín

Gustavo Chacín

Gustavo Adolfo Chacín is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball.-Toronto Blue Jays:In 2004, Chacín led all minor leaguers with 18 wins, and was the 24th pitcher used by the Blue Jays, tying the team record set in the 2002 season...

, Mike Timlin

Mike Timlin

-Early life:Timlin was born in Midland, Texas to Jerome Francis Timlin Sr. and Nancy Sharon Beyer. Timlin graduated from Midland High School in Midland, Texas. He then attended and pitched at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta.-Baseball career...

, and Jay Gibbons

Jay Gibbons

Jay Jonathan Gibbons is an American professional baseball outfielder in Major League Baseball. Gibbons was a graduate of Mayfair High School in Lakewood, California...

, who won the league's Triple Crown in 1998.

Greg Morrison

Greg Morrison, a native of Medicine Hat, played for the Medicine Hat Blue Jays in 1997. That season, we won the Pioneer Baseball League's Triple Crown by recording a .448 batting average, 23 home runs, and 88 runs batted in. He also won league MVP and his 23 home runs set a league record for the most in a single season. This accomplishment remains the Pioneer League single season record.

Drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...

in 1994, Greg played in Great Falls and Savannah within the Dodgers system in 1995 and 1996. After his stint with the Medicine Hat Blue Jays in 1997, he played in Hagerstown and Dunedin in 1998 and 1999 within the Blue Jays system.

External links

• baseball-reference.com - Medicine Hat - minor league teams
• Medicine Hat Blue Jays
• Pioneer League baseball