Before I even begin this article, let me make it very known that I am aware that hindsight is indeed always 20-20.
But, boy oh boy, does Toronto and the entire population of Canada wish they had take-backs on this trade we're about to dive into.
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On July 19, 2000, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers hooked up for a trade. Toronto was looking for a big boost to their pitching staff in an effort to chase down the first-place New York Yankees. They found it deep in the heart of Texas: starting pitcher Esteban Loaiza. In Toronto's eyes, he was going to be the key to igniting an assault on the American League East standings, and would spark life into a ball club attempting to reach the playoffs for the first time since 1993.
By the sheer innuendo arisen from the article name, it is now probably quite evident to you that this trade did not go as planned for the boys North of the Border. "Well, who did they give up to acquire Loaiza?", you may be asking. The answer? Oh, just a couple of prospects. One was Darwin Cubillan. The other was a Young 23-year old shortstop prospect. A Young, 23-year old shortstop: a man, by the name, of Michael Young.
THE Michael Young? The perennial 200-hit machine, THAT Michael Young? The seven-time All-Star, Gold Glove winning Michael Young? THAT Michael Young?
Yes, THAT Michael Young. Sure, Young didn't exactly burst onto the big-time baseball scene until 2003, a year in which he racked up 204 hits, but once he reached the Bigs for good a mere year after this trade, he was cemented into the heart of a formidable Rangers lineup for a decade of dominance both at the plate and in the field.
Once again. Hindsight is a perfect 20-20. At the time, Young was not exactly tearing up the minor leagues at any sort of eye-popping, torrid pace, and the Blue Jays rotation was in dire straits. Starting pitchers Roy Halladay and Chris Carpenter were still young, brash, and seasons away from beginning their dominant careers. They were learning that the game of baseball on the fly and getting beaten up in the process. Halladay's earned run average at the time of the trade looked like a typo by his eventual standards at 10.90, while Carpenter's sat at an eerie 6.66. Likewise, pitcher Kelvin Escobar was pitching to the tune of a 4.90. It was a miracle that the Blue Jays were even CLOSE to the position they were in with a pitching rotation allowing runs the way they were.
Loaiza was not exactly setting the world on fire down in Arlington either, but his track record was strong enough to take the chance on. Loaiza brought a 5.37 with him to Toronto, but the Blue Jays hoped that bringing in an established presence who knew how to pitch down the strike zone with a powerful sinkerball would translate nicely both in the win department and his tendencies and prowess would rub off on their budding arms at the same time.
Loaiza certainly did his job, to an extent. His earned run average while pitching as a Jay was down nearly two runs from his tenure as a Ranger, to 3.62. He was just a victim of some misfortune, as every time he toed the rubber it seemed like the offense sputtered. He won five games down the stretch paired with seven losses along the way. The Blue Jays fell short of a divisional crown as well, and their playoff drought endured another season. The Yankees retained their stranglehold on the AL East and rode their juggernaut of a squad all the way to a third consecutive World Series crown, this one over the crosstown rival New York Mets.
Meanwhile, Young would go on to have an elite career, really coming into his own as a Texas Ranger. He spent all but one season of his 14-year career as a Ranger, compiling 2,230 hits, 984 runs batted in and hit at an elite clip of .301. Young went down as one of the most adored, successful Ranger players the franchise has ever had the pleasure of calling their own. He even helped lead the club to consecutive World Series appearances in 2010-11, though falling short in both efforts to National League powerhouses in the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals.
Doesn't hindsight stink? Imagine if the Blue Jays remained stagnant that July. Add Young to an offense that already boasted the likes of speedster Shannon Stewart, heavy-hitting first baseman Carlos Delgado, and an up-and-coming Vernon Wells, and in a few years, this story for the Blue Jays could have gone much differently. Consider this: in 2003, when Young officially stamped his name as a perennial All-Star talent, the aforementioned Roy Halladay conquered his pitching demons in a monumental way and took home the honors as the American League's best pitcher, winning the Cy Young Award after leading the league in wins (22), games started (36), innings pitched (266), complete games (9), and shutouts (2).
Hindsight leaves the imagination wondering "what could have been". Unfortunately for the Toronto Blue Jays, we will never fully know the answer to that question. Sheer speculation will just never do justice.
