Full Count: Four Decades of Blue Jays Baseball

by Jeff Blair

From one of Canada's top baseball writers and radio a retrospective of the Toronto Blue Jays on the 20th anniversary of Joe Carter's World Series-winning home run--and a look ahead to what promises to be their most successful season since. A must-have for all Blue Jays fans, and a great read for Toronto and Canadian sports fans in general.
 
In Full Count , Jeff Blair takes us back to the days when the Toronto Blue Jays were "the Cadillac of franchises," and shows us exactly what they did right to become baseball's premier club. Then he explores the disappointing aftermath, when the league's fourth-largest market became an seemingly destined to languish behind the big-spending Yankees and Red Sox and free-wheeling Rays--until the offseason of 2012. Full Count will appeal not only to casual fans wanting re-live Blue Jays history, but also to the serious baseball fan who wants to know the real details and business decisions that drove the team to the pinnacle, then to mediocrity, and now (hopefully) back to the top once again.

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Nonfiction, Canada, Biography

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Ron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Blair is a decent enough sportswriter, but this hodgepodge does the history of the Toronto Blue Jays a disservice. Written in a breezy colloquial style, too much is assumed to make this of any interest to an outside reader (one not familiar with Blue Jays history). This book seems to be merely a collection of extended newspaper columns. Blair's unfortunate catering to "advanced statistics" mars this book as well. If he wanted to narrow the book's range to those who know (or care) what WHIP, BABIP and WAR are then no wonder there are so few reviews here. There is always room for a history of a baseball team, this is not it.

On the positive side there is a lot written about the J.P. Ricciardi era from 2002-2009, but even then Blair seems to be taking shots at other sports media in Toronto. I believe the writing of a certain Hall of Fame writer when it comes to this topic a lot more than I do Jeff Blair.

[Brandon Forsyth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subtitle of this book is very misleading - there are token nods to the '70s and '80s, but the real focus here is on Rogers' purchase of the team and its subsequent struggles to field a winning team. That material is actually well-researched and fascinating, but the first few chapters feel like your uncles sitting around and reminiscing about how cool Exhibition Stadium was. It's also a massive 2013 season/Brett Lawrie hype man, which perhaps explains Blair's access.

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book doesn't even begin to live up to its title. First off, almost a third of the book is solely dedicated to the Blue Jays beyond 2010. There is, of course, talk of the 1992 and 1993 teams. But there's barely a mention of the 70s and 80s. So it's hardly "Four Decades of Blue Jays Baseball."

Further, the author spends a lot of time toward the end of the book talking about Canadian baseball in general. While it is something that should be discussed, if you're going to bill your book as a book about the Blue Jays, perhaps you should talk about them a little more.

The writing is also pretty bad. As someone trained in journalism, I grew irritated by the author's passive constructions. Decisions were made, players were fired, messages were received. Never "So-and-so fired so-and-so" or "so-and-so got the message." There's also very little consistency in voice—the book is mostly told in a factual, third-person voice. But sporadically the author tries to insert jokes or touches of personality, and it comes across as forced. Do one or the other.

It's also very stat-heavy. Granted, baseball is a sport that thrives on stats- WHIP, ERA, OPS, RBI... the list of acronyms goes on. But he loads so many stats into the book that I can barely recall anything. My eyes glazed over the numbers after a while.

To his credit, Jeff Blair did interview important Blue Jays management like Alex Anthopoulos, Paul Beeston, Roberto Alomar and Cito Gaston. At the same time, though, he doesn't talk to too many players, who are arguably some of the most important parts of the Blue Jays franchise.

I'll wait for a better Blue Jays retrospective book to come out. I know someone, somewhere, can write a much better book.

[Matthew Elmslie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A history of the Jays since their World Series win in 1993 is a fine idea. Maybe Blair should have written one instead of just pretending that he did.

[Dave Cottenie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the title of “Full Count” refers to four decades of Blue Jays baseball, Jeff Blair definitely focuses on the latter part of the tenure of Toronto’s baseball team. A refreshing change as there is plenty of literature out there on the earlier era of Blue Jays baseball, especially the World Series years of 92 and 93. A little dated as this was before the renaissance of 2015 and the Bat Flip era, the focus is on the front office characters as opposed to players. Particular interest is paid to GMs Alex Anthopolous and J.P. Riccardi. From the players side, a tale of “what could have been” is unintentional but very present as the focus on Canadian Brett Lawrie and his rise and promise at the end of the book seems to be written just before he flamed out. An easy-reading style with a good organization, “Full Count” is a solid read for Toronto Blue Jay fans, but may be of less interest for general baseball fans.

[Dave MacPhee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this book up offhand and what a fun insider scoop down memory lane for the Blue Jays fan it turned out to be. Jeff Blair continues to work in media with the Jays and that is as much of the legacy of this book as anything written - he has continued to live out the topic of his book - showing the value and meaning placed on writing and reading his book. A fun, quick, insightful read for Jays fans!

[Jay Tulk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blair could have easily just written a column for the local paper and it easily would have covered all the points of this book. As a baseball and Blue Jays fan it's still nice to pick up a book on the team so I'll give him points for that.

If your looking for a quick weekend read that won't rack your brain it's worth checking out of the library.

[Bryce · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listen to Jeff every day. I think if he could have the opp different he’d take more than a bar and bro hangout retelling of 40 years but a serious historical and mix of pub brand story telling

I liked it a lot. This isn’t a bashing it’s positive criticism.

[Adamdaigle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor guy who wrote this should have waited a couple years when the Jays made the ALCS two straight years.

Could have read more about the early years. I always thought the Jays were a model organization for their era.

And the Brett Lawrie debate unfortunately did not age well.

[Karlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an avid admirer of baseball, but non-Blue Jays fan from Canada, this book offered a great insight into the team. I grew up near Toronto, loving the Blue Jays, and have nothing but warm nostalgic feelings about the team circa 1992-1993 back-to-back World Championships. Like a lot of people, the 1994 strike killed my interest in baseball, but it was rekindled in 2004, but in the form of a love for the Boston Red Sox (pre-86 year drought-breaking championship).

So living a few hours from Toronto, as a fan of a division rival of the Blue Jays, I am constantly surrounded by an eye-rolling excess information regarding the team. When I saw this book, I still wanted to give it a chance, because I'm sure there is a lot about the Blue Jays history that I didn't know, and I was interested in gaining a new perspective for the team.

This book covers everything from the team's inception at Exhibition Stadium in 1977 up to present day, or the beginning of the 2013 season. It offered a lot of information about the team that I was too young to pick up on in the 90s, or was not given access to, like the inner workings of management. Everything from the WAMCO years and the back-to-back World Series championships, to the dark days of JP Ricciardi, and everything in between.

Although it didn't convert me into a Blue Jays fan, it was a great informative breakdown of everything Blue Jays. I loved re-living the teams from the 80s and 90s, all the great players quotes, and explanations of different deals that have happened through the years. There was a large section devoted to the John Farrell release, and the controversy and feeling surrounding that, which I found very interesting. And it was nice to hear an honest and realistic account of the club, instead of the nauseating pro-Blue Jays spin that Sportsnet feeds viewers on a daily basis. This book is smartly written, and acknowledges club failures, and addresses uncertainties such as the volatility of Brett Lawrie.

Full Count was written right before the epic failure of an over-hyped 2013 season, but I think it's a great reflection of an important time when the Blue Jays finally got a breath of fresh air from the management of Alex Anthopoulos, and could have the genuine hope of competing in a cut-throat division towards a World Championship.

[Shawna Sparrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blue Jay fans (like me) will find this book worth reading because it gives the inside scoop on many important moments in the franchise's history. The strength of the book is Jeff Blair's access to key players in the Blue Jays organization. The book features many juicy quotes and anecdotes I'd never heard before. The curious thing about the book is its negativity. I would assume that the book is being marketed to Blue Jays fans. You'd probably have to like the team to read an entire book about the Blue Jays. Yet most of the book bemoans the Jays lack of success since 1993. Jeff Blair seems to have written off the last 20 seasons as failures because the team hasn't reached the postseason. Yet anyone reading this book probably found some reason to keep watching the team. It would have been refreshing to see some exploration of what makes Jays fans stay true blue. Ken Burns' Baseball documentary featured a segment on Boston Red Sox fans explaining their continued devotion to a team which at the time hadn't won a World Series for nearly 100 years. I'd be the first to agree the Jays have had some frustrating and disappointing seasons, but to say "a rot had set into the team" might be a little harsh. It's the same strange juxtaposition I see on Jeff Blair's Baseball Central program: he is making a living being critical of a team whose fan base is essential to his career. If no one thinks the Blue Jays are worth rooting for, no one's going to watch his show, or read his book. Still, if you're a Blue Jays fan I do recommend the book, it just might make you feel foolish for being one.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jeff Blair has an a unique way of writing about baseball. As a die hard Expos fan, I take the pot shots he levels at Nos Amours to be a little insulting. The book is interesting for what it is, a carefully word, so as not to offend, report on the mighty Jays fall from grace. What I learned from the book is that the Jays didn't care about their Canadian cousins and strove to put them out of business. I also learned that Jays management is a bunch of baffoons and that their ownership group could care less about baseball, so long as there was no "sticker shock" to their overall empire. It was an easy read, nothing too revealing about the Jays and ends as most Jays tales do, with heartbreak and defeat.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a bit nervous this book would be a repetitive rehash of 1992 & 1993 with the majority of the remainder talking about the wonderful 1980's teams. It's not like I don't love those times as every Blue Jays fan does, but I think it's time we had some literary synopsis of the dead zone we've been moving though for the last 20 years. That I find interesting. And refreshingly this book doesn't shy away from the post 1993 era. It was my favourite part of the book. Remembering all the ups and mostly downs of recent years. Getting back room perspective on what happened. Thoroughly entertaining and a quick read.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Blair chronicles the Blue Jays' history quite well in terms of inside information and insight into the state of the team between their World Series wins and the present. The problems with the book were two-fold. First, I was under the impression (given the title) that this would be a history of the Blue Jays. Instead Blair brushes over the first 10 years, focuses a lot on the World Series, the brushes over the late 90s. In that respect it isn't much of a Full (a)Count of the Blue Jays' history. The second, aspect is that he bounces around a lot in his telling of the story. He'll jump around between years, sometimes in mid sentence. Which can be confusing.

[Jwonnacott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has "Four Decades of Blue Jays Baseball" in the title, but it really focuses more on recent years opposed to the first two decades of Blue Jays baseball.

I felt like the book had a poor flow and seemed somewhat disorganized in its structure. It also seemed to focus more on the front office turnover/turmoil over the years more than the players or the actual team.

I felt that this book focused on aspect of the Blue Jays that did not seem all that interesting to me (despite having lived in Toronto in 92/93 and thinking the team was the greatest thing ever), which led me to be disappointed in the book.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very much enjoyed this, though I had some trouble following at times. The "story" is told in a somewhat non-linear fashion with the author going off to talk about recent events in the middle of a paragraph about something which happened in the 90's for instance, and at times I wasn't sure anymore when in time things discussed where happening... Otherwise, a good read, even for someone who knew very little about the team beforehand and to whom a lot of names were completely unknown.

[Dan Lalande · Rating 3 out of 5]

A common knowledge review of the post-World Series Blue Jays, attributing their two decade mediocrity to hit-and-miss managers, nice-try GMs, and no-clue ownership. As an insider, the likeable, hard-digging Blair tries his best; he's obviously well-connected but the "true confessions" he collects barely have enough juice to power a spitball. The public story, therefore, is essentially what you get.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book with a lot of great research and interesting stories about the team, though nothing seemed to be particularly new or shocking if you follow the team. The book seemed to also focus more with the post World Series teams than the whole four decades that it claims to. Would recommend the book to the casual fans as the hardcore fans may have heard this all before.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too recent to be a historical record, too old to feel like up-to-date analysis, I really picked the wrong time to buy this.

As for the text itself, it's fine, although for the non-officianado it suffers from relentlessly throwing out names, abbreviations and events in asides that often require a bit more context.

[Russ Skinner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this on the subway on my way to opening day. In the week and a half since, this book has a better record than the team.

Here’s hoping the Jays' season is as accomplished as this quite fine book.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a very interesting history of the Toronto baseball team. It especially focuses on the time from the 1992-3 championship teams to the 2012-3 off-season acquisitions. The owners and front office moves are well-covered, good and bad. A great read!

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just average. Provides some insights into the front office aspects that may not be familiar to the casual fan but adds almost nothing to the on field history unless you knew absolutely nothing about the Blue Jays before reading this.

[Aaron Badgley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely well written, well researched account of the jays. As a fan it was a pleasure to read about the team, its history and where they are today.
I would love it if Mr. Blair did an update in a couple of years.
Excellent read!

[Larry Fleisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting enough with behind the scenes glances at how things unfolded since 1993 when the Blue Jays won their last championship. Title is slightly misleading as the early history of the franchise gets a quick once over before delving into the current stuff, but overall it's a decent read.

[Budd Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://allsportsbooks.blogspot.com/20...

[Bob Blaschuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for Blue Jays fans like myself, gets into a lot of good stories and specifics of the clubhouse and management through the years of the Jays.

[Kevin Arkell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is full of detail Blue Jays fans already know. Very little insight or new detail.

[Matt Simpson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Not much here I didn't already know. Not very compelling.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relentlessly, unapologetically rah, rah, rah. What fan wants resignation, equanimity, and objective distance?

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh - the odd interesting tidbit, but otherwise mostly stuff I already knew, and that I think is common knowledge to most Jays fans.