How the Toronto Blue Jays built the most powerful team in baseball

The Toronto Blue Jays were once the premier team in baseball. From 1985-1993 the Jays reached the ALCS five teams. They won the World Series in back-to-back seasons from ’92-’93. They had sluggers and Cy Young candidates, and winning over 90 games was not an aspiration, but rather an expectation.

Since then, things have been much different.

The Jays have not won more than 88 games or finished higher than second place in the tough AL East since Joe Carter walked off the Phillies and Mitch Williams. But the Jays have been showing promise over the last few years, playing around .500 ball in a tough division. They finished with 83 wins in 2014, good for third place in the division — their best…