Our next entry in the MLB Radial Axis Series features the Toronto Blue Jays. In total, we’re talking about 49 seasons from 1977 through 2025. We’re going to walk through some highlights from the network, and then provide the link so you can explore it in detail. For some background on how the network graphs work, select this link – Anatomy of MLB radial axis graphs.
The Blue Jays Network
The Blue Jays radial axis network reflects the connections among all players who spent time with the franchise from 1977 to 2025. The 1977 season is found at the bottom center of the graph. Subsequent seasons are arranged clockwise, eventually returning to the bottom center with the 2025 season. Player nodes are sized by the number of seasons spent with the team, and the gray lines between nodes reflect connections to other players. The interactive version of the network is here – Blue Jays Network.
Top 10 by Seasons Played (Size)
1980s pitching star Dave Stieb holds the Blue Jays tenure record with 15 seasons with the team (1979-92, 1998), followed by a series of Jays standouts with 12 seasons apiece. Jim Clancy (1977-88), Carlos Delgado (1993-2004), Roy Halladay (1998-2009), and Vernon Wells all started with the Jays before finishing elsewhere. Ernie Whitt played most of his career in Toronto (1977-78, 1980-89), and Tony Fernandez had three stints with the club (1983-90, 1993, 1998-99).
Top 10 by Degree (the number of connections)
Jose Bautista played with the most Jays teammates, closely followed by Roy Halladay and Vernon Wells. Carlos Delgado and Dave Stieb are next (no surprise), along with a surprising name in Tim Mayza. Mayza played for the Jays from 2017-19 and 2021-24, periods where the Jays had a lot of roster shuffling.
Top 10 by Harmonic Closeness Centrality
With Harmonic Closeness Centrality, we measure how closely an individual player is related to all other players in the network. Jose Bautista and Roy Halladay have nearly identical scores at the top of the rankings (the scale runs from 0 to 1). A handful of other recognizable Jays names appear (Shannon Stewart, Vernon Wells, Carlos Delgado), along with some lesser-known players in Chris Woodward, Jason Frasor, Aaron Loup, and Adam Lind.
Top 10 by Betweenness Centrality
Betweenness Centrality measures which players rank highest in terms of their ability to connect to all other players. In simple terms, which player provides the most efficient path through the network? Jose Bautista (2008-17) provides the most efficient path through the network, followed by Greg Myers (1987, 1989-92, 2003-05). Myers multiple stints give him a slightly higher score than Toronto stalwarts Shannon Stewart, Dave Stieb, and Roy Halladay.
Summary
That’s it for our overview of the Blue Jays network. Be sure to visit the interactive graph to discover additional insights about the Blue Jays players over the last 125 seasons. We’ll be back shortly with our next franchise entry. Thanks for reading!