Jays Uniform Project: 2

Another Sunday where I could have started my sorting.. Another Sunday I didn't. But today was more of a sick day than anything. I finally feel more like myself now that I'm close to going to bed for the night . Go figure.. 

Anyway.. Today is another chapter in the Jays Uniform Project. This time, Number 2.

Steve Staggs wore 2 in 1977. 

He wore it for one season, as in 1978 he was in Oakland. 

The next time 2 was in use was 1979. 

Ainge wore 2 from 1979-1981 before deciding baseball wasn't his sport. 

Incidentally, the background on the 1981 card shown above is a nice one of Yankee Stadium. Just think, in 8 years, there would have been an uproar in another company for a cigarette banner. 

Fred Manrique wore 2 from 1981-1984, though he didn't spend time in the Majors in 1982 and 1983. 

Fred didn't have a major release with him in a Jays uniform, so I had to show a AAA card.. I do not own this one. 

The number laid unused in 1985 and 1986.

Nelson Liriano wore 2 from 1987-1990 

He ended up wearing 2 for Minnesota and Kansas City as well. 

After wearing uniform number 4 from 1985-1991, Manuel Lee wore 2 in 1992. 

It was his final year in Toronto, as he went to Texas in 1993. 

1993 saw Luis Sojo wear 2. It's the second number he wore that season, as he started with 13. He played 19 games for Toronto in 1993, so multiple numbers in that short a span is interesting.. 

Rob Butler ended up being the bread of a Sojo sandwich for the number. 

He played part of 1993 in Toronto and was back up in 1994. 

Looking at the game logs for both and Sojo overlapped Butler in June. So I believe from April to June, Sojo wore 2. When Butler came up, he switched to 13. 

Otis Nixon wore the number next from 1996-1997.

Toronto was the third place he wore #2. Boston, Texas, and then Toronto. 

1998 brought Craig Grebeck. 

He was a Jay from 1998-2000, but wore 2 only in 1998. The rest of the time he wore 4. 

Tom Evans also wore 2 in 1998. When he came up in September, I guess Grebeck switched over to 4. 

I do not own this card. 

1999 had Jacob Brumfield return to the Jays after spending part of 1999 in Los Angeles. 

There wasn't a major release in 1999 showing Brumfield as a Jay. 

I do not own this card

2001 brought Cesar Izturis. 

I do not own this card..

Dave Berg wore 2 for the Jays from 2002-2004

He bridged the gap from one of the better Jays uniforms to the Angry Birds Jays.

Aaron Hill wore the number from 2005-2011.

He's easily the longest tenured player with this number.

After Aaron Hill was traded, Kelly Johnson took over 2.

He wore it for the rest of 2011 and 2012. 

I do not own this card

Finally, we have a Tulo sighting. 

2015-Present. 

Tulo helped the Jays make the playoffs two seasons in a row in 2015 and 2016. He spent a fair bit of this season injured. 

So of the players who wore #2, most were middle infielders. 

I think the best of the group would be Hill, though a couple more years it might be Tulo.