Jim Clancy obit

Former Blue Jays star pitcher Jim Clancy dies at age 69, team says

 

He was not on the list.

Jim Clancy, who made his Major League debut during the Toronto Blue Jays' 1977 expansion season and spent 12 seasons with the club as a key member of its starting rotation, has died at 69. 

The Blue Jays confirmed Clancy's death in a social media post Monday. A cause of death was not given.

Clancy was selected by the Blue Jays sixth overall in the 1976 MLB expansion draft and made his big-league debut on July 26, 1977, against the Texas Rangers at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium. He surrendered five earned runs over two innings in a 14-0 loss.

After going 4-9 in Toronto's expansion year, Clancy played his first full season in 1978, posting a respectable 10-12 record on a team that finished last in the American League East at 59-102.

Clancy, along with star pitcher Dave Stieb, provided the bedrock for the Blue Jays' starting rotation as the team became increasingly competitive. He was Toronto's opening-day starter in 1981 and 1984.

He had a 16-14 record with a 3.71 earned-run average and 139 strikeouts in his 1982 all-star season as the Blue Jays finished out of last place in the AL East for the first time with a 78-84 record.

He went 9-6 with a 3.78 ERA in 1985 as the Jays won the division for the first time before falling in seven games to the Kansas City Royals in the AL Championship Series.

Clancy signed with the Houston Astros after a disappointing 1988 season in Toronto, where he had an 11-13 record and 4.49 ERA as the Blue Jays failed to return to the playoffs for a third straight season.

He played his final campaign coming out of the bullpen with the 1991 Atlanta Braves. He earned his first-ever post-season victory in the third game of the World Series as Atlanta defeated the Minnesota Twins 5-4 in twelve innings.

Clancy finished the series with a 1-0 record with a 4.15 ERA, but the Twins won the series in seven games.

Clancy began his Blue Jays career playing with the Cleveland Indians AA affiliate, the Jersey City Indians of the Eastern League. Despite having a poor season with the team, where he had a 5–13 record and 4.88 ERA in 20 starts, the Blue Jays called him up to the Major League level. Clancy made his MLB debut on July 26, 1977, against the Texas Rangers at Exhibition Stadium. Clancy started the game, however, he lasted only two innings, allowing five runs as the Rangers routed Toronto 14–0. Clancy earned his first major league victory in his next start, pitching a complete game, allowing seven hits and one earned run as Toronto defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 3–2. Clancy would finish the year with a 4–9 record with a 5.05 ERA.

Clancy became a free agent after the 1988 season, and signed a contract with the Houston Astros. He made his Astros debut on April 8, 1989, pitching 8.1 innings and allowing two runs in a 6–2 win over the San Diego Padres at The Astrodome. He would struggle as the season went along, sporting a record of 7–14 with a 5.08 ERA as the Astros finished in third place in the National League West.

Clancy split time between starting and working out of the bullpen in 1990, where he struggled with a 2–8 record and a 6.51 ERA, and had a stint with the Tucson Toros, the Astros AAA affiliate in the Pacific Coast League. In 1991, Clancy spent the season working out of the bullpen, and despite a 0–3 record, he was effective, as he had a 2.78 ERA in 30 games and earned five saves. On July 31, 1991, Clancy was traded to the Atlanta Braves for Matt Turner.

Over his career, Clancy had a 140-167 record with a 4.23 ERA and 1,422 strikeouts.

MLB statistics

Win–loss record          140–167

Earned run average     4.23

Strikeouts        1,422

Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Teams

Toronto Blue Jays (1977–1988)

Houston Astros (1989–1991)

Atlanta Braves (1991)

Career highlights and awards

All-Star (1982)