​Bill Caudill is celebrating his 70th birthday today. For those who don’t remember, Caudill was the Blue Jays’ answer to B.J. Ryan in the 1980s, a closer whose road to the major leagues began with the Chicago Cubs. He later found his best form in Seattle as one of baseball’s elite closers before moving on to Oakland, where he notched 36 saves in a single season. After the 1984 season, Toronto sent Dave Collins and Alfredo Griffin to the Athletics in exchange for Caudill. Collins endured a disappointing stint with Oakland, while Griffin spent three seasons there and was surprisingly used as a leadoff hitter despite a low on-base percentage, a decision that perplexed many observers.
Caudill had a solid first season with the Jays, posting a 2.99 ERA and 14 saves, which led Toronto to try to lock him up for the long term. He became the first client of agent Scott Boras, securing a five-year, $7 million contract. The Jays’ front office, however, benefited only partially from that deal: the first three years were guaranteed at $4.5 million, with vesting options for the final two years. In the context of the era, that represented a substantial figure, though it’s well known that long-term contracts for closers rarely work out in the team’s favor.
The following season proved difficult. Caudill finished with a 6.19 ERA and just two saves, and tensions with manager Jimy Williams intensified. Caudill felt he deserved the closer role, while Williams preferred the formidable arm of Tom Henke. With rookie Mark Eichhorn often working multiple innings in 89 games, there were few high-leverage opportunities left for Caudill. During the offseason, Toronto released him, and he signed with Oakland, though ongoing shoulder problems hampered his performance, and he soon left baseball. After retiring, Caudill returned to work with Boras. Over his career, he totaled 106 saves, a 3.68 ERA across 445 games, and 24 starts. Happy birthday, Bill.
Today also marks the 73rd birthday of outfielder Joe Cannon. Cannon played two seasons with the Jays (1979 and 1980) after arriving in a trade from the Astros, along with Mark Lemongello and Pete Hernandez, in exchange for Alan Ashby. The trade did not yield the desired results for Toronto. Lemongello appeared in 18 games in 1979, posting a 1-9 record with a 6.29 ERA. Remarkably, Lemongello’s Wikipedia page notes a curious post-career incident: after leaving baseball, he and his former Wichita teammate, Manuel Seoane, were arrested a few years later for kidnapping and robbing Lemongello’s cousins, Mike Lemongello, a former professional bowler, and Peter Lemongello; Lemongello received seven years’ probation after pleading no contest. Hernandez appeared in 11 games across the 1979 and 1982 seasons. Cannon himself played in 131 games over his two seasons with Toronto, serving as a fourth outfielder, designated hitter, and pinch-hitter, and posting a .177/.186/.208 batting line. Ashby went on to an 11-season run with the Astros, establishing himself as a solid catcher both defensively and offensively. In Toronto, the Jays also had three promising young catchers in Rick Cerone and Ernie W. and others on the horizon, leaving a continuing question for SEO-friendly context.