Just a couple of guys detailing the history of Dave Stieb, legendary
#BlueJays
pitcher and Hall of Famer (Canadian Baseball HOF ‘05; San Jose Sports HOF ‘23)
1/2: March 3, 2024 - Suitable for framing! Our recent Dave Stieb's Best 37 Starts recap wouldn't feel complete without a keepsake for everyone's growing Stieb collection. Please enjoy responsibly!
The 4K version (4800x6000 px) is printable at 16"x20".
#StiebBest37
#BlueJays
August 4, 1989 - 😱 "The horror...the horror..."
@jon_bois
@secretbase
’s 2022 doc on Dave Stieb recaps the loss of a Perfect Game with one out to go... 😱
August 20, 2022 - When you randomly run into
@Sportsnet
Pat Tabler in NYC & he says, "That's *you* with the Dave Stieb Today Twitter account?" Pat is a fellow Stieb admirer, generous with his time to flash a 7 to our 3.
It's Pat &
@DShulman_ESPN
this wknd,
#BlueJays
vs
#Yankees
.
All our love & support out to Buck Martinez, who shared today he'll be leaving the Blue Jays broadcast booth to deal with a cancer diagnosis. He hopes to return for the Jays' stretch run.
Buck & Dave Stieb are so intertwined in history, and Buck is a true gentleman. (Pic: 2105)
March 4, 2024 - ⚾️ "Tell Dave I said hello." ⚾️
When
@baseballhall
of famer, and
@BlueJays
legendary GM, Pat Gillick, talks Dave Stieb with you at today's Spring Training game against his
@Phillies
. 🤩
July 22, 2022 - 🚨 Happy 65th Birthday to
#BlueJays
legend, Dave Stieb. 🚨
We hope Sir Dave is enjoying a wonderful breakfast on his big day, although Dave knew what all
#Torontonians
knew: nothing beat (very) late night/early morning
#GoldenGriddle
'cakes!
#YongeAndRedpath4Eva
!
1/2: July 16, 1985 - “Dave Stieb has pitched in as many All-Star Games as the other seven American League pitchers combined.”
Ahhh, two minutes of bliss:
@TheVinScully
expounds on
@BlueJays
’ Dave Stieb as he works the sixth in the 1985 ASG.
🚨Bonus: Nolan Ryan batting v. Stieb.
September 2, 1990:
4:02 p.m.
THE NINTH INNING!
Chris James flies out.
Candy Maldonado strikes out.
Alex Cole walks.
Jerry Brown lines out!
“He. Has. GOT IT! A no-hitter for Dave Stieb! The long frustration is finally over!” - Don Chevrier
#InternationalDaveStiebNoHitterDay
July 22, 2023 - 🚨 Happy 66th Birthday to Dave Stieb! 🚨
We hope Sir Dave is enjoying a wonderful breakfast on his big day, although Dave knew what all Torontonian
#BlueJays
fans knew: *nothing* beat late night/early morning
#GoldenGriddle
'cakes!
RIP John Sullivan (1941-2023).
Former MLB catcher, who joined the
@BlueJays
in October 1981 in Bobby Cox' staff, retiring a two-time World Series winner after 1993.
1B coach 1982-83, bullpen coach, 1984-93.
Possibly no set of eyes watched Dave Stieb warm up more than Sully's.
🚨 BREAKING NEWS! 🚨 The esteemed
@JesseBarfield29
is back on Twitter, after having his account hacked late last year! We here at
@DaveStiebToday
look forward to another great year of content from Jesse! ⚾️
September 2, 1990:
4:02 p.m.
THE NINTH INNING!
Chris James flies out!
Candy Maldonado strikes out!
Alex Cole walks.
Jerry Brown lines out!!
“He. Has. GOT IT! A no-hitter for Dave Stieb! The long frustration is finally over!” - Don Chevrier
#InternationalDaveStiebNoHitterDay
1/3: April 5, 1983 - For a couple generations of fans, the classic
#BlueJays
era arrives on Opening Day 1983, in a rollicking 7-1 dusting of the
#RedSox
highlighted by Dave Stieb and Jim Rice’s fifth-inning fracas.
Stieb’s line: 6IP 3H 1R 1ER 4BB 7K; GSc 65, RE24 2.23
1/3: July 2, 1998 - The only
#MLB
game Dave Stieb ever pitches on this date is unforgettable, the sort of splendour reserved for unlikely Hollywood epics. The home
@BlueJays
crowd finally gets to see their old hero pitch… and he’s brilliant.
In fact… today, he will be perfect.
August 27, 2022 (P1) - 🚨 Listen to Buck Martinez &
@DShulman_ESPN
talk about Dave Stieb on last night's
#BlueJays
broadcast. 🚨
Buck says Stieb was the best pitcher he ever caught & they also reveal Stieb will be appear in the booth with them at some point during today's game.
Congratulations to former
#BlueJays
1st baseman (& Dave Stieb teammate), Fred McGriff, for being elected to the
@baseballhall
. Here's video of our 2 favourite
#CrimeDog
moments (+ interview): hitting 2 homers during Stieb's no-hitter (after Fred's 5-hit day) on September 2, 1990.
🚨Once more with feeling for 2023
@CDNBaseballHOF
Jack Graney Award winner Buck Martinez.📽️
We've been sitting on this rarely seen extended clip of Buck's infamous 1985 injury for awhile, waiting perhaps for next July to post.
Nah, tonight's better.
You're the man, Buck!
1/4: October 26, 1992 - The championship parade! The icing on every pro athlete's bucket list cake. The
@BlueJays
ride from the Royal York to SkyDome via Wellington and Peter. Dave Stieb rides with the Grubers.
🚨TWO VIDEOS📽️
That's BOTH OF US hustling across the screen @ 0:24.
1/3: August 4, 1989 - 🚨"Here at the SkyDome, tension that you could cut with a knife," as Tom Cheek puts it. Dave Stieb mows down 26
#Yankees
to reach the brink of immortality, one out from the 11th Perfect Game in MLB history.
Fergie Olver and Buck Martinez on the TSN feed.
1/3: August 24, 1985 - Dave Stieb's quest for no-hit glory really begins here, at Comiskey, against the
#WhiteSox
.
🚨We have video.📽️
Ninth-inning heartbreak: slap-hitters Rudy Law and Bryan Little launch back-to-back homers while Stieb tries to ignore a screaming right elbow.
July 22, 2024 - 🚨 Happy 67th Birthday to Dave Stieb! 🚨
We hope Sir Dave is enjoying a wonderful breakfast on his big day. Yes, Dave knew what all Torontonian
#BlueJays
fans knew: *nothing* beat late night/early morning
#GoldenGriddle
'cakes!
August 27, 2022 - 🚨 Video of Dave Stieb introduced onto the field here at Skydome. 🚨
Stieb drives in with Duane Ward, and takes his place amongst his peers for the 1992
#BlueJays
World Series Reunion celebration.
1/2: August 14, 1981 - Pattie and Dave get married at City Hall in Toronto.
We normally shy away from the personal here, but we've interacted with 'em both over the years, and we like 'em.
They had three neat kids. That's a great legacy. August 14, 1981 was a good day!
1/2: January 29, 2024 - RIP Jimy Williams (1943-2024).
Joined Bobby Mattick's 1980
@BlueJays
as third-base coach. Held the position through the entirety of Bobby Cox's tenure, from which a storied baseball friendship thrived.
Managed Toronto from 1986 through May 1989.
Friday March 13, 1998. The headline heard round our world. Dave Stieb announces his attempt at a comeback with the
@BlueJays
at the age of 40.
We were there as press at his AAA Syracuse starts as he worked his way back. We'll document it all for you!
#DaveStieb
#BlueJays
#MLB
September 20, 1998 - 🚨 41 year-old Dave Stieb gets a hold after relieving rookie 21 year-old Roy Halladay in a 7-5
#BlueJays
extra innings win. Read on... 🧵 🚨
1/2: July 18, 1983 - 🚨 A puffed-up moment of pride for Canadians; Dave Stieb & Andre Dawson grace the cover of Sports Illustrated (for the American lens, after a similar July 11 Maclean's story). 🚨
It's a brave new
#MLB
world, with the
@Montreal_Expos
&
#BlueJays
in 1st place.
RIP Vin Scully (1927-2022)
A nonpareil storyteller who understood silence is an equal partner in the concept of sound. You’ve by now heard hundreds of voices call the game. There’s never been a greater one than Vin Scully’s. Condolences.
Reposted: Vin’s 1985 All-Star Game call.
September 2, 1990 (Retrospective Events P1) - 🚨 Watch Buck Martinez host the
#BlueJays
20th anniversary of the No-Hitter with Dave Stieb at the Skydome on August 29, 2010. 🚨
October 5, 1985 (P3) - “I settled back in the chair by my locker and began soaking up the sea of faces swirling around me. This was something that I wanted to remember for a long time.” - Dave Stieb, ‘Tomorrow I’ll Be Perfect’
You never forget your 1st AL East division title!
1/2: March 1, 2022 - 1 year ago today, the 1st part of the epic
@SecretBase
Dave Stieb documentary debuts.
Put together by
@jon_bois
& Alex Rubenstein, in totality, the 4-part series clocks in at almost 5 hours of breaking down Stieb's entire career &
@baseballhall
of fame case.
July 16, 1985 (1/2) - 🚨 Video of Dave Stieb pitching the 6th inning of the
#MLB
#AllStarGame
including 2 minutes of
@TheVinScully
expounding on the 5-time All-Star *and* Nolan Ryan batting vs Stieb! 😱 🚨
1/2: 🚨
#StiebBest37
🚨 - Tomorrow, the countdown begins: 3️⃣7️⃣👉🏾1️⃣
Set your clocks to 7:37pm ET daily, as we start counting down the best 37 starts of
#BlueJays
Dave Stieb's career. He did it 412 times, with 103 CGs & 30 SOs, but which were his *best*? And what will rank as
#1
?
Video of
#BlueJays
Dave Stieb asked about whether or not he's deserving of another look at the Baseball Hall of Fame through the (proper) lens of analytics (and not "team pitching stats" like wins). 👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾
Former Blue Jay Dave Stieb returned to Toronto Saturday. He and other members of the 1992 World Series Championship team were honoured.
@cbcnews
asked Stieb if he thinks he should be in Baseball’s Hall of fame…?
March 16, 2022 - 🎉 We started "Today In Dave Stieb History" 2 years ago today! 🎉
Special thanks to all of *you* who've supported us with all the follows & engagement.
🔥 In a nod to
@Alek_Manoah6
getting over 100 pitches in his 1st win of the season, let's watch 109 seconds of Dave Stieb sliders, courtesy of
@PitchingNinja
... 🔥
1/3: July 2, 1998 - The only MLB game Dave Stieb ever pitches on this date is unforgettable, an immense feel-good moment evoking vintage Hollywood epics.
The home
@BlueJays
crowd finally gets to see their old hero pitch…and he’s brilliant.
In fact…
Today he will be perfect.
1/2: April 9, 1996 - 🚨Dave Stieb and George Bell are the first honourees on the
@BlueJays
’ Level Of Excellence. 📽️
The club kicks off its 20th anniversary season by inviting its first true franchise icons back for Opening Day 1996.
The media finds Stieb in a reflective mood.
July 7, 2023 - We've surpassed 2500 followers!
*Thank you*, fellow Dave Stieb admirers, who have joined us on this journey since March 2022.
It coincided with the
@jon_bois
doc & we hope it will end with Stieb in his rightful place - the
@BaseballHall
Of Fame. 🙏🏼 💪🏽👍🏼
#Retire37
1/2: July 11, 1983 - With poetic grace, this Maclean’s cover date coincides with the last day in 1983 that both the
@BlueJays
and
@Montreal_Expos
lead their respective divisions.
It’s story time!
The cover stars?
@CDNBaseballHOF
2005 co-inductees Dave Stieb and Steve Rogers.
March 9, 2024 - We've reached 3,000 followers!🎉
*THANK YOU* fellow Dave Stieb admirers, for joining us on this journey since March 2022!
It coincided with the
@jon_bois
doc & we hope it carries Stieb to his rightful place: the
@BaseballHall
Of Fame.
⚾️💪🏽👍🏼
#Retire37
@BlueJays
1/2: February 25, 1998 - Two
#1s
in our ❤.
The great Tony Fernandez & Dave Stieb. From sharing the
#BlueJays
'85 Division title to each grabbing one of '92-93 WS rings, they reunited in 1998; Tony still a player, Dave a guest coach in Spring Training. 1st ⚾️ game in '23 today!
June 1989 - The Skydome is enjoying its first week and Dave Stieb is getting ready to start (and win) his 1st game there (tomorrow), so enjoy the 1st program the
#BlueJays
new home, with Dave on the cover.
Congrats to Buck Martinez, Stieb teammate extraordinaire, for receiving the 2023 Jack Graney Award from the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum!
It's quite the last 30 days for the famous
#BlueJays
tandem! First, Dave into the San Jose Sports HoF, and now this for Buck! 👍🏻
Longtime Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez has been named the winner of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s 2023 Jack Graney Award.
1/2: October 21, 2023 - Cito Gaston's inclusion on the
@baseballhall
's vet committee ballot has sparked fresh rounds of HOF wish-mongering among
#BlueJays
fans.
Here's a friendly reminder that Dave Stieb will be inducted into the San Jose Sports Hall Of Fame on November 8, 2023.
March 16, 2022 - 🎉 We started "Today In Dave Stieb History" one year ago today! 🎉
Special thanks to all of *you* who've supported us with all the follows & engagement. (And thanks to
@DShulman_ESPN
&
@TablerPat
for mentioning us on the
@BlueJays
broadcast last August.)
#StiebCardSunday
! Flags fly forever and Dave Stieb, Lloyd Moseby &
@JesseBarfield29
will forever be remember in Toronto for delivering the
#BlueJays
their 1st division title in 1985.
@pepsi
&
@Fritolay
celebrated the event with these flags, 9.5" x 26" in size (sans Jays' logo).
September 20, 1998+ (P1) - 🚨 Exclusive video of 21-year old Roy Halladay's 1st
#MLB
start, where he goes 5 IP and is relieved by 41-year Dave Stieb. 🚨
Halladay pitches to Fred McGriff, Wade Boggs, and Canadian
@RichieBud1012
, who hits a HR for Tampa.
1/4: September 24, 1988 - Everybody knows this song, right? "Ninth Inning, Two Out, Two Strikes." It's by Dave Stieb, probably the biggest name in the 'heartbreak rock' genre. Here's the video, it's crazy.
June 13, 2023 - 🚨 Dave Stieb has been inducted into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame
@sjshof95
. 🚨
Stieb will welcomed in a November ceremony.
Dave went to high school and
@SJCityCollege
in San Jose, then to
@SIU_Baseball
in '78, before getting drafted by the
@BlueJays
in '79.
#StiebBest37
: 29 - April 10, 1989
The Master of the One-Hitter strikes again, sandbagging the
#Yankees
in 1989's opening week, setting another MLB standard: three one-hitters in his last four starts.
It seems the
#BlueJays
' Dave Stieb is back to wowing the U.S. sports media.
🚨 BREAKING NEWS (P1) 🚨 -
#BlueJays
GM, Ross Atkins, tells
@DaveStiebToday
at the Jays-Tigers game tonight that the team is "not retiring 37 in the short term." 😒
🚨 August 29, 1998 (P2) - Video of the final inning of Dave Stieb's last career win. 🚨
The tension in the ballpark (& my heart) as Stieb finished the 5th to qualify for the win vs the
#Twins
was palpable. Struck out 4 of his last 6 outs (w/
@baseballhall
member, Paul Molitor).
#StiebBest37
: 5 - September 2, 1990🧵
"He. Has. GOT IT!"
Likely the most fondly regarded non-title game in
#BlueJays
history - certainly in the regular season - producing the most replayed moment of an iconic pitcher's career: Dave Stieb's no-hitter of the Cleveland
#Indians
.
September 2, 1990:
4:02 p.m.
THE NINTH INNING!
Chris James flies out!
Candy Maldonado strikes out!
Alex Cole walks.
Jerry Brown lines out!!
“He. Has. GOT IT! A no-hitter for Dave Stieb! The long frustration is finally over!” - Don Chevrier
#InternationalDaveStiebNoHitterDay
October 27, 1992 (P1) - The End Of *The* Era. Fans wake up to the news Dave Stieb is no longer with the
#BlueJays
.
After the World Series parade, the Jays buy out the remainder of his contract for $1 million and release him. From his draft day in June of 1978 to October '92.
🚨 August 29, 1998 (P1) - Video of Dave Stieb's last win of his career. 🚨
A Top 10 Stieb moment for me. I say "me" because I,
@blakebellwriter
(running this account with
@thegoldenyear
), was there, 5 rows from the field, seeing the 1st
#BlueJays
Stieb start at home in 6 years.
August 29, 1998 (1/2) -🚨Finally, the fates align: a Pat Hentgen injury whisks Dave Stieb into a spot start vs the
#Twins
, and THIS one's at home; Stieb's first SkyDome start in 6 years. Video follows... 🚨
August 4, 1989 [P1] -🚨"Here at the SkyDome, tension that you could cut with a knife," as Tom Cheek puts it.
Dave Stieb obliterates 26
#Yankees
to reach the brink of immortality, one out from the 11th Perfect Game in MLB history.
Fergie Olver and Buck Martinez on the TSN feed.
1/2: August 19, 1998 - Dave Stieb steers the good ship Blue Jay into harbour against the Seattle Mariners, his 436th regular season appearance netting his second career save - and first since July ‘86 - 3IP of two-hit, one-run ball in a 16-2
#BlueJays
laugher.
1/3: October 8, 1985 - The first playoff game in
@BlueJays
history. It’s hard to imagine a better one:
#1985ALCS
' Game One’s oft-cited as Dave Stieb’s personal favourite, an eight-inning masterwork by a great pitcher aching for the sport’s biggest stage.
🚨A three-part video📽️:
1/2: October 5, 1985 - “I settled back in the chair by my locker and began soaking up the sea of faces swirling around me. This was something that I wanted to remember for a long time.” - Dave Stieb, ‘Tomorrow I’ll Be Perfect’
You never forget your first AL East division title!
1/4: August 26, 1989 - Now it's getting crazy. Already the only live-ball era pitcher to throw three one-hitters in a year, Dave Stieb's one-hitter against Milwaukee today makes him the only one EVER to throw five over two seasons.
He's thrown *5* one-hitters his last 48 starts.
⚾️ Let's amplify this from Mr. Wilner below. ⚾️
🧵 1. Nor was Stieb a jerk when he spent time talking to me, being playful with my 1 year-old son at a
#BlueJays
event on Aug 17, 2001. (No one's ever seen this video. 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽 Yes, that's the late Doug Ault in the background, RIP)
2/3: July 2, 1998 - Before a surging crowd, including his family - his youngest has never seen him play - Dave Stieb sets nine straight
#Mets
down with masterly ease.
Buck and
@DShulman_ESPN
have the call.
Dan's delighted laugh after John Olerud's groundout? Speaks for us all.
1/3: December 16, 1992 - 🚨VIDEO🚨Mr. Stieb Goes to Washington…and Ottawa
Dave Stieb’s last act as a Toronto Blue Jay is a different kind of doubleheader: decked out in suit and tie, meeting President George Bush at the White House, and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in Ottawa.
September 9, 1986 (P1) - News pops about the book release party the previous night for the biography of Dave Stieb, "Tomorrow, I'll Be Perfect."
Give the man credit. Stieb turned 29 in '86 & he's got a book about his life. We enjoyed the heck out of it; some others not as much.
1/2: April 22, 1992 (P2) - 🚨 Dave Stieb's return to a mound after 11 months away. 🚨
What makes this video special is:
1) Fergie Olver's interview with2 Alfredo Griffin about Stieb in '79.
2) At the 1:42 mark, you can faintly hear us yelling, "Stieb Shall Prevail!" 💪🏼 ⚾️