Before the end of 2025’s Black History Month, Blue Jays Nation would like to celebrate some of the most influential people &#8211; players, staff, and executives &#8211; who had a tremendous impact on Toronto Blue Jays baseball.
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This will be a three-part series:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">This first article will showcase Cito Gaston and Joe Carter, two individuals who have been inducted into the Blue Jays&#8217; Level of Excellence.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">The second will feature Jesse Barfield, Lloyd Moseby, and Russell Martin &#8211; three black Jays players have been inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">The third will showcase initiatives from the Toronto Blue Jays surroundings</li>
</ul>
Feel free to share your favourite memories of the outstanding people mentioned in the article or of players not mentioned in the comments at the end of the article.
<h2>Cito Gaston</h2>
Legendary Jays manager Cito Gaston immortalized himself in franchise history when he became the first manager to win a World Series with the team in 1992. He followed that up with a back-to-back win at the helm in 1993.
Those wins weren’t just team firsts either. They were yet another breakthrough for African American representation in baseball, as Gaston became the first Black manager to win a World Series. He has since been joined by Dave Roberts and Dusty Baker.
Gaston’s managerial career started in 1989 and lasted until 1997. He followed that up with a second stint as manager from 2008 to 2010, but he’d been around the organization for far longer than that. Brought on originally as the team’s first full-time hitting coach in 1981, Gaston has been credited with helping players like George Bell, Lloyd Moseby, and Jesse Barfield fine-tune their swings over the years. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
A legend in our game 🐐
Happy 80th Birthday, Cito Gaston! <a href="https://t.co/mIY3BhoE5D">pic.twitter.com/mIY3BhoE5D</a>
&mdash; Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) <a href="https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1769385843913871474?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In addition to being inducted to the Jays Level of Excellence, Gaston has also been enshrined into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002, the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame in 2008, and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.
His accolades have also landed him the Jackie Robinson Award from the Negro League Hall of Fame, an award given for lifetime achievement.
<h2>Joe Carter</h2>
As part of one of the biggest trades in franchise history,  Joe Carter made the most of his time with the team from 1991 to 1997.
His most memorable moment is easily his walk-off home run to win the 1993 World Series, with a thunderous shot in game six against the Philadelphia Phillies. This was just the second time in history the feat had been accomplished (the other being Bill Mazeroski’s in the 1960 World Series). Carter was also a part of the final play of the 1992 World Series, as he caught a Mike Timlin throw to first to retire Otis Nixon on a two-out bunt attempt.
A lifelong slugger, he hit 203 home runs and batted in 736 runs for the Jays putting him fifth all-time on both of those franchise lists.
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Oct. 23, 1993: Joe Carter hit a three-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to give the Toronto Blue Jays its second-consecutive World Series. <a href="https://t.co/Ae72D0iyWS">pic.twitter.com/Ae72D0iyWS</a>
&mdash; Craig Baird &#8211; Canadian History Ehx (@CraigBaird) <a href="https://twitter.com/CraigBaird/status/1849156311398613085?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
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He’s also done lots of charity work around the Toronto area. One of the most popular events is the Joe Carter Classic, a golf tournament that has raised over $2 million for the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada.
Carter was inducted to the Level of Excellence in 1999.
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Before the end of 2025’s Black History Month, Blue Jays Nation would like to celebrate some of the most influential people - players, staff, and executives - who had a tremendous impact on Toronto Blue Jays baseball.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="330" data-promotion-id="18983" data-context="“web-content-promocard&quot;"></div>
This will be a three-part series:
<ul>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">This first article will showcase Cito Gaston and Joe Carter, two individuals who have been inducted into the Blue Jays' Level of Excellence.</li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">The second will feature Jesse Barfield, Lloyd Moseby, and Russell Martin - three black Jays players have been inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.</li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">The third will showcase initiatives from the Toronto Blue Jays surroundings</li>
</ul>
Feel free to share your favourite memories of the outstanding people mentioned in the article or of players not mentioned in the comments at the end of the article.
<h2>Cito Gaston</h2>
Legendary Jays manager Cito Gaston immortalized himself in franchise history when he became the first manager to win a World Series with the team in 1992. He followed that up with a back-to-back win at the helm in 1993.

Those wins weren’t just team firsts either. They were yet another breakthrough for African American representation in baseball, as Gaston became the first Black manager to win a World Series. He has since been joined by Dave Roberts and Dusty Baker.

Gaston’s managerial career started in 1989 and lasted until 1997. He followed that up with a second stint as manager from 2008 to 2010, but he’d been around the organization for far longer than that. Brought on originally as the team’s first full-time hitting coach in 1981, Gaston has been credited with helping players like George Bell, Lloyd Moseby, and Jesse Barfield fine-tune their swings over the years. 

https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1769385843913871474

In addition to being inducted to the Jays Level of Excellence, Gaston has also been enshrined into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002, the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame in 2008, and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.

His accolades have also landed him the Jackie Robinson Award from the Negro League Hall of Fame, an award given for lifetime achievement.
<h2>Joe Carter</h2>
As part of one of the biggest trades in franchise history,  Joe Carter made the most of his time with the team from 1991 to 1997.

His most memorable moment is easily his walk-off home run to win the 1993 World Series, with a thunderous shot in game six against the Philadelphia Phillies. This was just the second time in history the feat had been accomplished (the other being Bill Mazeroski’s in the 1960 World Series). Carter was also a part of the final play of the 1992 World Series, as he caught a Mike Timlin throw to first to retire Otis Nixon on a two-out bunt attempt.

A lifelong slugger, he hit 203 home runs and batted in 736 runs for the Jays putting him fifth all-time on both of those franchise lists.

https://twitter.com/CraigBaird/status/1849156311398613085

He’s also done lots of charity work around the Toronto area. One of the most popular events is the Joe Carter Classic, a golf tournament that has raised over $2 million for the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada.

Carter was inducted to the Level of Excellence in 1999.

<hr />

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Celebrating Blue Jays during Black History Month – Part One: The Level of Excellence

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