January 23, 2024

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Steve Staggs, who batted leadoff for the Toronto Blue Jays more than any other player in the franchise’s first season, died on Sunday at age of 72.

His wife, Marsha, shared the news of his sudden passing in a Facebook post on Monday. (Thank you to Paul Bychko for alerting me to this.)

Born in Anchorage, Alaska on May 6, 1951, Staggs went to high school in Bellflower, Calif. After attending Cerritos College in Norwalk, Calif., the 5-foot-9 infielder was selected in the second round of the 1971 MLB draft by the Kansas City Royals.

He played six seasons in the Royals’ system – rising to the triple-A level – before he was chosen by the Blue Jays in the expansion draft on November 5, 1976.

At 5-foot-9, 155 pounds, Staggs was the smallest player in the Blue Jays’ inaugural training camp in Dunedin, Fla., the following spring.

“I’m used to that I’ve usually been the smallest man on any team I’ve played on,” Staggs told the Toronto Star for their March 2, 1977 edition. “There has to be a biggest and a smallest on every team.”

The right-handed hitting infielder came to camp with a reputation as a solid contact hitter with a knack for getting on base. Over his previous two seasons in triple-A, he had 169 walks.

“I’ve worked hard to attain bat control, and there is nothing more satisfying than the hit and run,” Staggs told the Toronto Star. “It’s really nothing more than a sacrifice with a swinging bat and hopefully you end up with runners on first and third.”

In a battle with Pedro Garcia and Canadian Dave McKay (Vancouver, B.C.) for the starting second base position, Staggs got his first taste of hitting leadoff for the Blue Jays in spring training. He impressed with a bunt single on March 15 and with two hits off Philadelphia Phillies ace Steve Carlton three days later. And by March 24, Staggs was hitting .438 in limited action.

He would cool off after that and the Blue Jays acquired Hector Torres from Cleveland on March 29 which added another middle infielder to the mix. Four days later, Staggs was sent to the minors.

“I think they made a mistake,” Staggs told the Toronto Star of the Blue Jays’ decision to send him down. “I think I can offer things such as speed and ability to get on base, plus leadership in the infield. It’s tough to be impressive when you are playing only every third game. There was more competition at this position (second base) than anywhere except for catcher.”

But to Staggs’ credit, he didn’t pout. The Blue Jays had not established a triple-A affiliate so he landed with the Iowa Oaks in the Chicago White Sox organization. With the Oaks, Staggs put together a 33-game hitting streak and was batting .372 when he was recalled by the Blue Jays.

He’d make his major league debut on Canada Day with the Blue Jays taking on the Texas Rangers at Exhibition Stadium. Batting second and starting at second base, Staggs went 2-for-5. His first major league hit was a solo home run to right field off Doyle Alexander in the sixth inning. The Blue Jays lost 11-8, but they liked what they saw in Staggs.

“The kid popped the ball pretty good and I liked the way he shoveled the ball to Bobby Bailor on that double play in the eighth inning,” Blue Jays manager Roy Hartsfield told the Toronto Star after the game.

The diminutive infielder proceeded to have three, two-hit games in his first five big league starts and the Blue Jays moved him into their leadoff spot on July 8.

That inspired a hot streak from Staggs. In one eight-game stretch from July 15 to July 25, he went 15-for-35 (.429 batting average) with five doubles, two triples and seven RBIs. In total, in his first month with the Blue Jays, Staggs had 11 multi-hit games.

Overall, he had 20-multi-hit games with the Blue Jays in 1977 and finished the campaign with a .258 batting average, a .338 on-base percentage and with a team-leading six triples in 72 games.

After that impressive showing, Staggs expected to be rewarded by the Blue Jays, but the club renewed his contract the following spring without negotiating with him and he held out — at one point threatening to retire.

On March 25, 1978, the Blue Jays traded him to the Oakland A’s for outfield prospect Sheldon Mallory.

Staggs would bat .244 in 47 games with the A’s in 1978, in what would be his final taste of major league action.

In 1979, he hit .226 in 56 games with the Montreal Expos’ triple-A Denver Bears before hanging up his playing spikes.

Following his playing career, he became the president of Insite Business Consulting in Dallas, Texas.

Staggs is the seventh former player from the 1977 Toronto Blue Jays to pass away. Doug Ault (2004), Jesse Jefferson (2011), Gary Woods (2015), Ron Fairly (2019), Chuck Hartenstein (2021) and Jerry Johnson (2021) have also died.

Staggs and his wife, Marsha, had been married for 49 years.

Funeral arrangements have not been announced.