A Decade of Toronto Blue Jays: Best Players of the 2000's

The Toronto Blue Jays won a whopping zero World Series Championships in the 2000's. Furthermore, they never even made it to postseason play, which for a team that enjoyed such success in the early '90's the 2000's, can be deemed a major step backwards. The good news for Toronto fans; Aaron Hill and Adam Lind enjoyed huge seasons in 2009 and give hope for the Blue Jays entering into the next decade. Here are the top five Toronto Blue Jays of the 2000's (please not only accomplishments and stats while playing for the Toronto Blue Jays from 2000-2009 were considered).

1. Roy Halladay

Halladay was one of the best pitchers in all of Major League Baseball in the 2000's. Not only will he go down as one of the elite of the decade, but with a few more years of success, he could be mentioned among the greatest in the history. While with the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2000's, he was named to six All-Star teams and won the 2003 A.L. Cy Young Award. He is considered to be a throwback player because of his knack for logging more innings pitched than any other starters and constantly leading the league in complete games.

2. Carlos Delgado

Delgado provided a fierce bat in the middle of the line-up for the Blue Jays. From 2000-2004, he hit over 30 home runs and drove in over 100 runs in all five seasons. He was named an A.L. All-Star in 2000 and 2003.

3. Vernon Wells

Many Toronto Blue Jays fans look at Wells as a bust. After signing a seven-year, $126 million contract in the 2006 off-season, Wells has not produced up to standards. As true as that is, Wells was still one of the best Jays to take the field in the 2000's because of his huge success before that contract extension. From 2000-2006, Wells accumulated three Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger Award and made two A.L. All-Star teams.

4. Shannon Stewart

Stewart played with the Toronto Blue Jays until halfway through the 2003 season, when he was traded to the Minnesota Twins. He never was selected for an All-Star team, but Blue Jays fans can attest to how much Stewart meant to their team. He often sparked the offense from the top of the order and gave them a base-stealing outfielder that could also supply some nice leather.

5. Alex Rios

Rios was selected as an A.L. All-Star in 2006 and 2007. Even with those accomplishments, I would love to replace him on this list for the simple fact that while in the middle of the Toronto offense, he didn't even produce 90 runs batted in for either season. Since Aaron Hill and Adam Lind didn't log enough time with the Jays in the 2000's, congratulation Alex Rios you win by default.