. That first year the Jays were awful, finishing with a 54-107 record and didn’t get much better in the years Otto was with the team. But he was pretty good . In 1977 Otto hit .256/.366/.458 with 16 home runs and 62 RBI in 120 games. He had a good eye at the plate leading the team in walks. Unfortunately, he mostly played right field that year and was terrible as an RFer.says that Velez was the worst defensive right fielder in team history, and I can’t argue that.
In 1978, the Jays weren’t any better, but Velez still hit quite well, batting .266/.380/.448 with 9 homers and 38 RBI in 91 games. They split his playing time between the left and right field. He also DHed some and played one game at first. He continued to crush LHP, hitting .302/.421/.560 against them.
In 1979 he hit .288/.396/.529 in 99 games with 15 home runs and 48 RBI. He again mainly played left and right field, DHing in nine games, and played first six times. Fangraphs has 1979 as Otto’s best season, giving him a 2.8 WAR. Otto had a reverse split that year. 1980 saw Velez become a full-time DH , playing 97 games as a DH and three at first base. He set career highs in home runs , runs and tied his high for RBI . Otto hit .269/.365/.487 and an OPS+ of 127 in his 4th straight year with the Jays with an OPS+ over 120. On May 4th, he hit four home runs in a doubleheader against, hitting one of each type, solo, two-run, three-run, and grand slam. I can’t imagine that has happened many times in MLB history.
In 1981, the strike year, Velez had a poor season batting .213/.363/.404. When he was a young player, he had old player skills, and when he turned 30, those skills diminished quickly. In 1982 he played in just 28 games, hitting just .192. He was replaced at DH byand a cast of thousands. After the 1982 season, the Jays released him, and he signed with ClevelandThe early Jays were a pretty poor group. Velez was one of the few reasonable players they had.
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