By the page: Aaron Hill

I was a big fan of Aaron Hill during his time with the Blue Jays.   The 2009 season was off the charts for him, offensively and defensively.   36 HRs, 108 RBIs, .991 Fielding Percentage, led the AL in assists and double plays for a 2nd baseman.  I thought he was going to be the Jays 2nd baseman for a long time.  The next season the power numbers were still there, but the average plummeted, and the trade talk started.  By the end of 2011 he wound up in Arizona in what I consider one of the worst trades in Jays history (Kelly Johnson came to Toronto and didn't last past 2012).


Top row:  Bat on the shoulder pose

I don't know if there's any Blue Jays player with more cards featuring the classic bat on the shoulder pose than Hill.  I guess when you're a good looking guy you can get away with it more than others can. 

Middle row:  Bowman black

Interesting, 3 cards from his rookie season on this page so far (2005), and all three of them feature the bat on the shoulder pose.  I can't quite be sure, but the number on his jersey must have been a spring training issue, because the only number he wore in Toronto is #2.

Bottom row:  Horizontal

I originally had this row in the middle, but changed my mind just before working on this post.  Also note, the 2004 Heritage card has the bat on the shoulder pose again, with also what appears to be the same jersey number.   So it's easy to conclude that Topps in 4 different releases between 2004 & 2005 used the same photo for Hill.

I read that Aaron might be on the trade block in Arizona.   Maybe the Jays will pick him up to end the mess that they've had at 2nd base over the past couple of seasons.  That probably will not happen, because it sounds as if the Jays are chasing after Howie Kendrick of the Angels to fill that 2nd base spot.

Oh well....

thanks for reading, Robert