Lloyd Moseby

Shaker of the Blue Jays outfield

Lloyd Anthony Moseby (born November 5, 1959) is an American former Major League Baseball player. A center fielder, and good all-around athlete, Moseby's nickname, "Shaker", was said to stem from his ability to get away from or "shake" players who attempted to defend him on the basketball court.

Quick Facts

Position: Center fielder
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Born: 5 November 1959
Birthplace: Portland, Arkansas, U.S.
Debut league: MLB
Debut date: May 24
Debut year: 1980

Lore & Background

Born in Portland, Arkansas, Moseby graduated from Oakland High School in Oakland, California. His primary sport in high school was basketball and he did not take baseball seriously until his sophomore year. He had committed to play college basketball for St. Mary's, one of 75 schools to offer him a basketball scholarship, if he had not decided to sign with the Blue Jays. Drafted 2nd overall by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1978 amateur draft, he made his major league debut on May 24, 1980.

In the mid-1980s, he was part of the powerful "Killer B's" outfield trio for the Jays, playing center field between George Bell and Jesse Barfield. On April 19, 1983, he hit a walk-off two-run home run against Dan Spillner to give the Blue Jays a 9-7 victory over the Cleveland Indians. On August 16, 1987, Moseby took part in an unusual baserunning play where he stole first base and then second base on a throwing error. After the 1989 season, Moseby signed with the Detroit Tigers, saw limited action for two seasons, and then traveled to Japan to play with the Yomiuri Giants in 1992 and 1993.

Moseby served as the Blue Jays' first base coach in 1998 and 1999. In 2018, he was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Reader's Guide

Moseby developed into a well-polished batter, fielder, and base-runner, driving in nearly 100 runs in three seasons (1984, 1986, and 1987) and regularly stealing 30-plus bases. He finished in the top 25 for the American League Most Valuable Player Award twice—1983 and 1984. He led the American League in triples in 1984 and was an All-Star in 1986. Over his career, Moseby had 869 runs, 169 home runs, 737 runs batted in, and 280 stolen bases with a career batting average of .257. He ranks in the top 10 for Toronto Blue Jays career leaders in WAR, games played, at-bats, runs, hits, doubles, triples, home runs, RBI, walks, stolen bases (franchise leader), and extra-base hits.