Countdown to Spring Training - 20 Days

Few left-handed pitchers have had as colorful a career as David Wells did in the 1990's and 2000's. "Boomer", who began his professional career with the Blue Jays in 1982 when he was drafted in the 2nd round, wound up pitching in the Major Leagues for 21 seasons with nine different teams. His eight seasons with Toronto (over two separate stints) included a number of memorable achievements, highlighted by the 2000 season in which he won 20 games.

Those 20 wins were not only a career high for Wells, but they are the most games won by a left-handed pitcher in a single season in Toronto Blue Jays history.

After making his Major League debut on June 30, 1987, Wells's first go round with the Blue Jays spanned six seasons, and saw him transform from a long reliever into one of the most prominent left-handed starters for the better part of two decades. He compiled a record of 47-37 in his first six seasons in Toronto from 1987-1992, and he did some traveling before he returned to the team that drafted him in 1999.

He spent the seasons from 1993-1998 with Detroit, Cincinnati, Baltimore, and the New York Yankees, and during that time he appeared in three All Star games, won a World Series, and pitched just the 15th perfect game in baseball history (and one of the two most infamous perfect games of all time - look it up).

Boomer was on top of his game when he resigned with the Blue Jays in 1999, and he won 17 games that season in 34 starts. He threw seven complete games, and compiled a career high 231.2 innings. He showed no signs of weariness, however, in 2000, as he put together arguably one of the best seasons of his career.

Wells made an American League high 35 starts in the first year of the 21st century, and won 20 of them - both most in the AL. In 229.2 innings Wells allowed a league high 266 hits, but he managed to avoid trouble by walking just 31 batters in all of those innings. The 20 wins he tallied were tied for second most in Blue Jays history at the time, and they remain the most wins ever by a Toronto left-handed pitcher.

That 2000 season proved to be Boomers last in TO, as he spent the next seven seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Yankees, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers. He finished his career with a record of 239-157 and a 4.13 ERA. Those numbers earned him three All-Star selections (1995, '98, and 2000), two World Series titles (1992, '98), and the distinction of one of only two players to have appeared in the playoffs with six different teams.

Currently, Wells serves as a color analyst on TBS broadcasts, and he has secured a legacy as an unforgettable southpaw with a career that spanned three decades.

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