The Blue Jays pitchers allowed ten grand slams in 2018. That is an historically high number, but not a record, not even for the season (the Royals allowed 11 slams). The opposition batting line for the Jays shows that batters hit .263/.309/.562 in that situation, batters getting on base a lot less than usual but hitting for much more power. AL pitchers overall produced a .262/.302/.474 in that situation. So the Jays followed the example of the rest of the league to limit walks in that situation, but they failed to throw pitches in the zone that were difficult to square up. Toronto allowed 832 runs, 123 being RBI in bases loaded situations, or 15%. That’s versus 13% for the American League. Toronto might have been better off walking a few more tough hitters in these situations.

The Jays pitchers had a power problem, and it tended to manifest itself at the worst possible moments in 2018.