Pat Tabler

Patrick Sean Tabler
(Mr. Clutch; Tabby)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 200 lb.
• High School Archbishop McNicholas High School
• Debut August 21, 1981
• Final Game October 4, 1992
• Born February 2, 1958 in Hamilton, OH USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Pat Tabler played for five teams during a dozen-year big league career. Known for his clutch hitting, he hit nearly .500 in the majors with the bases loaded.

After growing up in the Cincinnati area, Tabler was selected by the New York Yankees in the first round of the 1976 amateur draft. After reaching the AAA level in their chain, he was dealt to the Chicago Cubs during the 1981 season and made his big league debut later that year. Early in 1983, he was traded across town to the Chicago White Sox, who in turn sent him to the Cleveland Indians for Jerry Dybzinski just prior to Opening Day.

Tabler hit .291 for the Indians in 1983 while playing mostly in left field. The following year, 1984, he hit 10 home runs while splitting time between first base, third base, and the outfield. He was Cleveland's primary first baseman in 1985, and went 6-for-7 with 15 RBIs when the bases were loaded. He hit .326, fourth-best in the American League, in 1986. The following summer, 1987, he hit .307 with a career-best 11 homers and 86 RBI while splitting time between first and designated hitter, and he played in the All-Star Game for the only time in his career.

Tabler was traded to the Kansas City Royals for Bud Black during the 1988 campaign, and just over two years later, he was dealt to the New York Mets for Archie Corbin. He signed with the Toronto Blue Jays prior to 1991 and spent two seasons with the club, mostly seeing action as a pinch hitter. He made two plate appearances for the Jays in the 1992 World Series, which were the final at-bats of his playing career.

Tabler amassed an incredible record with the bases loaded. He had 43 hits in 88 at bats for a .489 batting average in this situation. Breaking it down another way, he came to the plate 109 times with the bases loaded in his career: he had 43 hits, 11 walks, 1 hit by pitch, 9 sacrifice flies, and reached on error twice. That amounts to a 60.6% chance that at least one run scored when Tabler came to bat.

Following his playing days, Tabler was a TV analyst for the Blue Jays starting in 2001. Since the 2010s he was in a rotation with Dan Shulman and Buck Martinez in Blue Jays broadcasts on Rogers Sportsnet. During the pandemic, he did these from his home in Cincinnati, OH while Martinez was in Florida and Shulman in Toronto; somehow, the arrangement worked in spite of the technical challenges. He announced his retirement following the 2022 season.

Notable Achievements

• AL All-Star (1987)
• Won a World Series with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1992

Related Sites

• Pat Tabler at the SABR Bio Project
• Career batting splits for Pat Tabler