Former Toronto Blue Jays players Russell Martin and Jimmy Key headline the 2024 Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees.
Former women’s national team member Ashley Stephenson will also be inducted along with former Blue Jays president and chief operating officer Paul Godfrey, former men’s national team pitcher Rod Heisler and longtime Blue Jays executive date of the baseball association of Leaside, a neighborhood of Toronto, Howard Birnie.
Each member of this year’s cohort has had a tremendous impact on baseball in Canada, Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Chairman Jeremy Diamond said in a press release. We look forward to celebrating their exceptional career at St. Marys in June.
An induction ceremony is planned for June 15, on the grounds of the Temple in St. Marys, in southwestern Ontario.
Key, who hails from Huntsville, Alabama, helped solidify Toronto’s starting rotation for seven seasons. The left-hander won the World Series with the Blue Jays in 1992.
He earned his first All-Star Game selection in 1985, after going 14-6 with a 3.00 ERA. Key, who was selected by the Blue Jays in the 1982 draft, was named the Sporting News American Pitcher of the Year in 1987 after posting a 17-8 record and ERA. of 2.76.
I would like to thank the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and its executive committee for this great honor,” said Key. This recognition caps nine great years during which I played in Toronto for the Blue Jays organization.
Being part of the first professional baseball team in Canada to be crowned champions is the highlight of my career.
Key spent 15 years in major league baseball. He also played for the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles.
Russell Martin spent 14 seasons in major league baseball and represented Canada at the World Baseball Classic in 2009. He signed a contract with the Blue Jays before the 2015 season and helped the team to ending a 22-year drought without making the playoffs.
Martin played for the Blue Jays until the end of the 2018 season before capping his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team for which he played during his first five seasons in major league baseball.
Godfrey, a longtime politician in his hometown of Toronto, helped pave the way for the city to get a major league team in 1976. He was involved in the project that led to the creation of the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre), which opened in 1989.
Godfrey was named president and CEO of the Blue Jays in 2000 and remained with the team until 2008.
Stephenson, who is originally from Mississauga, Ontario, was a member of the first national women’s team in 2004 and spent 15 seasons with the team. She won silver twice at the Women’s World Cup and won bronze on four occasions.
Heisler, who is originally from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, competed in a record 14 international competitions with the men’s national team. He was the starter in Canada’s first game at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. He also participated in the Seoul Games in 1988.
Birnie, who was born in Toronto, has been involved in baseball in his hometown for more than 70 years as a player, coach and umpire. He received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Award in 2012, in recognition of his 50 years of volunteer service to amateur baseball.
2024-02-06 16:17:22
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