On Saturday, I spent a wonderful afternoon at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Mary's, Ontario. This year one of the inductees was Joey Bats himself - José Bautista. Above is a photo of José signing autographs at Saturday's festivities.
Bautista, a right fielder and third baseman, spent 15 seasons in Major League Baseball, mostly with the Toronto Blue Jays. He played for four different teams before the Pittsburgh Pirates traded him to the Blue Jays in August of 2008. In 2010, he slugged 54 home runs, the most ever hit by a Blue Jay in one season. Yet, what most fans will always remember is José's epic bat flip to emphasize his go-ahead, three-run homer in the decisive Game 5 of the 2015 American League Division Series between the Jays and the Texas Rangers.
I was impressed by Bautista's speech in St. Mary's. He did not recite a list of his accomplishments. He focused on thanking those who had given him support as well as his Blue Jay teammates and other Dominican players. He thanked his family, his wife and daughters, who were in attendance. He also thanked his parents for emphasizing the importance of education. José learned to speak English at a young age and he is very fluent in the language.
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| Bautista |
If you are a Canadian baseball fam, it's worth the trip to St. Mary's on induction day or just to see the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. The quaint, historic town is located about on the Thames River, 20 kilometres southwest of Stratford, Ontario and about 170 kilometres southwest of the Great Toronto Area. St Mary's is nicknamed "Stonetown" because of its many homes, churches and commercial buildings that are constructed of local limestone.
This year's Hall of Fame festivities were hosted by Sportsnet's Hazel Mae. She introduced longtime Toronto Star baseball writer and sports columnist Dave Perkins. Dave accepted the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum's 2024 Jack Graney Award. The Graney Award is given to "a member of the media who has made significant contributions to baseball in Canada through their life's work.
In addition to Bautista, other inductees included the following: Greg Hamilton from Peterborough, Ontario, who has served as Baseball Canada's Head Coach and Director of Men's National Teams since 1998, Erik Bedard, a Franco-Ontarian major league pitcher, who was the staff ace for the Baltimore Orioles, the late Amanda Asay, from Prince George British Columbia, who played on the Canada women's national baseball team from 2005 to 2021, the late Arleene Johnson of Saskatchewan, an infielder who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1945 to 1948 and the late Gerry Snyder, who served on the Montreal City Council and was instrumental in bringing the Expos and Major League Baseball to Montreal.
Erik Bedard was unable to attend the ceremonies. Gerry Snyder's son was there to represent his father, who passed away in 2007. Arleene Johnson passed away in 2017 at the age of 93. Her daughter made a speech about her contribution to Canadian woman's baseball. Amanda Asay died in a skiing accident in 2022 at the age of 33. Her father spoke on her behalf.
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| Amanda Asay |
José Bautista is from the Dominican Republic, but Canadian citizenship is not required to be inducted into the Canadian Hall of Fame. This year's inductees have all made lasting contributions to baseball in this country.
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* I said hello to former Blue Jays outfielder Lloyd Moseby who was in attendance. Some Montreal Expos fans always attend the ceremonies wearing their Expos caps.
- Joanne
