Gallagher: Zero logo for Halladay in HOF, now what about Walker
The cap on the late Roy Halladay’s National Baseball Hall of Fame plaque will not feature a logo.
By Danny Gallagher
Canadian Baseball Network
In a time of sensitivity and a very unusual circumstance, how could the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown argue with a widow, who is grieving and who will be grieving for years to come over the loss of her husband?
Brandy Halladay announced this week that her family decided her late husband Roy's plaque on Main Street in Cooperstown will have not Blue Jays logo on it, no Phillies logo, just no logo at all.
It was a decision hall of president Jeff Idelson said he supported and endorsed.
The family's decision was met mostly with negativity on social media because Halladay's service time in the majors was lopsided in favour of the Blue Jays. He pitched 11-plus seasons for Toronto, three-plus for the Phillies. After retirement he worked for the Phillies as a minor-league pitching instructor.
Jays fans thought Halladay should go into the Hall with a Jays logo on his plaque. He spent eight more seasons in a Toronto uniform than he did in Philly attire. When asked in 2017 he said he wanted to be inducted with a Toronto logo on his plaque on a visit to thhe Rogers Centre.
Halladay signed a one-day contract with the Blue Jays a few years ago to announced his retirement as a member of the Jays.
Did Brandy decide to go with the no-logo bust to spite the Jays after she would have been turned down by Idelson to have Roy inducted as a Phillie?
Remember, too, that Hallladay's Celebration of Life in Clearwater, Fla. on Nov. 14, 2017 was organized by the Phillies and it took place at the Phillies spring-training park, Spectrum Field. Hmm.
So you can see that there appeared to be an anti-Jays thrust by the Halladay family regarding the location of the Celebration of Life for the Phillies employee which some people could have argued should have been held at the Jays spring-training digs in nearby Dunedin.
You may remember that the Jays took a few hours before they released a statement expressing their sorrow at Halladay's loss in the plane accident. Some people even suggested the statement was less than profound in sympathy.
You may have noticed that when Idelson made the live announcement on television about Halladay being inducted, it was accompanied by footage of Halladay in a Phillies uniform making his first start in the post-season and pitching a no hitter against the Cincinnati Reds.. Some of us took that to being a slap in the face of the Blue Jays.
There has been precedent in this no-logo scenario. Look at Greg Maddux. If you look at his stats sheet, you will see he pitched the equivalent of nine seasons with the Chicago Cubs and 11 with the Atlanta Braves. Not too much difference in service time.
So instead of going with a Cubs or Braves logo, Maddux opted for neutrality with a no-name bust. That way, he would appease his adoring fans in Chicago and Atlanta.
Then zero in on Jim (Catfish) Hunter, who spent 10 seasons with the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics and five with the Yankees. He, too, like Maddux, opted for a no-logo plaque, although his seniority with the A's doubled the number of years with the Bronx Bombers. Ditto for managerr Tonny La Russa, who worked with the Chicago White Sox, Oakland A’s and St. Louis Cardinals.
Then we saw that 2019 inductee Mike Mussina also opted for a no-logo bust. He spent 10 seasons with the Orioles, eight with the Yankees.
Who is to say that Canadian born Larry Walker won't go with a no-logo plaque when he's inducted into Cooperstown sometime soon? He was discovered and recommended by a U.S.-based Expos scout working out of the Pacific Northwest, a longshoreman by the name of Bob Rogers.
Walker played 5 1/4 seasons for the Expos but gained more notoriety by playing 9 1/2 seasons with the Colorado Rockies. Clearly, it's a no-brainer he should go in with a Rockies' logo but he might just decide on something generic.
Danny Gallagher’s recently released book about the 1981 Expos is called Blue Monday. His next book Genius will be released this April about recluse Rick Mauran, the founder of Swiss Chalet and Harvey's.