Jays Care Foundation opens Roy Halladay Field
Brandy Halladay, middle with scissors, and her sons Ryan (to Brandy’s right) and Braden (to Brandy’s left) participate in the ribbon cutting ceremony for Roy Halladay Field in Scarborough, Ont. Photo: Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
July 15, 2022
By Evan Gravelle
Canadian Baseball Network
Roy Halladay Field, Canada’s first fully accessible baseball diamond, opened on Wednesday in Scarborough, Ont., as a tribute to the great Toronto Blue Jays pitcher and as a place for kids of all abilities to be able to play baseball.
The field was officially unveiled by Jays Care, the charitable arm of the Blue Jays, after a $1M capital infrastructure grant from the foundation made it possible.
“We just wanted to give kids in Toronto a chance,” said Joey Quintanilha, a Jays Care representative, “kids of all abilities, whether it's kids playing with cognitive disabilities or kids playing with physical disabilities, we wanted to just give them a field, a place where they can play, where they can feel like they're part of the game.”
The field gives a permanent place to play for kids in the Jays Care Challenger program, an adaptive baseball program with chapters throughout the country.
The opening of the diamond is in line with the work that Halladay did off the field during his playing days.
“During his time with the Blue Jays he did a ton of work with Jays Care and charitable work through Doc’s Box which has now become the Jays Care Community Clubhouse, where he would have sick kids and kids from underprivileged families come out to the game and experience their first Blue Jay game,” explained Quintanilha.
The first pitch on the new field was thrown out by one of Halladay’s sons, Braden, after the ribbon was cut by Halladay’s wife Brandy, who spoke to the media about who Roy was and what this field would’ve meant to him.
"He would be so honoured, he would be humble, he'd be embarrassed — he didn't like the attention," Brandy told reporters. "But he would've been really excited. Instead of standing here doing media he would be on the field, which says a lot about his character."
When asked what it meant to have Brandy Halladay and her sons there to open the field, Quintanilha said, ”Brandy had just as much involvement in working with Jays Care as Roy did himself. So she knew firsthand what this would've meant to him because of the work that they both did during their years in Toronto.”
Halladay grew up in Colorado but played in Toronto from 1998 to 2009. He finished his Blue Jays career with a 148-76 won/loss record – good for a .661 winning percentage, which is the best in franchise history. He also ranks second all-time among Blue Jays pitchers in wins (148), shutouts (15), strikeouts (1,495) and WAR (48.5). His No. 32 has been retired by the team.
“These kids deserve opportunities to play, they deserve to have friendships,” Jays Care president Robert Witchel told reporters at the event.
It is fitting that a player who went by the nickname Doc spent a good portion of his life off the field trying to help people, especially those dealing with disabilities, illness and marginalization. The opening of Roy Halladay Field is keeping alive the legacy of a man who was dominant on the field, and devoted off of it.
Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame pledges support for Roy Halladay Field
The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in St. Marys, Ont., announced on Wednesday that it has made a three-year commitment to the Jays Care Foundation that will be used to cover the cost of one young ball player a year to play on Roy Halladay Field.
“We are glad to be able to support the great work the Jays Care Foundation are doing in the community. With Roy being a Hall of Fame person and player, this is a great opportunity for us to be involved by supporting children so they can play,” said Jeremy Diamond, the chair of the Canadian ball hall’s board of directors.
Halladay was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2017