Ashley Stephenson (Mississauga, Ont.) delivers her inspirational Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame induction speech. Photo: Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame

June 17, 2024

By Zach Worden

Canadian Baseball Network

No hurricane, earthquake or adversity you could throw her way was going to keep Ashley Stephenson from carving out her place in Canadian baseball history — that much was made clear as she was officially inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame on Saturday.

The first-ever member of Canada’s Women’s National Team and just the second woman to be immortalized in the hall individually, Stephenson continues to be a trailblazer in the sport north of the border, adding another line to what was already a loaded resume.

While Saturday’s induction was certainly about celebrating Stephenson’s career, the spotlight shone a little bit brighter on the women’s game, as well.

“I think it’s really important,” Stephenson said about what her induction meant for other women down the road. “Like the old saying, ‘If you can see it, you can be it.’ When I grew up playing, I didn’t see anybody on TV…I didn’t see women, but I saw (Devon White), I saw (Joe) Carter, I saw (John) Olerud. All those guys, excellent people and great role models.

“Now, you can turn on the TV and see women… Women are starting to break down barriers; I’m happy to be a part of that.”

However, Stephenson says the work is just beginning.

“I never dreamt that this would be something that I would be doing. I always played because I loved it, and I always worked hard, and I’ve kind of been rewarded for it,” she said. “Now people say, ‘You’re a little bit of a trailblazer or pioneer,’ and I wear that with pride and honour.

“Hopefully, I inspire the next generation of young girls, but there’s lots of things to be done to continue to have this moving forward.”

Five members of the Class of 2024 and 2023 Jack Graney Award winner Buck Martinez gave excellent speeches in front of a packed crowd Saturday in St. Marys, but Stephenson delivered perhaps the most important message of the afternoon.

She gave all those in attendance a call to action.

“There’s not a lot of us who have had the chance to be up here… and in order for our great game to grow, we need real investment in women’s baseball at a grassroots level, at a provincial level, at a national level and at an international level,” she said. “There are things I never got to experience simply because I was born a girl and not a boy…

“We can make real change with positive people in the right spots who are looking to make that change. We need girls to have an opportunity to go to their local organization, sign up to play baseball and play baseball, not to be encouraged to play softball or to say you're going to have to play on a boys' team.”

Stephenson continued by adding that there are the same number of national championships and international events in 2024 as there were in 2004, saying that women’s baseball in Canada needs a Junior National Team and more competitions and training opportunities.

“I always say, ‘If people know better, they’ll do better,’ and some people didn’t even know we had a Women’s National Team. So, if we know better, we will do better, and part of that is a request from everyone in this room to continue to help us build our game,” Stephenson said to finish her speech.

On the field, Stephenson’s legacy stems from her competitive spirit, leadership ability and passion for the game.

She played with the National Team for 15 years, leading the squad to three silver medals and four bronze medals and was named a tournament All-Star at the 2008 WBSC World Cup.

Stephenson was also named National Team MVP in 2005 and 2008 and earned Baseball Canada’s Jimmy Rattlesnake Award, which recognizes a member of Canada who demonstrated “outstanding ability and sportsmanship” in 2011 and 2016. After helping Canada to a bronze medal in her final World Cup in 2018, batting .455 with eight RBIs, the award was renamed after her.

“I just kept playing, I know there are certainly roadblocks, but my parents did such an amazing job, just allowing me to continue to play,” Stephenson said Saturday morning before the ceremony. “I had amazing coaches and amazing teammates who just kind of treated me normal, and I know that's not everybody's story … all these stars aligned for me to have these opportunities, and with hard work and good fortune I was able to take advantage of them.”

Reflecting on her career throughout the day, Stephenson credited both her parents for her love of the game. Her dad, who passed away when she was eight, for her enjoyment of baseball, and her mom for her competitive drive.

She also shared stories of her time with the National Team, and how natural disasters have followed them across the world.

Canada was in Cuba in 2005 for a friendly series, which just happened to take place as Hurricane Dennis hit the country. Mother Nature wasn’t done with the Canucks there, as in 2006, the team was in Taiwan for the World Cup during an earthquake that rated a 6.5 on the Richter Scale.

“Just the craziest of stories we’ve had and I’ve had all these moments and memories with the best teammates, and we’ve had a really fun time the last few days sharing in those,” Stephenson said.

Stephenson has continued to build out her Hall of Fame career since retiring from the playing side of the game and moving into a coaching role. She continues to pass on her knowledge and experience to the next wave of baseball players, coaching with the Blue Jays Academy, Blue Jays Futures Showcase, Women’s National Team, and the Toronto Blue Jays’ High-A affiliate, the Vancouver Canadians.

She was back with the C’s right after the ceremony, jetting back to catch the final game of Vancouver’s series on Sunday.

“I knew my playing days would end at some point, and I’m a teacher, I love to coach, and I knew when I finished playing, I was going to coach. It was in me to do that, so I transitioned right away,” she said.

In her first year with Vancouver, Stephenson helped bring some more hardware north, as the Canadians captured the Northwest League title.

“I’m forever grateful for that opportunity,” she later added about joining the Blue Jays organization. “I keep talking about good fortune, but it really is. I worked really hard for these chances. But I also got really lucky. There's a lot of women in Canada who have had amazing careers and who could be doing what I'm doing. And maybe … the stars didn't align for them. And they really have for me.

“I'm really grateful for that. But I worked hard, and I understand that, but I have been very lucky as well.”

Worden: Trailblazing Stephenson inspires, calls for action in Canadian ball hall induction speech