Russell Martin and Jimmy Key, two former Blue Jays players, will be admitted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
Inductions into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame are scheduled for this spring for former Toronto Blue Jays all-stars Jimmy Key and Russell Martin.
Former national team pitcher Rod Heisler, longtime Toronto Leaside baseball executive Howard Birnie, former Blue Jays president and CEO Paul Godfrey, and former women’s national team member Ashley Stephenson are also in the Class of 2024, the Hall said on Tuesday.
“Jeremy Diamond, the chair of the Hall board, stated in a release that every member of this year’s class has had a tremendous impact on baseball in Canada.” “We look forward to celebrating their outstanding careers in St. Marys this June.”
At the Hall of Fame grounds in the town in southwest Ontario, approximately 30 minutes away from London, an induction ceremony is set for June 15.Being from Huntsville, Alabama, Key spent seven seasons as a key member of Toronto’s starting lineup.
Martin contributed to the Jays’ playoff drought ending. In 1985, he posted a 14-6 record with a 3.00 earned-run average, earning him his first all-star selection. After going 17-8 with an AL-best 2.76 ERA in 1987, Key—who was selected by the Blue Jays in the 1982 draft was voted the American League pitcher of the year by Sporting News.
“I would like to thank the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and their executive committee for this great honour,” Key explained. “Playing in Toronto for the Blue Jays organization for nine fantastic years comes to an end with this recognition.”
“To be a part of the first professional baseball world championship team in Canada is the highlight of my career.”
Key played major league baseball for fifteen years. His other teams were the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees.
After playing for Canada in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, Martin, a native of Toronto, spent 14 seasons in the major leagues. That autumn, he helped the Blue Jays snap a 22-year playoff drought by signing with them prior to the 2015 campaign.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, with whom Martin spent his first five major league seasons, were the team with which he finished his career after playing for the Blue Jays until 2018.
Longtime Toronto politician Godfrey was part in the effort that resulted in the construction of Sky Dome (now Rogers Centre), which opened its doors in 1989, and he also helped pave the way for the city to acquire an MLB franchise in 1976. Reappointed to the position in 2000, he served as the Blue Jays’ president and CEO until 2008.
The Mississauga, Ontario native Stephenson spent 15 seasons with the first women’s national team, having been a member of the team since 2004. Two silvers and four bronzes were hers in the Women’s World Cup. With the High-A Vancouver Canadians, she is now a position coach.
Heisler, a Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, native, pitched for the men’s national team in a record fourteen international contests. He also played in the 1988 Games in Seoul and began Canada’s opening match in the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984.
As a player, coach, and umpire, Birnie has almost 70 years of experience in baseball in his hometown of Toronto. For his fifty years of volunteer work in amateur baseball, he was honored with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Award in 2012.