Toronto Blue Jays: Roy Halladay’s induction brings focus to legacy he left

Roy Halladay got his call to Cooperstown as another Toronto Blue Jays player is inducted into the Hall of Fame and it was a memorable celebration.

As baseball loyalty gathered in Cooperstown, N.Y., to celebrate the induction of 2019 Hall of Fame class, Toronto Blue Jays fans and Brandy Halladay were trying to keep emotions in check as Roy Halladay‘s plaque was unveiled.

Brandy had the toughest job out of anyone, but she understood what the honour meant to her husband and her family. She didn’t try to hide her emotions and frankly it would be difficult to keep them in check but she also made it a point to remain composed as she went through her speech to the crowd.

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There was no doubt of whether Halladay would get into the Hall of Fame, he had the accolades, performance and most importantly, the respect among those with the right to vote. Thankfully, the decision to have Halladay go in with a generic cap was not a talking point, instead both teams were thanked for the way they handled the decision.

Out of all the quotes from her speech, Halladay’s wife found the perfect words to describe the mentality that made him successful in life both on and off the diamond.

"“I think that Roy would want people to know that people aren’t perfect,” Brandy Halladay said via Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. “We are all imperfect and flawed in one way or another. We all struggle but with hard work, humility and dedication, imperfect people can still have perfect moments. Roy was blessed in his life and in his career to have some perfect moments, but I believe they were only possible because of the man he strived to be, the teammate that he was and the people he was so blessed to be on the field with.”"

This is what made Halladay one of the most dominant pitchers of his time and it’s rather unfortunate he didn’t win a World Series with the Blue Jays or Phillies. Instead of wondering what was, we should be remembering the memories that made us baseball fans and Halladay was certainly among the main reasons Toronto survived challenging seasons.

Former teammate Chris Carpenter did a great job in the tribute video for Halladay because as someone who spent a lot of time both on and off the field with him, Carpenter knew what made him special as a player.

When you look back on Sunday’s ceremony, you have to appreciate the difficulty in honouring someone who isn’t with us anymore. There is the constant wonder of whether you had done enough, said the right things but in this case, everyone should be satisfied.

What did you think of the ceremony? What was your favourite part of Halladay’s speech? Let us know in the comments below.