City of Toronto, Blue Jays unveil accessible baseball diamond in Roy Halladay’s name
Global News
“It’s a dream Roy and I had,” said Brandy Halladay, wife of the former Toronto Blue Jays legend.
Toronto’s first-ever fully-accessible baseball field was unveiled to a crowd of supporters on Wednesday morning. The city’s newest baseball diamond at Highview Park in Scarborough is called Roy Halladay field, named after the popular Blue Jays pitcher, who died in November 2017.
“This has been such a long time coming and to be able to see it in person and seeing it be used in real-time is amazing. It’s a dream Roy and I had,” said Brandy Halladay, wife of the former Blue Jays legend.
The baseball diamond is unlike any other in the city of Toronto, featuring vulcanized rubber for traction, and wider dugouts for wheelchair accessibility. The field will be used by kids as part of the Challenger Baseball league, which was created for children living with cognitive and/or physical disabilities. The Jays Care Foundation will provide adaptive baseball programming at Highview Park for a five-year term.
According to Brandy, it was important to Roy that the game of baseball is accessible to everyone. She added that while they no longer live in Toronto, it was important for them to give back to the city that made them feel so welcomed. Roy’s son, Braeden, threw the first pitch to officially mark the opening of the baseball diamond before a game ensued.
“You’re stuck with us, like it or not; we’re very invested in this city and the people. To be able to continue his legacy and champion the causes that were really important to him, that’s very special to me,” she said.
The Blue Jays said they’re happy that the Halladay name will be immortalized in Toronto for years to come.
“The Halladay family is an incredible part of the Blue Jays family. And Roy, when he was here for 12 years, did so much in the community. A lot of it was behind the scenes,” said Robert Witchel, executive director of Jays Care Foundation.
“We were so pleased that we were able to partner with the city and bring this together and make it happen.”
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