LEAGUES News
Halladay won't represent any team on Hall of Fame plaque
Roy Halladay will enter Cooperstown without a logo on his plaque, the new Hall of Famer's widow, Brandy, announced Wednesday, according to Sportsnet's Arash Madani.
"This is the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame," she explained to Madani. "It's not the Phillies Hall of Fame, it's not the Blue Jays Hall of Fame. Roy's going in as a Major League Baseball player, and I think that's important and that's what he is.
"And I hope that he represents something to all of baseball, not just the Phillie fans or Blue Jay fans, but to baseball as a whole. And that's how I think he should be represented there."
She added that the family also made the decision to respect both Toronto and Philadelphia, the "two cities he loved," according to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Brandy Halladay said Roy will not have a Blue Jays or a Phillies logo on his cap for his Hall of Fame plaque. She said it was an easy decision because both teams meant so much to him. Admirable strength and poise as she and their sons met with the media.
— Tyler Kepner (@TylerKepner) January 23, 2019
The Hall of Fame - which has final approval on all cap decisions - confirmed Wednesday that the Halladay family's decision "was made in concert with the (museum)."
The Baseball Hall of Fame is respecting the Halladay family decision to have Roy Halladay go into Cooperstown not representing the Blue Jays or the Phillies.
— Arash Madani (@ArashMadani) January 23, 2019
This is the statement about the Halladay matter provided to me from the Hall of Fame -- pic.twitter.com/KLPaNb93d0
Halladay will be far from the first Hall of Famer to sport a blank cap on the walls of Cooperstown. Most recently, Greg Maddux and Tony La Russa - who, like Halladay, were commonly associated with multiple teams - opted to go in logo-less in 2014.
Halladay, who died in a plane crash in 2017, was elected to the Hall of Fame on his first ballot Tuesday. He spent 12 seasons with the Blue Jays and four with the Phillies, winning a Cy Young Award with each club.
Although he spent the bulk of his career in a Blue Jays uniform and he ranks among the franchise leaders in virtually every pitching category, Doc's two postseason appearances and both of his no-hitters - including one in the playoffs - came with Philadelphia.
| Team | Years | GP | W-L | ERA | K/BB | CG/SHO | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOR | 1998-2009 | 313 | 148-76 | 3.43 | 1495/455 | 49/15 | 48.5 |
| PHI | 2010-13 | 103 | 55-29 | 3.25 | 622/137 | 18/5 | 17.0 |
(WAR courtesy: Baseball-Reference)
The Blue Jays retired his No. 32 and added him to their Level of Excellence on Opening Day last year, while the Phillies inducted Halladay into their Wall of Fame last summer.
In 2016, Halladay - who had signed a one-day contract to retire as a Blue Jay three years earlier - stated that he wanted to represent Toronto in the Hall of Fame. At the time of his death, he was employed by the Phillies as a mental skills coach.
