On Tuesday, Roy Halladay was announced as a member of this year’s Baseball Hall of Fame class of inductees. The late pitcher, who passed away in 2017 after a tragic plane crash, played 16 years in the MLB with the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies.
In an unusual decision, however, Halladay’s family has requested that he enter the Hall without a team logo on his plaque.
“He was a major-league baseball player and that’s how we want him to be remembered,” said Brandy Halladay, wife of Roy, to reporters. Halladay played 12 seasons with the Blue Jays before being traded to Philadelphia, where he played another four seasons, and signed a ceremonial one-day contract with Toronto when he retired to do so as a member of the Jays.
It remains to be seen if the Hall of Fame will grant this request. Only two players have entered the Hall without a primary team: Greg Maddux, who played 11 seasons with the Braves and 10 with the Cubs, and Catfish Hunter, who was a member of World Series teams with the Athletics as well as the Yankees. (Tony La Russa also has a neutral plaque as a manager.)
It’s certainly an unusual decision, especially for a player who was primarily known for his Jays tenure, but Halladay’s family does have the right to choose the team that Halladay represents in the Hall.
Upon the announcement of Roy’s election into the Hall of Fame, Brandy Halladay also released a heartfelt statement, thanking the voters for voting him in on the first ballot.
