Blue Jays honor Roy Halladay ahead of series with Phillies

Legendary Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Roy Halladay would have turned 44 on Friday — the same day the two teams fittingly will kick off a three-game interleague series against each other in Dunedin, Florida.

As the Phillies plan to soon retire Halladay’s No. 34 — joining Richie Ashburn (1), Jim Bunning (14), Dick Allen (15), Mike Schmidt (20), Steve Carlton (32), Robin Roberts (36), and Jackie Robinson (42) — the Blue Jays announced on Friday that Toronto’s first accessible baseball diamond will be named after the Hall of Fame pitcher.

The Blue Jays announce Roy Halladay Field ahead of their home Phillies set.

Roy Halladay Field will be a safe space for athletes of all abilities — including those of Jays Care’s Challenger Baseball program for Canadian kids living with cognitive and/or physical disabilities.

The space will foster opportunities for athletes to learn and develop important life skills through the game of baseball.

“I am very excited for the completion of this amazing, inclusive baseball field,” said Brandy Halladay, the wife of the late Doc. “Roy and I had the privilege of meeting countless inspirational kids and their families through SickKids and our program, Doc’s Box. We often talked about how incredible it would be to have a baseball field where every child could easily be a part of the game that we all love.”

During Halladay’s dozen seasons playing in Toronto, among he and his family’s significant contributions to the community was establishing Doc’s Box — which allowed SickKids children and their families to attend Blue Jays games in-person. This tradition lives on, as thousands of kids continue to attend Blue Jays games each year in what is now called the Jays Care Community Clubhouse.

“Roy would be so proud to have his name associated with this project, but he would be even happier to see the faces of the kids and families who will benefit from it,” Brandy added. “I applaud the people who saw the need and did the work to bring this field of dreams to fruition.”

Roy Halladay Field’s construction began in 2019 and is expected to be completed this summer. The Phillies planned to retire Halladay’s number last season on what would have been the 10th anniversary of his perfect game against the Florida Marlins. Hopefully, the ceremony will be rescheduled to this summer, as COVID-19 restrictions continue to safely loosen and more fans return to the ballpark.