Roberto Alomar made Toronto Blue Jays history many times in his playing career, though he played for a few other teams. Alomar made history recently by being the first Blue Jay to have his number retired (#12), and now he is the first Hall of Famer with a Toronto Blue Jays cap.
If Dave Van Horne wore a cap in his Hall of Fame induction, he would certainly go in as a Montréal Expo. The long-time broadcaster, now with the Florida Marlins, won the Ford C. Frick Award, his ticket into the Hall of Fame. Van Horne covered Expos games on radio and TV from the team's inception in 1969 until 2000. In fact, the 2000 season was broadcast only on the Internet since Expos owner Jeffrey Loria (and Van Horne's current boss) refused to put the games on radio. The ultimate podcast.
Van Horne actually went into the Hall in a ceremony on Saturday afternoon. The effort is to streamline the Sunday ceremony. But given how few chances (Gary Carter, Andre Dawson) Expos fans have had to beam about the Hall of Fame, and Montréal is one of the closest major league cities to Cooperstown, the move was bittersweet.
Pat Gillick would have also gone in as a Toronto Blue Jay if that was an option. And Gillick brought in Alomar and Joe Carter in a big trade. Toronto gave up Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez, a lot of talent in itself, but got back tools to win back-to-back World Series in 1992 and 1993.
The following are relevant highlights from the induction speeches of the Baseball Hall of Fame ceremonies over the weekend.
Dave Van Horne
"Being an American, I was new to Montréal. But how could you not be moved hearing 'O Canada' for the first time in a major league ballpark. To look through my binoculars and see tears streaming down the faces of Charles Bronfman, the owner, and Mayor Jean Drapeau of Montréal, seated in the box seats. It was obvious to me what that moment meant to all of Canada."
Pat Gillick
"Thank you, you guys from Canada for coming, it's pretty special. ... By that time, Doris and I had a daughter and we lived outside Atlanta, and when the call came to consider working for an expansion club in Toronto, we thought it would be a great new challenge, except that it ended up living 30 years in that beautiful Canadian city. For a baseball person, it was a dream come true. Imagine being able to build a team from scratch in a city where everyone was excited about finally having a major league team. ... April in Toronto, playing in Exhibition Stadium on the shore of Lake Ontario I can assure you was not a walk in the park, but it was baseball, it was exciting and new and a family affair. ... We want to thank our friends that have come from all over the United States, Canada and Latin America to honor me with their presence on this day."
Roberto Alomar
"I want to congratulate my fellow 2011 inductees, Bert Blyleven, Pat Gillick who brought me to Toronto and gave me the chance to win two World Series. Thank you, Pat, I appreciate that. Thank you. And I'm very proud to be able to share this moment with you both. ... And I would like to say a special thank to Cito Gaston. Cito, I know you're watching. I know you're not here today, but I want to say thank you for teaching me how to be a professional. You have taught me so much throughout my career and for that I am extremely grateful. I have so much respect for you as a manager and as a person. Thank you, thank you, Cito Gaston. ... And especially, to all the Toronto Blue Jay fans as well the entire organization, thank you for your loyalty and support. My time in Toronto was the best of my career. It was with Toronto that we won two World Series together. You guys embraced me from day one. You were with me through ups and downs and I am so proud to represent you here in Cooperstown as the first Toronto Blue Jay inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Thank you, thank you. So thank you for sharing this incredible moment in my life with me. I consider the Toronto Blue Jays organization an extension of my own family. I especially want to thank a person that to me means a lot, Mr. Paul Beeston. Paul, you are like a second father to me. Thank you for everything you have done for me. You are so valued in my heart. Thank you, Paul. ... And in closing, I would like to say to my family, to my fans, to all the Puerto Rican people and Canadians and the game of baseball, you are and will always be my life and my love."
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