SOURCE: Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
St. Marys, Ont. – Toronto-born outfielder Rob Ducey, who made his big league debut in 1987 and suited up for both the Blue Jays and Expos, will be enshrined into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame this weekend in St. Marys, Ontario.
The ceremony is scheduled to take place on the museum grounds at 386 Church St. in St. Marys, Ont. on Saturday, June 29 at 11 a.m. The ceremony will be part of three days of event for the ball shrine.
Former Blue Jay and 1985 AL MVP George Bell and former Montréal Expo Tim Raines will also be inducted, along with Blue Jays broadcasting legend Tom Cheek and Vancouver baseball icon Nat Bailey, both of whom will be honoured posthumously.
Born in Toronto in 1965, Ducey was raised in Cambridge, Ont. The left-handed hitting outfielder was signed as a free agent by the Blue Jays in 1984. After being named MVP of the Rookie Ball Medicine Hat Blue Jays that year, he rose through the organization’s ranks to make his big league debut on May 1, 1987. His first major league homer came on September 14, 1987 in a contest in which the Jays clubbed a big league record 10 round-trippers to defeat the Orioles 18-3.
The talented Canadian suited up for parts of five more seasons with the Jays, prior to being dealt to the Angels in 1992. Tenures with the Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners and Philadelphia Phillies would follow, as well as a two-year stint in the Japanese Pacific League with the Nippon Ham Fighters in 1995 and 1996 that saw him belt 51 home runs. He returned to Toronto for five games in 2000 and saw his final big league action with the Montreal Expos in 2001, making him the second Canadian (along with Denis Boucher) to start his major league career with the Jays and end it with the Expos. Ducey is also one of only four Canadians (Boucher, Shawn Hill and Matt Stairs are the others) to suit up for both the Jays and Expos. In all, Ducey played 19 seasons in professional baseball, making him one of just 12 Canadians to do so.
Following his professional career, Ducey competed for Canada at the 2004 Olympics and served as a coach at the 2006 World Baseball Classic and 2008 Olympics. He has also been a scout for the Blue Jays and is currently working in player development for a Mexican League team.
Twenty years ago George Bell and Tim Raines were teammates with the Chicago White Sox, but Canadians will best remember them for their starring roles with the Toronto Blue Jays and Montreal Expos.
While Bell was belting 47 home runs en route to the American League MVP award for the Blue Jays in 1987, Raines was tallying a National League-leading 123 runs and serving as the catalyst of the Expos’ offence.
In the mid-to-late ’80s, many baseball pundits would’ve agreed that Bell and Raines were the top two offensive left fielders in the game.
“I couldn’t be more excited about this year’s festivities,” said Scott Crawford, the Hall’s director of operations. “Thanks to the efforts of our volunteers, sponsors and devoted staff, we’re offering something for everyone during the three days of activities, and I can’t wait to honour the careers of our five worthy inductees.”
To find out more about the other inductees and to view the full schedule of events for induction weekend, please click HERE.
