It was an emotional scene in Cooperstown, N.Y., on Sunday when Brandy Halladay addressed the crowd at the National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Brandy, wife of the late Roy Halladay, was on hand as Major League Baseball’s newest class took their place in baseball history.
Roy Halladay was killed Nov. 7, 2017 in a plane crash in the Gulf of Mexico. He was voted into the Hall of Fame with 85.4 percent of the vote with a career 3.83 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 2013-105 record, a perfect game, no-hitter (in the playoffs) and two Cy Young Awards.
In her speech, Brandy noted how much her husband would love to be “sitting here with such accomplished men.”
“Anybody who thinks baseball truly isn’t a family has never been involved in baseball,” she said. “I know how honored Roy would be to be sitting here with such accomplished men, who have represented the game so well through all of your careers. … This is not my speech to give. I’m going to do the best I can to say the things I believe Roy might have said or wanted to say if he was here today.”
Brandy also said it was her, as well as the couple’s two sons, who decided to not have a logo on Roy’s hat on his Hall of Fame plaque. He played for the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies over the course of his 16-year career.
“I think Roy would rather be remembered by who he was, not what he did on the ball field,” Brandy said. “He was a private person, often quiet and introverted. But he was also very generous and caring.
“Of course, he would be honored and humbled. But in true Roy form, he would have quickly given any accolades or props to all of his coaches and teammates. He was a true competitor. He went to the field every day ready to do whatever it took to give his team the best possible chance to win.”
Halladay closed out her speech by adding her husband had “perfect moments” in his career due to three things that made those moments possible.
“I think that Roy would want everyone to know that people are not perfect. That we are all imperfect and flawed in one way or another. But with hard work, humility and dedication, imperfect people can still have perfect moments. Roy was blessed in his life and his career to have some perfect moments but I believe they were only possible because of the man he strived to be, the teammate that he was and the people he was blessed to be on the field with.”
You can watch her whole speech below, but you might want to grab some tissues before you do.
