On Tuesday, a commemoration ceremony was held in Florida in honour of Roy Halladay, who died in a plane crash last week. Especially his widow Brandy was an emotional highlight.
Family members, friends and team mates shared stories and memories with about 2000 spectators in the Spectrum Field at Clearwater/Florida, the Philadelphia Phillies Jumping Training Ball Park, Halladay’s last MLB station.
Finally, Brandy Halladay stepped on the podium and gave an emotional speech:”Everyone says there are no words. But obviously you’re all wrong. There are many words. I have many words.”
“We miss him,”Brandy said, looking at her sons Braden (17) and Ryan (13),”but we still have so much of him. We still have a million telephone cables and iPads. We have enough cigars to open our own place. We have a garage full of model planes. We still have his not-so-secret, hidden supply of ice cream sandwiches. And best of all, I still see him every day when I look at you. And if that’s what it took to get you guys, then it was worth it.”
Former companions were also present, including former Blue Jays General Manager J. P. Ricciardi and former team mates from the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadlephia Phillies, including Frank Thomas, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Jose Bautista, Ryan Howard, A. J. Burnett, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Raul Ibanez.
“You were such a great example of how a superstar should behave,”Ricciardi said.
“When you become the best, what do you do then?”asked Hamel’ s:”Roy showed everyone what to do. He wasn’t presumptuous. He was the most modest person I’ve ever met.”
Phillies owner John Middleton summed up the meaning of Halladay in a few words:”Doc has overstepped the sport.”
Chase Utley, who played with Halladay at the Phillies, also addressed his words directly to his sons:”Your dad was the best team mate I ever had. He was the most fierce competitor I’ve ever seen. I’m sure you’ve heard people praising your father and telling you how proud they are of him all your life. But through all the conversations I had with him, he was much more proud of what you’ve achieved than what he’s ever achieved on the field.”
This article was published without prior view by the Major League Baseball.