We’ve all had a couple of days to reflect on the tragic death of former Blue Jays great Roy Halladay.
The two-time Cy Young Award winner was killed Tuesday afternoon when his two-seater airplane plunged into the water off St. Petersburg, Fla.
We still don’t know the circumstances surrounding the crash. Was it pilot error? Did something go wrong with the aircraft? It will take some time to find that out.
What should happen right now is an announcement from Blue Jays brass that Halladay’s No. 32 will be retired.
The Jays don’t play again until next spring so an official ceremony will have to wait until then, but why not make the decision now?
Halladay will become eligible to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019, and whether he’s a first-ballot entrant into Cooperstown or not, Doc will get in.
But again, that won’t happen for at least a couple of years.
And in addition to retiring Halladay’s number, his name should be added to the ‘Level of Excellence’ at Rogers Centre which honours the best of the best Blue Jays in franchise history.
Only Roberto Alomar, George Bell, Joe Carter, Tom Cheek, Carlos Delgado, Tony Fernandez, Cito Gaston, Dave Steib, Paul Beeston and Pat Gillick have been given the club’s highest honour.
Halladay should too.
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