Blue Jays broadcasting legend headlines new "Hall of Excellence" at Rogers Centre

A guy who never wanted to be the centre of attention will now have the spotlight shining firmly upon him in August. Buck Martinez will be the first inductee into the Toronto Blue Jays new "Hall of Excellence" at Rogers Centre. In a video posted on social media by the club, team president and CEO Mark Shapiro went over the details about inducting Martinez into what will be a brand new feature at the home ball park of the Blue Jays.

Buck Martinez to be immortilized by Blue Jays in new "Hall of Excellence" at Rogers Centre

Shapiro says the Hall will replace the current Level of Excellence which is located around the outfield bowl of the ballpark and that all 11 of the current members of will also be included in the Hall as well. The Hall itself will be located on the 100 level concourse behind right field.

This is a great piece of news for the fans, as for years there has been a need for the Blue jays to have more emmersive and interactive experiences around the ballpark. While it will be unfortunate that the names around that Level of Excellence will be removed, there's an additional piece that involves the fans. The Blue Jays have said that the fans themselves would get to vote on all future inductees.

The current 11 members, in alphabetical order, include; José Bautista (August 12, 2023), Paul Beeston (April 4, 2008), George Bell (April 9, 1996), Joe Carter (July 30, 1999), Tom Cheek (August 29, 2004), Carlos Delgado (July 21, 2013), Tony Fernandez (September 23, 2001), Cito Gaston (July 30, 1999), Pat Gillick (August 7, 2002), Roy Halladay (March 29, 2018) and Dave Steib (April 9, 1996).
*Date of induction in parenthesis

That brings us back to Buck, who will be the 12th member of this class. Martinez began his career with the Blue Jays in 1981. After eight years with the Kansas City Royals and three with the Milwaukee Brewers, the 32-year-old catcher thought that the '81 season with the very young expansion Blue Jays would be a nice last stop for his playing career.

By the time the Blue Jays became AL East Division champions for the first time in 1985, Martinez was still around, and he played another 81 games the following season before retiring. Not long after he moved into the broadcast booth, working as a colour analyst for Blue Jays broadcasts in 1987. He stayed in the booth until 2001, when he returned to the field, this time as the manager for the Blue Jays.

Martinez and the Blue Jays went 100-115 in a year and a half under Martinez before he was let go in the 2002 campaign. He moved back into the broadcast booth in 2003, as the color commentator for Baltimore Orioles TV. He stayed there until 2009 and in 2010, he returned to the Blue Jays TV side as the team's play-by-play voice where he became renown for his unique voice and his ability to call it like he saw it.

Martinez remained a staple of Blue Jays broadcasts from that point forward, announcing his retirement in February of 2026. He took to social media that month to say, "After the World Series, my wife Arlene and I had plenty of time to think about the past and look forward to our future. After many heartfelt conversations, we both decided it was time for me to step out of the booth and enjoy the years ahead."

It's a deserving honor for someone who has been involved with a franchise in some way, shape or form for the last 40 years.