Owner Calvin Griffith, stats guru Allan Roth to be enshrined posthumously
Thursday, January 28, 2010
St. Marys – Roberto Alomar, arguably the greatest all-round Toronto Blue Jay player ever, and Canadian pitcher Paul Quantrill, whose 841 game appearances rank him 35th all-time in major league history and first among Canadians, will be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame on June 19th, 2010 in St. Marys, Ontario.
Joining the duo of former Blue Jays will be a pair of Montrealers who will be enshrined posthumously.
Calvin Griffith, who began his 60 years in baseball as a batboy with the Washington Senators, had a brief minor league career and then re-joined the Senators front office. He took ownership of the team in 1955, moved them to Minneapolis in 1961, and owned the Twins until 1984. Griffith, who will be represented by his son Clark at the Induction Ceremony, passed away in 1999 at the age of 87.
Allan Roth, referred to as the “Father of Sabermetrics” by Bill James, was a pioneer in convincing teams to use baseball statistics as a tactic. After charting stats for his hometown Montreal Canadiens and the National Hockey League, Roth became the first full-time statistician to be hired by a major league club when Brooklyn Dodgers’ president & general manager Branch Rickey hired him in 1947. Roth, who will be represented by his son Michael at the Induction Ceremony, died in 1992 at the age of 74.
“Quantrill, Griffith and Roth further demonstrate the often-underestimated impact that Canadians have had on so many facets of the baseball industry,” said Ball Hall president & CEO Tom Valcke.
“And while we do not strive to be identified as the Expos/Blue Jays Hall of Fame, there is little doubt that the calibre of player that Robbie Alomar was during his time with the Jays penetrated every grass roots program from coast to coast and helped develop infielders. Being superb at his position made countless Canadian youth wish that they could play like Robbie Alomar, and that distinction is why we’ll be honoring him here in St. Marys in June.”
Roberto Alomar
“This is an honour, truly a privilege,” said an excited Alomar, who is currently in Toronto launching a clothing line.
“I cherished my years with the Blue Jays and have always loved the Canadian people. Those years were the very best of my career.”
