Hall of Excellence honoree Buck Martinez brings down the Blue Jays house with one more swing and drive

Published Aug 29, 2026  •  4 minute read

Buck Martinez waves to the crowd during a Hall of Excellence ceremony at the Rogers Centre yesterday. Photo by Cole Burston /Getty Images

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There were tears and tissues, hugs and a held hand with his wife Arlene throughout a terrific and touching ceremony to celebrate a brilliant baseball life.

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But Buck Martinez, cancer survivor, former big league catcher and manager and iconic voice of the Blue Jays, delivered one final flurry for a sellout crowd of 41,512 at the Rogers Centre on Saturday afternoon.

After touching all the right notes, Martinez punctuated his stirring acceptance speech as the initial inductee into the Blue Jays Hall of Excellence with a spirited version of his signature call.

“Swing and a drive, get up ball, get outta here, I’m gone,” Martinez said, bringing the house down, before hustling to the mound to toss the ceremonial first pitch to current manager John Schneider.

It was the perfect line for a perfect celebration orchestrated by the Blue Jays and hosted by Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae, a ceremony that touchingly honoured a lifetime of work and a labour of love for Martinez.

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And Buck was at his absolute best, showering praise on Arlene, who has stuck by and partnered with him throughout his lengthy and fierce battle with cancer, not to mention holding things together through the five decades they’ve been married to each other and to baseball.

They came to Toronto in 1981, where Martinez expected to last a season as a player before moving on. Minus an interlude in Baltimore in the middle of the lengthy broadcasting career that ultimately defined him, they lasted the better part of four decades as Canada’s voice of baseball, ending with last year’s incredible World Series run.

And now he’s forever enshrined as Mr. Blue Jay, an honour that means the world to Martinez, even if it would have been the farthest thing from his mind when he first set foot here.

“It’s hard to really grasp,” Martinez said of the ceremony in which one of his gifts from the team included a customized golf cart driven onto the Rogers Centre carpet by current Jays George Springer and Ernie Clement. “

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“Because there’s so many great players and great managers and so much great history. “The Blue Jays did such a wonderful job putting this together. It was great to say thank-you to the fans, who have been so good to me for so many years.

“It’s very humbling. Today just blew me away.”

Ernie Clement and George Springer bring golf clubs to former Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez during a Hall of Excellence ceremony. Photo by Cole Burston /Getty Images

Buck’s most special guests

It was a difficult start to the day for Martinez when he ventured into the hotel lobby and couldn’t move amid all the fans.

He held it all together, though, and was his terrific, powerful self when it was time to get behind the mic and address the sellout crowd.

Earlier, he watched an outstanding tribute video while seated and holding hands with Arlene, both of them brought to tears by the end of it. Having his wife of 51 years by his side meant the world to Martinez and he wasn’t shy about sharing the sentiment.

“She has been awesome (throughout his career) and she did even more during my cancer,” Martinez said. “I don’t know how many of you really know her, but she’s tough. She didn’t let doctors get away with anything. She helped me (battle cancer) twice. (The celebration) meant everything to her.”

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Another example of the profound way Martinez touches lives was revealed in another guest. Dr. Steven Frank, who tirelessly treated Martinez at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

“We have a tremendous bond,” Martinez said. “He was a catcher at the University of Pennsylvania and became a diver on a nuclear submarine for three years. He has a wonderful family and made a point of coming here.

“He’s leaving at 5 o’clock because it’s his birthday tomorrow. He’s a pretty special guy.”

Joining Martinez on the field was his son Casey and his wife and their three daughters, long-time broadcast partner Pat Tabler and fellow Hall of Excellence members: George Bell, Joe Carter, Carlos Delgado, Dave Stieb, Cito Gaston, Pat Gillick, Paul Beeston and Jose Bautista.

A baseball man through and through

Among the many things that resonated with those who worked with or near Martinez is his deep-rooted baseball knowledge. Marry that with a will and passion to communicate and you get a man that could tell stories to a television audience that on Sportsnet often topped a million viewers or offer wisdom to current players or managers.

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Count John Schneider among that latter group. The Jays skipper first knew Martinez by that distinctive voice he’d hear calling Jays games on television. Later it was as a trusted confidant.

“He has a very unique way about him that can support players or hold players accountable but … different language,” Schneider said with a laugh.

In other words, off mic Buck could be colourful Buck. The current Jays manager remembers a round of golf in Florida at an important fork in his managerial career.

“This is after 2023 where the season did not end great and there’s a lot of (bleep) flying everywhere so we’re golfing and kind of talking through all of it,” Schneider said prior to Saturday’s game against the Mariners. “And he has a vantage point of calling the game but being in a dugout and all the things that managers deal with.

“He has a very good way about him to say ‘this is important, this is not important. Make sure you are leaning into the things that are important.

“He’s always, always very interactive, very talkative, very happy to have a long conversation or tell stories.”

On Saturday, there was a chance to hear some more of them. And a living, breathing reminder of how profoundly Martinez has touched so many lives in the sport that has been his life and in the adopted city and country that has celebrated him.

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