Former Expos pitcher Pedro Martinez, Blue Jays outfielder Lloyd Moseby, and baseball historian William Humber will be inducted into Canada's Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys this summer.
"Each of this year’s inductees has had a tremendous influence on baseball in this country," said Scott Crawford, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s director of operations. "Pedro Martinez and Lloyd Moseby are two of the most successful and beloved stars to have played for major league teams in Canada and Bill Humber’s commitment to promoting the history of the game in this country has been unparalleled."
Martinez was born in Manoguayabo, Dominican Republic, in 1971. He signed as an amateur free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1988 before being dealt to the Montreal Expos for Delino DeShields on November 19, 1993.
His best year with the Expos was in 1997. He posted a 17-8 record and led the league with a 1.90 ERA. He led the National League in strikeouts with 305 and was the only Expos pitcher to win the National League Cy Young Award.
Martinez would go on and play with the Red Sox, Mets, and Phillies.
Martinez says his godson, current Blue Jays outfielder Vladimir Guerrero Jr., has the potential to be even better than his father, 2018 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Vladimir Guerrero. Martinez said "I was always aware of what he was doing. That's my godson. I think he's going to be as special as Vladdy, and maybe a little more disciplined at the plate. A lot of raw power in that kid."
Lloyd Moseby was born in Portland, Ark., in 1959 and grew in Oakland, Calif. He was selected second overall by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1978 MLB draft.
He would become the Jays starting centre fielder for a decade and in 1983 batted .315, with 18 home runs, 31 doubles, seven triples, and 27 stolen bases. He earned the Silver Slugger Award that year.
He then posted back-to-back 20-home run, 30-stolen base seasons in 1986 and 1987 and was an AL All-Star selection in 1986.
Moseby said he knew nothing about Canada before being selected by the Blue Jays second overall in the 1978 MLB Amateur Draft.
"I went to Medicine Hat on a trip, and from that point on, I've been a Canadian," he said. "I love Toronto and have loved all the places in Canada that I've visited."
William Humber was born in Toronto in 1949 and currently lives in Bowmanville. He is widely acknowledged as Canada’s premier baseball historian.
On top of the countless presentations about Canadian baseball history that he has done across North America, Humber has authored several groundbreaking books on the topic, including Cheering for the Home Team (1983), Let’s Play Ball: Inside the Perfect Game (1989), The Baseball Book and Trophy (1993), and Diamonds of the North: A Concise History of Baseball in Canada (1995).
For his contributions, Humber was made an honorary inductee into the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004 and is a recipient of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal, which is awarded to Canadians who have made outstanding and exemplary contributions to their communities or to Canada as a whole.
He still is a regular contributor on baseball matters to radio and TV shows throughout Canada and the U.S.
Humber's father moved to Canada while a member of the British Army.
"The first thing he did with my brother and I was take us to a baseball game at old Maple Leaf Stadium," said Humber. "I can remember from my earliest days, going to those games in the late 1950s, I just fell in love with the atmosphere of the game, walking into the stadium, the green grass."
The induction ceremony will take place on June 16 in St. Marys.