Roy Halladay's No. 32 will be retired by Blue Jays

Mike Oz

We already knew the Toronto Blue Jays planned to honor Roy Halladay with a jersey patch during the 2018 season, but Monday they announced further plans to pay tribute to the gone-too-soon star pitcher.

The Jays said they’ll retire Halladay’s No. 32 jersey on opening day, making him just the second Blue Jays player to have his number retired. Roberto Alomar is the other.

Halladay died in November in a single-passenger plane crash off the coast of Florida. He was only 40. Halladay spent 12 years in a Blue Jays uniform, winning a Cy Young plus 148 games. Here’s the Blue Jays’ announcement video for the number retirement:

In announcing the move, Blue Jays president/CEO Mark Shapiro said:

“Through Roy’s values, pride, work ethic, and perseverance, he epitomized what it means to be a Blue Jay. And while his legacy is clear, it goes far beyond the number on his back or his on-field accomplishments, serving as a shining example of how to live a meaningful life and positively impact others.”

The Blue Jays aren’t the only ones who will be honoring Halladay this season. Baltimore Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman changed his number to 34 — the number Halladay wore with the Phillies — to honor Halladay, who Gausman calls his idol.

The Blue Jays announced plans to retire Roy Halladay's No. 32 on opening day. (Reuters)
The Blue Jays announced plans to retire Roy Halladay’s No. 32 on opening day. (Reuters)

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

– – – – – –

Mike Oz is a writer at Yahoo Sports. Contact him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!