The Blue Jays are giving Buck Martinez a fitting sendoff on Aug. 29, pairing his induction into the club’s newly renamed Hall of Excellence with a special bobblehead that captures the full sweep of his Toronto legacy.
The collectible doesn’t just nod to one era. It shows Martinez as a catcher from his five seasons with the Blue Jays, as manager during the 2001 and 2002 seasons, and as the familiar broadcast voice fans have heard through Sportsnet for more than a dozen years.
Martinez, 77, announced his retirement in February 2026 after Toronto’s memorable 2025 World Series run. His exit from the booth came nearly four years after he stepped away for three months during the 2022 season while undergoing cancer treatment, before returning in an inspiring comeback.
On July 24, 2026, the Blue Jays announced the bobblehead giveaway, which will go to the first 15,000 fans through the gates on Aug. 29. The team will also hold a pre-game ceremony before facing the Seattle Mariners.
Martinez will become the 12th member of the Blue Jays’ Level of Excellence, which will be transformed into the Hall of Excellence that day. He’ll join Dave Stieb, Roy Halladay, Pat Gillick, Cito Gaston, Tony Fernandez, Carlos Delgado, Tom Cheek, Joe Carter, George Bell, Paul Beeston and José Bautista.
For a lot of Blue Jays fans, it’s another chance to salute the voice that helped soundtrack the team’s rise through the 2010s and some of its biggest moments, including the 2025 World Series.
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Perrier has now stepped away from that role after a final performance following a Blue Jays win, closing the book on a run that stretched across generations of home games. Her retirement comes not long after another longtime gameday fixture, Rockin' Rick Donaldson, also moved on, leaving a noticeable gap in the unofficial cast that has long helped give Blue Jays nights around the Rogers Centre their own character. [Read more 🡒]
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The shirt-waving did not stay tucked into one corner of the stadium, either, as it spread across the park and gave the place a full-throated, almost chaotic look from the Toronto side of things. St. Louis has already leaned into the trend with a dedicated high-energy section at Busch Stadium, and Fenways latest burst of it is another reminder that the Blue Jays can run into a road environment where the crowd is as much a storyline as the baseball. [Read more 🡒]