Buck Martinez given 2023 Jack Graney award
Longtime Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez is the winner of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Jack Graney Award.
The annual award handed out from St. Marys Ont. shrine recognizes a media member for their significant lifelong contributions to Canadian baseball. Martinez, a former Jays player and manager, has spent 41 years in the broadcast booth.
“When people talk about the Toronto Blue Jays, one of the first names they will mention is Buck Martinez,” said Jeremy Diamond, chair of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s board of directors. “He started as a catcher with the club in 1981 and later managed the team, but he’s best known as an insightful, respected and beloved analyst on the team’s TV broadcasts. Over the past three decades, Buck has taught so many of us so much about the game. We are proud to honour him with this award.”
In all, Martinez’s resume in professional baseball boasts 20 years as a player, 41 as a broadcaster and two as a manager.
“I was very surprised and happy to hear from the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame that I have been named the 2023 Jack Graney Award winner. There are many great names on the list of past winners, many who I have worked with or alongside for many years. Two names on the list that mean the most to me, giving me a great deal of pleasure to join them are Tom Cheek and Len Bramson. Without their support and direction I would not have had the wonderful career in broadcasting that I have enjoyed!,” he said.
— With files from The Canadian Press
