Blue Jays honor top arms in club history

TORONTO — The backbone of every good team can be found on the pitching staff, and on Sunday afternoon, the Blue Jays celebrated their 40th anniversary by welcoming back some of their all-time greats.

Roy Halladay, Dave Stieb, Pat Hentgen and Juan Guzman were the former starters on hand, while Tom Henke, Duane Ward and Mike Timlin represented the bullpen. It was the third and final ceremony to celebrate the anniversary after the club previously honored the top players and moments in franchise history.

“I had a lot of great memories here,” said Halladay, who pitched for Toronto from 1998-2009. “A lot of exciting games. I loved playing Boston and New York, whether we were there or they were here. I loved certain teammates — Carlos Delgado, A.J. Burnett, Pat Hengten, Vernon Wells, Adam Lind, B.J. Ryan — just so many good teammates that I connected with over the years.

“Those are friendships that are built for life. I absolutely loved being here and I’m just thankful to be back. It hasn’t been a consistent trip for me to get back, so I’m very excited to be here.”

For today’s ceremonial first pitch we have the trio of Dave Stieb, Pat Hentgen & Roy Halladay each throwing it out! pic.twitter.com/tX3vWah6UH

— Blue Jays …

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