Toronto – The entire city of Toronto was shocked when the Toronto Blue Jays leadership announced that they would spend $35 million to build a monumental memorial to the legendary Jimmy Key – one of the greatest pitchers in the team’s history.

The decision was announced this morning, causing the fan community to explode with emotion. This is the first time in history that the Blue Jays have spent such a huge budget just to honor a player.

“Jimmy Key was more than just a pitcher, he was the heart and soul of our early glory years. This memorial is the Blue Jays way of saying that Toronto will never forget him,” – Team President Mark Shapiro said emotionally.

The Jimmy Key Memorial is planned to be built right in front of the main entrance of Rogers Centre, with a height of 8 meters, combining a monolithic bronze statue and a modern display area using AR technology to recreate Key’s legendary throws in a Blue Jays shirt.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Jimmy Key’s MLB debut in Toronto’s shirt.

Immediately after the announcement, social networks were flooded with emotional shares and tears from the fan community:

“He deserves this more than anyone else. Jimmy Key wrote our history.”

“The Blue Jays are finally doing what fans have been waiting for for three decades.”

Jimmy Key played for the Blue Jays from 1984 to 1992, and was instrumental in their first World Series win in 1992. He had a 3.42 ERA and over 100 wins for Toronto, becoming one of the most consistent and reliable pitchers in the team’s history.

He was also inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024, and now the Blue Jays are taking their tribute to an unprecedented level.

Spending $35 million on a player monument is a huge sum, far surpassing previous memorials in the MLB world. This shows that the Blue Jays want to make Jimmy Key an eternal symbol of the team and the city of Toronto.