Asay to be inducted into Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame posthumously

The legacy of the late Amanda Asay, a two-time Canadian Women’s National team MVP will write another chapter this summer.

Asay is one of six people who will be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame on June 7th in Stratford Ontario, 60 kilometres west of London.

She is being joined by retired major leaguer and former Toronto Blue Jays player Jose Bautista, ex-MLB pitcher Erik Bedard, Canadian Junior National Team head coach Greg Hamilton.

In addition, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League legend Arleene Noga and Gerry Snyder, the Montreal city councillor who played a crucial role in bringing Major League Baseball to Canada will also be inducted posthumously.

Last May, Asay was one of five athletes being welcomed into the BC Sports Hall of Fame which included Justin Morneau (Baseball), Ryan Cochrane (Swimming), Cassie Sharpe (Freestyle Skiing) and, Richard Zokol (Golf).

Asay passed away in January of 2022 following a skiing accident in Nelson.

At the time of her passing, she was the longest-serving member of Baseball Canada Women’s National Team program.

Asay, who was part of the national team since 2005 as a pitcher and first baseman, last wore the Maple Leaf at the Women’s National Team Showcase in Trois-Rivières, Québec during the Summer of 2022.

In addition, she was part of national teams that captured five WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup medals and played a key role in Canada’s silver medal performance at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto.

Asay, one of the most talented athletes that called Prince George home, played hockey and softball for Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island for three seasons (2006-2009) while earning a Bachelor’s in Science.

She continued her studies at the University of British Columbia where she attained a master’s in science and Ph.D. in forestry while playing two seasons for the Thunderbirds hockey team.

In 2019, Asay pitched a complete game for Canada during a women’s World Cup qualifying tournament in Mexico.

The revered multi-sport athlete also suited up for the Northern Penguins of the South Coast Women’s Hockey League that same year – lighting the lamp three times in a two-game series against the Ridge Meadow Moose.

Asay was a two-time winner of Baseball Canada’s female player of the year award (2006, 2016).

In 2017, Baseball America ranked her seventh overall in the world among all female baseball players, the only Canadian named to the list.

In March of 2022, the Prince George Community Foundation launched the Dr. Amanda Asay Memorial Award.

Two awards will be given on an annual basis, one will be allocated to a student attending a post-secondary school from SD 57 in PG while the other will be from School District 8 in Nelson.

Preference is given to female athletes who participate in hockey, ringette, baseball, or softball.