Blue Jays Honour A Thunderbird

Amanda Asay is a woman that we highlighted earlier this year on a Bisons women's hockey broadcast after she proudly wore the colour of the UBC Thunderbirds on the ice. Amanda was a solid hockey player, suiting up for the Brown University Bears in both softball and hockey before transferring home to British Columbia where she continued her education. She played out her eligibility as a member of the Thunderbirds, but her passion for returning home also involved her love of baseball as she was an outstanding player at multiple positions for the Canada National Women's Baseball Team, winning several medals at international competitions while being a leader for the women's squad.

I never got to see Amanda play as a member of the Thunderbirds as her time with the program ended before I began working in and around Canada West women's hockey. I did get to watch her play baseball on a number of occasions through webstreams of games that were made available, and she was an impactful player both at the plate and in the field. She was also a fantastic pitcher, and Canadian team often benefitted from her arm on the mound. As such, she was seen as the backbone of the Canadian squad, often playing her best ball in important games.

We knew that Amanda was going to honoured by the city of Nelson, BC where she grew up and played baseball, but it's always a big thing when the lone Canadian Major League Baseball team steps into the picture to help honour one of Canada's best baseball players. The Toronto Blue Jays wanted to pay their respects for Amanda while showing support for the Canadian women's team and youth baseball by holding a skills clinic in Nelson in May.


This isn't Baseball Blog In Canada, but Amanda Asay's hockey seasons were the pause between her passion on the diamond. That's not to say she couldn't play hockey as well as anyone else, but it's pretty clear that her efforts on the baseball diamond were something special. I'm glad to see that her #19 is being retired for all she did in and around the game, and I'm hopeful that every young ball player who comes through Nelson or the Canadian system gets to know Amanda's story.

I'm a little shocked that UBC hasn't done anything to honour Asay's efforts on the ice, but that's their choice on whether to honour her or not. Personally, her #6 wouldn't be taken out of circulation, but perhaps a banner inside the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre to honour the PhD student's efforts would be nice. It just seems odd to me that the school barely mentioned her after she passed away.

I wanted to post the video above on HBIC, though, because I feel Amanda needs to be remembered not only for her countless accomplishments and achievements on the ball diamond, but for her work on the ice as well. Losing someone like Amanda isn't easy on her family, friends or teammates, but I think it's vitally important that we do everything to remember the good people in sports who were in it to grow the game and make it better without beign asked. Amanda Asay was one of the good ones, and she deserves to be remembered.

As Art LaFleur said in The Sandlot as Babe Ruth, "[T]here's heroes and there's legends. Heroes get remembered, but legends never die. Follow your heart, kid, and you'll never go wrong."

I think it's safe to say that Amanda Asay followed her heart, and won't be forgotten!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!