Just as fellow inductee Dave Stieb will be linked to his unhittable slider and no-hitter, Steve Rogers will be linked to a pitch he made to Rick Monday.
But this is the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and no one makes it here unless their positive contributions to the game far outweigh the bad things that happened to them.
Rogers will remembered for serving up a winning home run ball to Monday in relief in Game 5 of the 1981 National League championship series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was the closest the now-departed Expos came to making the World Series.
Like Bill Buckner, who let a weak ground ball through his legs to prevent the Boston Red Sox from winning the World Series, Rogers will have to live with the moment.
But when visitors come to St. Marys and the Hall of Fame, they'll get a full appreciation of what Rogers is really all about. Blue Monday, as that one pitch is referred to now, is but a blip on a career of the greatest Expos pitcher of all time.
Rogers and Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Stieb, longtime Canadian baseball trainer and physiotherapist Harold (Doc) Younker and Nova Scotia native Charles (Pop) Smith, who played major league baseball in the 1880 and 1890s, were officially inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame yesterday.
Several people in the big crowd were wearing old Blue Jays and Expos shirts and hats. They stood and clapped as Scottish pipers led the dignitaries and inductees into a tent on the grounds.
It would be hard to argue the statement made that Rogers and Stieb were the best pitchers produced by their organizations.
Rogers buries Blue Monday under a mountain of outstanding statistics. He is the Expos' all-time leader in wins with 158, innings pitched, strikeouts, games started (393), games completed (129) and shutouts with 37. He won 19 games one year and finished second in Cy Young voting that year. He finished his career with an earned-run average of 3.17, lower than Nolan Ryan and Steve Carlton.
"Will that pitch be forever linked to me?" Rogers asked. "Yeah, I made the pitch. I was on the mound. But I know the true fans and they've said it to me, 'We know what you did.' "
What did he do? In four post-season games, Rogers was 3-1 with a 0.97 earned-run average and two complete games.
"The pitch to Rick Monday and that home run, I know it's part of the consciousness of everyone in Montreal," said Rogers. "The knowledgeable fans in Montreal understand that it's only an instant in time. Those that know it even better understand it was truly part of the very best time of my career because I threw a two-hitter in the last regular season game to clinch a tie.
"I beat Steve Carlton twice in the mini-series and then beat Jerry Reuss (Dodgers) in the playoff series. If I don't pitch as well as I do in those games, we aren't in that game and I don't have to make that pitch."
He was only on the mound in relief because Jeff Reardon, the Expos closer, had a wonky back.
Rogers handles the question as he did after the game 24 years ago, with great class. He was always considered an up-front individual, a true professional.
"Players demand respect but you have to give it in order to get it," he said. "When you ask a question, it may not be the answer you wanted or I wanted to give but it will be the truth."
Induction weekend in St. Marys is always a huge weekend for the town and Hall of Fame. Baseball dignitaries like former Blue Jays president Paul Beeston are always in attendance.
Does induction into a Canadian baseball hall have great meaning for someone from south of the border.
"I had that asked of me, whether it's a significant honour in the world of baseball," said Rogers. "In the States they don't realize there is a Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. But when you start naming some of the people in there, not the least of which at the top of the list is Fergie Jenkins, they understand this is something real."
Rogers was a presenter when teammate Gary Carter was inducted, and he makes the yearly trek as a representative of baseball's players' association. This is the Hall of Fame's 11th induction ceremony.
"I've been given an appreciation of what it means," said Rogers. "It's a melding of those of Canadian heritage who have contributed to the game and those south of the border who happen to have played in Canada. It is a great honour."
