Hazel Mae and John Schneider gave the Blue Jays another proud moment Saturday, this time away from the field at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
Sportsnet's longtime Blue Jays reporter accepted the Jack Graney Award during the Hall's ceremony in St. Marys, Ontario. Sportsnet's video posted Saturday shows Mae delivering her speech after being honored for her broadcasting contributions around the club.
The award itself carries real weight in Canadian baseball. The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame says the Jack Graney Award is presented each year to a media member who has made significant contributions to baseball in Canada through their life's work.
That makes Mae an easy fit. The Hall announced in December that she was its 2025 winner, pointing to her in-depth player interviews, in-game insight, and broader impact on baseball across the country.
For Blue Jays fans, the honor feels natural because Mae has become part of the daily rhythm of the team. She is not just a sideline reporter dropped into coverage. She is one of the familiar voices around almost every major Toronto moment. This is an inference based on her long-running Sportsnet Blue Jays role and the Hall's description of her work.
That connection is a big reason the award lands so well in Toronto. The Hall's own release says Mae “set the bar extremely high” for MLB in-game reporters, which is the kind of praise reserved for someone who has shaped how fans experience the sport.
Her path into the game matters too. The Hall says Mae was born in the Philippines, grew up in Toronto, got her start in sports journalism at York University radio, then joined Sportsnet in 2001 as an anchor and Blue Jays host.
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The award recognizes more than one speech or one season
That is what separates this from a routine media honor. The Jack Graney Award is about body of work, and Mae's Blue Jays coverage has stretched across decades of roster changes, playoff pushes, and long summers at Rogers Centre. This is an inference based on the Hall's “life's work” criteria and her Sportsnet tenure since 2001.
It also comes at a fitting time. The Hall's June update said Mae would receive the 2025 award as part of Saturday's induction ceremony, turning the formal announcement from last winter into a public baseball moment.
For the Blue Jays, that matters in its own way. A team's identity is not built only by players and managers. It is also built by the voices who carry the season to fans every night. This is an inference based on Mae's role in Sportsnet's Blue Jays broadcasts.
Mae's acceptance at the Hall is a reminder of how much trust and credibility matter in baseball coverage. Players change. Lineups change. The voices fans rely on every night tend to stay with them a lot longer. This is an inference based on the nature of long-tenured broadcast roles.
So while Saturday was not about a box score, it was still a Blue Jays story. Hazel Mae took her place on a bigger Canadian baseball stage, and the honor felt like a deserved nod to one of the most recognizable figures around the club.
Has Hazel Mae become one of the most important voices in Blue Jays coverage?
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