"Touch 'em all Joe, you'll never hit a bigger home run in your life!"
Thirty years later, that call from legendary Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster Tom Cheek still brings chills to baseball fans across the country.
To help celebrate the anniversary of the Blue Jays 1993 World Series, Cambridge resident Devin Sisak has organized a viewing party to re-watch the iconic Canadian sports moment at the Gaslight District on Sept. 30.
The fun will start at 1 p.m. with baseball activities for all ages and abilities. The game will begin at 3 p.m.
Those in attendance can test their throwing and catching skills, run the bases and take swings using an adaptive hitting device.
Sisak is also hoping to have the MLB the Show video game on the big screen for people to play and displays set up highlighting Cambridge’s rich baseball history.
The idea for the event was born from his love of baseball and after attending the Gaslight District grand opening last month.
“I was thinking about how it’s the 30th anniversary of the last Blue Jays World Series championship and we now have this cool spot that plays sports on the big screen,” he said.
“How cool would it be to go down and relive it.”
Baseball is far more than a game for the Sisak family, it’s an obsession that has proven its ability to unite people.
He put his son Holden, who uses a wheelchair, into blastball in Kitchener early in his life.
As playing the conventional game became more difficult as he got older, Devin discovered Challenger Baseball through the Jays Care Foundation, an adaptive baseball program, specifically designed to empower children, youth and adults living with physical and cognitive disabilities.
“As he got older and he went to tee ball from blastball, the gap was getting a little bit bigger between skill levels and his ability,” Sisak said.
“I started looking into how to keep him in the game. There’s a Challenger league in Cambridge on Saturday mornings. It’s a huge initiative. I put him in and he flourished, finding friends who are in a similar situation he can play with.”
It’s an inclusive approach he hopes to bring to the event next month.
On Tuesday, prior to the Blue Jays game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Rogers Centre, the father and son were at a Jays Care event where he struck up a conversation with a member of the charity who offered to provide some equipment to ensure everyone could participate.
The Gaslight District was also very supportive of the idea, Sisak says.
“I hope it inspires some young kids to get into the sport and shows that baseball is for everybody.”
The event is free but anyone who would like to give back can make a donation to the Jays Care Foundation.
For more information on Challenger Baseball and how to get involved visit challengerbaseballcanada.ca.