Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae named winner of Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Jack Graney Award 

December 3, 2025

Official Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame News Release

St. Marys, Ont. – Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae has been named the winner of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s 2025 Jack Graney Award. 

The St. Marys, Ont.-based shrine presents this award annually to a member of the media who has made significant contributions to baseball in Canada through their life’s work. 

“Hazel Mae has set the bar extremely high for Major League Baseball’s in-game reporters,” said Scott Crawford, the director of operations at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum. “For many years, her in-depth player interviews and in-game insights have often been the highlight of Sportsnet’s Blue Jays coverage, but her impact on baseball in Canada reaches far beyond her work on the field. She has been a tremendous ambassador for baseball across the country.”  

Born in the Philippines, Mae grew up in Toronto and got her start in sports journalism at the campus radio station at York University.  

Her professional career in the Toronto sports media began in 2001 when she was hired to anchor the morning edition of Sportsnet Central and was the host of Jzone, a weekly show devoted to the Blue Jays. 

Prior to the 2004 season, she accepted a position in Boston as the lead anchor on the New England Sports Network’s (NESN) Sportsnet desk. She also hosted The Ultimate Red Sox Show, which was NESN’s weekly Red Sox show and was part of the Sox broadcast team in 2004 when they captured their first World Series in 86 years. 

In 2008, Mae was the first on-air talent hired by the MLB Network where she worked on the Emmy Award-winning studio show MLB Tonight and hosted a program called Quick Pitch, while also working as a sideline reporter for Thursday Night Baseball. 

In September 2011, she returned to Sportsnet to anchor the 6 p.m. edition of Sportsnet Central. Four years later, she began her current job as in-game reporter during Toronto Blue Jays telecasts. She also serves as guest host of Blue Jays Central throughout the season and has become the go-to reporter for in-depth interviews for Sportsnet’s Blue Jays coverage. 

In recent years, she has also worked for TBS as an in-game reporter during the post-season. 

Over the years, she has also generously lent her talent to numerous charitable events across the country as an emcee. 

“Thank you to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors and selection committee. Joining the distinguished group of Jack Graney Award winners leaves me feeling deeply humbled and profoundly grateful. This group includes incredible writers, broadcasters and storytellers whom I have long admired, been inspired by, and proudly call colleagues and friends. While each of us reached this milestone through our own very unique path, we all share a common passion and unwavering love for the game, and for this great country,” said Mae about the honour. “Words cannot begin to express how honoured I am by this recognition.”   

Details about the presentation of the 2025 Jack Graney Award will be announced in the coming months. 

Born in St. Thomas, Ont., Jack Graney was a scrappy leadoff hitter in the big leagues for Cleveland. His big league resume boasts a number of firsts. When he walked to the plate in a game against the Boston Red Sox on July 11, 1914, he became the first batter to face Babe Ruth. Almost two years later, on June 26, 1916, he was the first major leaguer to bat wearing a number on his uniform. After hanging up his spikes, Graney became the first ex-player to make the transition to the broadcast booth, performing radio play-by-play for Cleveland from 1932 to 1953. 

Previous Winners of the Jack Graney Award: 

1987 – Neil MacCarl – Toronto Star 

1988 – Milt Dunnell – Toronto Star 

1990 – Austin “Dink” Carroll – Montreal Gazette 

1991 – Joe Crysdale & Hal Kelly – CKEY 

1996 – Dave Van Horne – Montreal Expos 

2001 – Tom Cheek – Sportsnet 590/The Fan 

2002 – Ernie Harwell – Detroit Tigers 

2003 – Allan Simpson – Baseball America 

2004 – Jacques Doucet – Montreal Expos 

2005 – Len Bramson – TBS Sports 

2009 – Ian MacDonald – Montreal Gazette 

2010 – Bob Elliott – Sun Media & canadianbaseballnetwork.com 

2011 – W. P. Kinsella – “Shoeless Joe” novel adapted to film “Field of Dreams” 

2012 – Jerry Howarth – Sportsnet 590/The Fan 

2013 – Rodger Brulotte – Montreal Expos, Toronto Blue Jays 

2014 – Richard Griffin – Toronto Star 

2015 – Serge Touchette – Le Journal de Montreal 

2016 – Larry Millson – Globe and Mail 

2017 – Alison Gordon – Toronto Star 

2018 – Jeff Blair – Rogers Sportsnet 

2019 – Ken Fidlin – Toronto Sun 

2020 – Dan Shulman – Rogers Sportsnet, ESPN 

2021 – John Lott, National Post, The Athletic 

2022 – Richard Milo, Canadian Press 

2023 – Buck Martinez, Rogers Sportsnet 

2024 – Dave Perkins, Toronto Star 

2025 – Hazel Mae, Rogers Sportsnet