Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Braydon Fisher is remembering his father, Norm Fisher, after his sudden death on Monday, July 6, while on a road trip with the team. He was 62.
“He was an amazing person,” Braydon, 25, told reporters when he rejoined the team on Wednesday, July 8. “I’ve heard you say this about myself, and he always loved when you all said this, but there was never a bad day for Norm. His name was Norm. There was never a bad day for him. He was always happy, cheerful and willing to help anybody. He loved people. He did everything as perfectly as you could. He was very proud of what he had.”
Norm died after suffering a stroke while accompanying the Blue Jays on their trip to San Francisco to face the Giants. He was visiting some high school friends in the area at the time, according to MLB.com.
Despite being with the team on Wednesday, the team’s final day in San Francisco, Braydon will remain on bereavement leave until the Blue Jays’ next series in San Diego over the weekend. He called the past few days the “hardest” of his and his family’s life.
Braydon remembered his dad as someone who “liked to talk about” how he was also a good baseball player back in his day.
“I always gave him [a hard time] for that,” Braydon said. “My mom always tells him that I got my athletic ability from her. He played baseball and he loved baseball. Growing up, if it had a score, it was on the TV. He loved watching it and he loves all the guys. I don’t think that for the last two years, you’d see him not wearing Blue Jays gear. Not ever. No matter the occasion.”
Braydon is in his second MLB season and has performed well for Toronto, primarily out of the bullpen. He was not selected to the American League All-Star team and will instead travel home next week during the break to be with his family and remember his dad’s life.
“He always supported me in every single way,” Braydon said. “He did everything he could to make sure I achieved the dream I’d talked about since I was five.”
He also thanked the Blue Jays for their support as he processes Norm’s death.
“I just want to thank the whole Blue Jays staff for how amazing they’ve been supporting me and my family,” Braydon said. “Getting flights, hotels, giving me as much time as I needed and all of the nice messages.”
The Blue Jays are off on Thursday, July 9, before beginning their series against the Padres on Friday.
