TORONTO - The Toronto Blue Jays paid tribute to Tanner Craswell and Mitch MacLean on Monday, two former baseball players who were killed in a horrific triple murder-suicide in Alberta in December.
Craswell and MacLean were killed along with Tabitha Stepple on Dec. 15 in a roadside shooting outside Claresholm, Alta. They were shot by Derek Jensen, a former boyfriend of Stepple's who then killed himself. Shayna Conway was the lone survivor of the shooting.
Craswell and MacLean were promising baseball players from Prince Edward Island and had been training with the Lethbridge Bulls. They were on their way to the airport in Calgary to fly home for Christmas at the time of the shootings.
The Blue Jays honoured the two former players prior to their home opener against the Boston Red Sox at Rogers Centre. MacLean's No. 6 jersey and Craswell's No. 13 were both presented in glassed frames at second base during the pre-game ceremony.
Afterwards, a moment of silence was observed in the players' honour, as well as for the memory of former legendary sportswriter Trent Frayne, former Montreal Expos catcher Gary Carter and one-time umpire Marty Springstead, all of whom also passed away recently.
The pre-game tribute wasn't the first time the Blue Jays reached out to the families of the two young victims.
In December, the club sent bouquets of flowers to the funerals in Charlottetown.
