💖 Diamond Dedication 💖

On Saturday July 9, 2022, at 9:30am, the Pickering Baseball Association will be celebrating the life and passion of Jake Tamemoto with the unveiling of a plaque in his memory at Woodsmere Park in Pickering. The celebration will be followed with refreshments and a Pickering Elite 15U game at 10am

Those that knew Jake knew that he loved baseball. Whether it was playing as part of a PBA team or watching his beloved Toronto Blue jays on the TV or in-person, when it came to baseball, Jake wanted to be a part of it. So much so that he contributed a great deal of his time and energy to the PBA not only as a player, but also as an umpire, an instructor at camps & clinics and as a volunteer for Pickering Challenger Baseball.

Jake’s favourite Blue Jay player was Scott Downs, and he wore #37 because of how Scott played the game, just like Jake: with joy and excitement, always having fun and smiling no matter what.

Jake joined the PBA as a T-Ball player in 2007. From there he quickly advanced to Select as a Rookie ball player in 2010 and joyfully made his first Rep team in 2011, at the Minor Mosquito level.  That year, his Rep coach bestowed the moniker “JT” on him, and from that day forward everyone called him by his nickname on every team that he played for.

Jake passed away before the start of the 2019 season, when he would have been on the Pickering Red Sox Midget A team. His dream was to continue playing as a Junior and a Senior player for Pickering, where we know he would have continued to be an amazing teammate on the field and even greater influence in his Pickering community off the field.

Jake will live forever in the hearts and memories of those with whom he interacted throughout his life, and this plaque is a small token to show what he meant to us. We want this plaque to not only serve as a memorial to Jake, but to also inspire future generations of Pickering Red Sox players so that they, like Jake, enjoy every moment they get to play baseball, strive to be ambassadors for their community and give back, wherever and whenever they can.