Scott Radley: This Ancaster baseball Granny is the newest — two-dimensional — Blue Jays’ star

She was sitting at home watching the Blue Jays game like she always does when the phone rang. Her daughter was on the other end.

Mom, you're on TV. At the baseball game.

Audrey Teal is 91. The brain can start playing tricks. But she was pretty sure she was in her apartment in Ancaster while the home opener was going on in Florida. Yet as she kept watching, sure enough, there she was. In the red Jays' jersey in the second row behind home plate.

No, she was not having a senior moment. Nor was she the next time she saw herself. Or the time after.

I've seen me a few times," she says.

Her birthday is coming up next month. Being stuck at home and needing oxygen during the time of COVID has been tough. So prior to the season, her daughter, Barb Teal-Anderson, thought it would be fun to put her mom in the stands. Even vicariously.

The Jays have a promotion that allows people to send in a picture and some money for the team's charitable foundation. Since JaysCare has helped Barb's daughter, Sally, who has a disability, this already seemed like a good idea. But it got better.

In exchange for the donation, a life-sized cardboard cut-out would be printed and placed in a seat somewhere in the stadium. A bunch of teams are doing something similar.

So a while back, Barb dropped in on Audrey - Granny as she's known to everybody - and snapped a shot. Then sent it in. Expecting her mom's image would end up filling a seat in a back row somewhere. Maybe to be seen on camera once or twice during the year when a foul ball ripped by or something. Hopefully they'd be watching when that happened and they'd all have a laugh.

But on Opening Day when they tuned in, there was Audrey, front and centre. Her red jersey - chosen quite accidentally but entirely fortuitously, Barb says - standing out like a beacon in a sea of blue.

She's quite close to home plate," Barb says.

As the game progressed and phone calls started flying around from family member to family member, Audrey's four children and eight grandchildren were suddenly rewinding and pausing the game to snap photos off their TV.

They weren't alone. Apparently most of Audrey's friends are fans. Because within minutes the retired secretary's phone was ringing with people sounding a bit confused as they asked if they were imagining things or if they'd seen her in the stands.

They think it's a hoot," she says.

If you look closely, you'll be able to spot her, too. Truth is, you really don't even have to look that closely. She's right there in the second row during home games. Right behind Ryan Reynolds, Will Arnett and the parents from Kim's Convenience" - Paul Sun-Hyung Lee and Jean Yoon.

That's pretty heady company. Celebrity Row. She must be impressed.

I don't even know who they are," Audrey laughs.

Oh, but it gets better.

The other day, her son received a text from Barb. It was a photo taken off the TV a few games into the season. He chuckled. Mom had made it on the air again. Brilliant. Then he looked closer.

Steve is a massive Rush fan who started playing guitar years ago because of the Canadian rockers. They are his all-time favourites. So he couldn't miss the two-dimensional superstar sitting in front of her.

I said, My mother's sitting directly behind Geddy Lee,'" he says.

There are a lot of faces in the shot. It wasn't a close-up. Was he sure it was the legendary band's lead singer and dedicated Jays fan?

He is closer to my heart," Steve quips.

Forever the Rush disciple.

As for Audrey, she didn't know the others. Does she know who Geddy Lee is?

No," she chuckles again. I have no idea."

It's all been rather hilarious. Audrey had never been on TV in her life prior to all this. During the few games she's attended over the years, she's always been way up in the nosebleeds. In the high-priced second row? Never.

Until now, the highlight of her baseball experience - besides the simple joy of the game - has been learning it's acceptable to drop your peanut shells on the ground rather than carefully bagging them when you're at the park.

Now she's a star. A constant presence during home games. A celebrity among her people. A member of the glitterati.

Nah, she says.

I'm just a simple old lady living in Ancaster."

Perhaps. But in Dunedin these days, she's living in the limelight.

Scott Radley is a Hamilton-based columnist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sradley@thespec.com