Roy Halladay, the former Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies pitcher, has announced his retirement. He signed a one-day contract on Monday so he could retire as a Blue Jay. For the past couple of seasons, Halladay has had to deal with some injuires that have unfortunately forced him to retire. He is a class act all of the way and will most likely have a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Roy Halladay is one of the best pitchers to have pitched in the last twenty years. His career stats are: a 203-105 record, with a lifetime 3.38 ERA, 390 games started, 2749.1 innings pitched, 2117 strikeouts, 1.178 WHIP, 67 complete games and 20 shutouts. He threw a perfect game on May 29th 2010, the twentieth perfect game in MLB history. Halladay is also one of two pitchers to have thrown a no-hitter in the post season; the other pitcher was Don Larsen. He is an eight-time All-star and won the Cy Young Award twice in 2003 with Toronto and in 2010 with Philly.
His two Cy Young seasons were fantastic ones. In 2003 with the Blue Jays, he had a record of 22-7 with a 3.25 ERA, 36 game starts, 9 complete games, 2 shutouts, 266.0 innings pitched with 204 strikeouts and a 1.071 WHIP. His best year in Philly saw a 21-10 record with a 2.44 ERA, 9 complete games, 4 shutouts, 250.2 innings pitched, 219 strikeouts and a 1.041 WHIP.
Roy was a tank of a pitcher. After his first Cy Young, he had two seasons where he battled injuries, but went on to pitch six straight seasons with 31 or more game starts. Eight out of his sixteen seasons he won more than 15 games and he won 20 games in three seasons, he threw over 200 strikeouts for five seasons and threw over 200 innings pitched for eight seasons. He never won a World Series and his closest chances were with the Phillies and unfortunately not with the Jays.
It’s a shame that the Blue Jays couldn’t make the playoffs while they had Halladay as their ace. Some years the team was good enough to do it, only just missing out. Other years while Roy was there Jays fans wondered what was going on in the front office. Playoffs or not, Halladay was a fantastic pitcher for the team and the fans loved going to see him pitch. Dave Stieb does hold most of the Jays records, but I think he and Halladay should share the title of best Jays pitcher.
It would have been great had Halladay been able to pitch one more season, especially if he could have done it in Toronto, but retiring as a Blue Jay is a total class act. Ind when he makes it to the Hall, I’m sure he will wear a Jays cap proudly.
All that is left to say is:
Roy, thanks for all the great memories. You are one of the best pitchers around, and truly a gentlemen at heart. We can’t wait to see you in the Hall.
If you have any memories you would like to share about Roy Halladay, please feel free to share them below.
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