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Roy Halladay

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Roy Halladay
Toronto Blue Jays – No. 32
Starting Pitcher
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
debut
September 20, 1998, for the Toronto Blue Jays
Career statistics
Win-Loss104-50
Earned Run Average3.66
Strikeouts1004
Teams

Harry Leroy "Roy" Halladay III (born May 14 1977 in Denver, Colorado), nicknamed Doc, is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher. He is the ace of the Toronto Blue Jays pitching staff.

He received his nickname from the old famous I like donuts Arizona gunslinger, "Doc" Holliday. He has played for the Jays since 1998 and was the team's first draft selection (17th overall) in the 1995 Major League Baseball Draft. He bats and throws right-handed.

Early career

In the beginning of his career in Toronto, Halladay often moved between the starting rotation and the bullpen. During the 2000 season, Halladay sported a 10.64 ERA in 19 games, 13 of which he started. At the beginning of the 2001 season, Halladay was optioned to class A Dunedin to rebuild his delivery. Halladay is a power pitcher; his fastball can sometimes be clocked at 95mph but it had little movement and his pitches were up in the strike zone, which ultimately led to his unsuccessful 2000 season. Following his demotion, the Blue Jays pitching coach changed Halladay's delivery adjusting the arm angle in which he throws the ball. Instead of throwing over the top, he went to more of a three-quarters sidearm delivery (the middle point between throwing overhand and sidearm). He went from a being a pitcher who relied on his fastball to one who delivers everything down, regardless of the type of pitch he throws. The adjustments were proven to be successful. After a month and a half, he was promoted to class AA Tennessee, and then, a month later, to class AAA Syracuse. Halladay was recalled to the Blue Jays on July 1, and was soon inserted into the starting rotation. He posted a 5-3 record with a 3.19 ERA for the Jays in 16 starts in 2001.

2002-2004 seasons

Halladay had one of his best seasons in 2002, as he posted career highs in wins, ERA, strikeouts, and innings pitched. Halladay made the All-Star team, and finished with a 19-7 record with 168 strikeouts and a 2.93 earned run average. His 19 wins were the most by a Blue Jay since David Wells won 20 in 2000.

Halladay's 2003 season was even better. He posted a 22-7 record, 204 strikeouts and a 3.25 earned run average, which won him the American League Cy Young Award. In 2003, he also led the American League in innings pitched with 266.0 and tied for the American League lead in complete games with nine.

In 2004, Halladay was placed on the DL twice due to right shoulder problems. In just 133.0 innings, he went 8-8 with a 4.20 ERA. He walked 39 batters, seven more than he had walked in 2003, when he pitched twice as many innings.

2005-2006 seasons

The 2005 season proved to be largely successful for Halladay, as he proved to be one of the best pitchers in the American League, as he went 12-4 with a 2.41 ERA in 19 starts. He was selected to his third All-Star team and was slated to be the starting pitcher for the American League at the All-Star Game in Detroit. However, on July 8, Halladay suffered a broken leg when he was hit with a line drive off the bat of Texas Rangers left fielder Kevin Mench. Obviously unavailable for the All-Star Game, he was replaced by Matt Clement of the Boston Red Sox, while Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox was named the starting pitcher for the American League. Despite rehabilitation and further evaluation on his leg, Halladay would sit out the remainder of the season.


On March 16, 2006, Halladay signed a $40 million, 3-year contract that will keep him with the club through 2010.

During 2006, Halladay finished near the top of the MLB in wins with 16. He was named to the American League All-Star Team as a reserve on July 3, 2006, along with four of his Jays teammates. It marked the second-most appearances in club history, and Halladay's fourth as an All-Star. Although Halladay's strikeout total was lower in 2006 than in previous seasons, his groundball to flyball ratio, complete games, and innings pitched were all among the American League leaders.

2007 season

Halladay was the American league pitcher of the month in April, going 4-0, highlighted by a 10-inning complete game win over the Detroit Tigers. However, he pitched poorly in his two starts in May, and on May 11 was placed on the disabled list and underwent an appendectomy. He returned to the rotation in his usual form on May 31, 2007 against the Chicago White Sox. Halladay went 7.2 innings, giving up just six hits and allowing no runs on his way to his 100th career win. 2007 also saw Halladay bat in his first career RBI. Against the LA Dodgers on June 10th, his ground ball single to centre field allowed John McDonald to score.

Pitch repertoire

Roy Halladay is no longer known as a strikeout pitcher; he has adjusted his approach to that of a ground ball pitcher with a good strikeout-to-walk ratio. This approach helps to keep his pitch count down (he regularly features among the league leaders in this category) so as to avoid fatigue later in the season. Halladay's arsenal includes a two-seam (sinking) fastball which he throws at about 90-92 MPH, a knuckle curve which he uses as a strikeout pitch in pressure situations, a cutter, and a changeup, which he added in 2006[1]. In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Halladay noted that overusing his cutter in 2006 caused some discomfort towards the end of the season, and that he planned to throw more sinkers in 2007 to avoid further pain or stiffness.

Trivia

  • Against the Detroit Tigers on September 27, 1998, Halladay came within one out of pitching only the second no-hitter ever pitched on the final day of a regular season, the only such feat being Mike Witt's perfect game in 1984. The bid was broken up by a Bobby Higginson solo homerun. It was Halladay's second start in the majors, and his first career win. The game was also a near perfect game if not for an error by the Blue Jays backup second baseman, Felipe Crespo, as Halladay struck out eight and walked none.
  • Halladay also pitched the first extra-inning shutout in the major leagues since Jack Morris in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series, leading the Jays over the Tigers on September 6, 2003. He pitched 10 innings and hadn't allowed a hit until Kevin Witt doubled with two outs in the top of the 8th. Halladay pitched another 10 inning game against the Detroit Tigers on April 14, 2007 in a 2-1 Blue Jays win. Detroit reliever Fernando Rodney took the loss in both games.

Career highlights

  • 4-time MLB All-Star: 2002, 2003, 2005 (was supposed to start but was sidelined with a season-ending injury), and 2006
  • American League Cy Young Award: 2003
  • The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year: 2003
  • Players Choice Awards (Most Outstanding Pitcher): 2003
  • 2 time AL player of the week:
  • 3 time AL pitcher of the month: May 2003, September 2003, April 2007.
  • Toronto Blue Jays Career Leader in Won-Loss percentage (.664)
  • Only Blue Jays pitcher to earn two base hits in one regular season game (vs. L.A Dogers 2007)
  1. ^ Halladay tinkering with new pitch
Preceded by American League Cy Young Award
2003 		Succeeded by
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