Remembering Roy Halladay

Roy “Doc” Halladay, one of the greatest pitchers of his generation, died today when the small plane he was piloting crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. He was only 40 years old.

I was a fan of Doc for most of his career. Before he was traded from the Blue Jays to the Phillies, he was my favorite non-Phillie player. Although Blue Jays games were not nationally televised all that often, it was always fun to watch Halladay mow down potent Yankees and Red Sox teams in the rare Blue Jays games that were on TV. When he was traded to the Phillies in 2010, I (and all other Phillies fans) was elated.

The first time I saw Roy Halladay pitch in person was in Houston, TX, on a Sunday afternoon, April 11, 2010. It was just his second start as a member of the Phillies. I was in Houston for work, having flown into town the morning of the game. I had a lunchtime meeting I had to attend, but as soon as it ended I quickly made my way to Minute Maid park and bought a cheap ticket (back then, the Astros were terrible, and tickets were easy to come by). I made it inside the stadium in the top of the 2nd inning, just in time to see the Phillies score a run. It was a great game, a real pitchers’ duel. Roy Oswalt, who would end up getting traded to the Phillies later that season, made the start for Houston. Both Roys were terrific that day, but the Phillies and Halladay came out on top, 2-1. Doc went the distance, pitching 9 innings, striking out 8, walking none, and allowing just 1 unearned run. He was brilliant.

About a month later, Doc pitched a perfect game against the Marlins in Miami. I was at a sports bar with a couple friends who are also Phillies fans. We were out to watch hockey, not baseball—that same night was game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Flyers and Blackhawks. As I watched the Flyers game, I also was keeping tabs on the Phillies (back then, every Roy Halladay start was an event, and watching my favorite hockey team play in the Stanley Cup finals was about the only thing that would have kept me from watching the Phillies). As I checked the score throughout the evening, I started noticing the Marlins hits and walks, or complete lack thereof. Around the 7th inning, I showed the box score on my phone to my friends, pointing out the zeros on Halladay’s line. One of my friends blurted out “Perfect game!” to my horror. “You’re going to jinx it!” I shouted back. But Doc was above jinxes. I streamed the last inning on my phone, and we watched in delight as Halladay finished off the Fish. 27 up, 27 down. It was just the second perfect game in Phillies history.

Later that year, Halladay threw another masterpiece in the very first postseason game of his amazing career. I was at the same sports bar with the same two friends, and we went nuts as Doc threw just the second no-hitter in MLB postseason history.

I’ll never forget those games. They occupy a permanent place in my baseball memory, as they do for many other fans.

The last time I saw Doc pitch in person wasn’t quite as memorable, at least not in a positive way. It was in St. Louis, May 12, 2012, on a Sunday afternoon, just like the first time I’d seen him pitch. Halladay lasted just 2 innings before he left the game with an injury. It turned out that injury was the beginning of the end of his incredible career. He was never quite the same pitcher again after that start. He retired in 2013, having been an eight time All Star and two time Cy Young award winner. Someday soon, his plaque will hang in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Roy Halladay was unquestionably one the greatest baseball players of his era, but by all accounts, he was also a terrific person. The internet has been flooded today with great stories about Doc from people all over the sports world. He was loved by fans and fellow baseball players alike—as Brandon McCarthy of the Dodgers said on Twitter, “Roy Halladay was your favorite player’s favorite player.” One time while on vacation, he even helped save a man who had been attacked by an anaconda.

Doc was much beloved in Philadelphia, unusually so for a player who only spent a few seasons playing in Philly, but it was obvious why we loved him—he was hard-working, selfless, and left everything out on the field. He inspired one fan to start a blog dedicated to the desire to go to the Philadelphia Zoo with Halladay. Zoo with Roy quickly became something of a cult favorite Phillies blog and Twitter account, gaining enough popularity to come to the attention of Halladay. And then Roy did it—he went to the zoo with Zoo with Roy. How many professional athletes would spend an afternoon at the zoo with a random, obsessed fan who started a blog? Not many. But Doc did.

During his playing days, he was all business—close-lipped about himself and his life in interviews and didn’t generally let his personality show. But after he retired, things changed. He started a Twitter account and opened up. He let people see the fun, good-natured family man he really was. It made all of us fall in love with him all over again.

Rest in peace, Doc. You’ll be missed.

Gone far too soon.

Rest In Peace, Doc. pic.twitter.com/khboArOzRm

— Phillies (@Phillies) November 8, 2017

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