Halladay, Roy

Roy Halladay, in full Harry Leroy Halladay III, byname Doc, (born May 14, 1977, Denver, Colorado, U.S.—died November 7, 2017, Gulf of Mexico, near St. Petersburg, Florida), American professional baseball player who twice won the Cy Young Award (2003, 2010) as the best pitcher in first the American and then the National League and threw the second postseason no-hitter in the sport’s history in 2010.

Halladay was drafted by the American League (AL) Toronto Blue Jays shortly after graduating from high school in 1995. He made his major league debut on September 20, 1998, recording no decision against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (now the Tampa Bay Rays). Seven days later, in his second career start, he narrowly missed becoming only the third player to throw a no-hitter during the final game of the regular season when he gave up a home run with two outs in the ninth inning in a game against the Detroit Tigers.

A hard thrower, Halladay experienced some problems with pitch control early in his career but ultimately gained a reputation for pitching efficiently while issuing few walks. His breakthrough season came in 2002, when he recorded 19 wins and 7 losses and was selected to his first All-Star Game. In 2003 he won the AL Cy Young Award after posting a record of 22 wins and 7 losses with a 3.25 earned-run average (ERA). The following two seasons were shortened by injuries, but in 2006 Halladay reestablished himself as one of the premier pitchers in the major leagues, winning 16 games while losing only 5 and leading the AL in winning percentage (.762). In 2008 he won 20 games, and the following year he won 17 games and lost 10 and led the AL in shutouts (4).

Needing a strong arm to anchor their pitching rotation after having lost the hero of the 2009 postseason, Cliff Lee, to a trade with the Seattle Mariners, the National League (NL) Philadelphia Phillies traded for Halladay before the 2010 season. He did not disappoint his new team; he was one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball that year, winning 21 games and losing 10 and again leading the league in shutouts (4). His excellence during the season was exemplified by two standout performances. On May 29 he pitched the 20th perfect game (retiring all 27 opposing batters without letting anyone on base) in major league history, beating the Florida Marlins. On October 6 he pitched a no-hitter in the opening game of the NL Division Series against the Cincinnati Reds, becoming just the second player—after the Yankees’ Don Larsen, who pitched a perfect game in the 1956 World Series—to throw a postseason no-hitter. The Phillies ultimately failed to win the 2010 NL championship, which went to the San Francisco Giants. However, Halladay’s debut season with the Phillies earned him a unanimous selection to win the NL’s Cy Young Award.

He had another outstanding campaign in 2011, posting a career-low 2.35 ERA as well as a career-high 220 strikeouts, but injuries limited his effectiveness in the following two years, when he posted a combined ERA of 5.15 over 38 appearances. He retired following the 2013 season, with 2,117 total strikeouts and a career 3.38 ERA.

In November 2017 he died when his plane crashed in the Gulf of Mexico near St. Petersburg, Florida. In 2019 Halladay was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility for induction.