The baseball word and the world as a whole lost another human being too early. Harry Leroy “Roy” “Doc” Halladay died this week after his plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico by Florida. He was just 40 years old and had recently just got his pilot’s license and the plane this year. He was excited to start another chapter in his life.
The previous chapter in his life is what most will remember him for. He had a Hall of Fame caliber career as a pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Phillies. He won 2 Cy Young awards (in both leagues only five others have done that), made 8 All Star appearances, led the league in wins 2 times and pitched a perfect game and a no-hitter in the same season. Only one other pitcher has done it in a post season, and that was Hall of Famer Don Larson. He joined six other pitchers to throw both a perfect game and a no-hitter; five of the six are in the Hall of Fame.
He only finished with 203 wins and 2117 strikeouts overall, but retired four full baseball seasons ago due to injury, which he attributed to back troubles. We all can imagine if he played until his age 40 season he might have had more wins and strikeouts, but those are always the what ifs with injuries to all athletes. If you use the JAWS system, an evaluation tool that accounts for a player’s peak seasons as well as his overall career, Halladay is ranked as baseball’s 42nd-best starting pitcher. Only nine players ahead of him are not yet in the Hall of Fame, while more than 30 pitchers below him on the list are already enshrined in Cooperstown. His postseason success and his popularity with the news media also bolster his case.
From all accounts from former teammates, local people in his community (coaching little leaguers) the media and fans alike, he was considered to be one of the best humans out there not just one of the best pitchers. While he was a member of the Blue Jays, Halladay and his wife invited children and their families from the Hospital for Sick Children into “Doc’s Box” at Rogers Centre during Blue Jays games. As part of Halladay’s contract with the Blue Jays, he also donated $100,000 each year to the Jays Care Foundation. Halladay was the Blue Jays’ nominee numerous times for the Roberto Clemente Award for his work with underprivileged children. For the same reason, he was also the Blue Jays’ nominee in 2008 for the Players Choice Awards Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award.
His father used to be a pilot so he knew all the risks and even his wife urged him not but he didn’t want to sit around and do nothing. “I find myself kind of sitting around the house thinking, ‘There’s something missing here — I should be working out, I should be running, I should be doing something,’” Halladay said. “For a second, it’s kind of a little bit of panic, and then it kind of sets in: ‘O.K., that’s right. I’m retiring now.’ It’s actually a very peaceful feeling.”
Former Yankees catcher Thurman Munson famously died from piloting his own small aircraft died in 1979, and so did Halladay’s former teammate Cory Lidle in 2006. One of his last acts of kindness was donating a police dog which they named Doc in reference to his name given to him by then Blue Jays announcer Tom Cheek, for Wild West gunslinger Doc Holliday.
The hope is in 2019 when he is eligible the Hall of Fame writers will look at his numbers and career as a whole and put him into the Hall of Fame eventually. He will probably be known as the greatest pitcher in Toronto Blue Jays history and will deserve to have his jersey number retired. He is survived by his wife Brandy and his two sons Ryan and Braden. Our condolences go out to them. You will be missed Roy “Doc” Halladay RIP!
