MLB: Roy Halladay is the perfect Hall of Fame choice
On Tuesday, Roy Halladay was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and rightfully so.
The former Toronto Blue Jay and Philadelphia Phillie played the game with class and had a career no one can ever forget.
Halladay played 16 major league seasons and won two Cy Young awards.
On top of that, Doc was tabbed as an all-star eight times and tossed a perfect game and a no-hitter in the same season. One was in the playoffs versus Cincinnati.
Halladay had the type of stare that showed true focus and he brought a seriousness to the game that teammates witnessed on a daily basis.
The 6′ 6″ ace went six straight seasons with at least 16 wins (2006-2011) and led the majors in complete games five straight years (’07-’11).
He had a unique delivery which looked like he was tucking his arms in while making each delivery.
Doc was a quiet athlete and became a pro who every up-and-coming player should look up to.
It’s rare to find a player like Roy Halladay and for him to join Mariano Rivera in the Class of 2019 is fitting since both represented the game the right way.
Doc also helped different teammates during his career in The Show, including A.J. Burnett who said he may not have made it out of NY without his assistance.
Burnett also talked about how Halladay taught him how to be a professional, so it comes as no surprise that one of Burnett’s best years and definitely his best strikeout season came during his time in Toronto with the Hall of Famer himself.
Former Phillie Chase Utley stated that Doc is someone he admires and he enjoyed playing behind such a great pitcher.
Halladay had an ERA in the two-range six times in his career and posted over 2,000 strikeouts.
Even though he was overshadowed a lot in his career by other prominent pitchers and recorded over 200 victories, Roy Halladay did not need to achieve extra milestones in order to show how good he was. He just relied on perseverance and kept flourishing with the location of his quintet of pitches.
There will never be another Doc, but by watching how the man played and respected the game new players can become a Hall of Famer in more ways than one.
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Rick ODonnell aka Caveman Rick has many years covering the Miami Dolphins, Sports, and all sorts of movies and television.
