Harry Leroy "Doc" Halladay (May 14, 1977 - November 7, 2017) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who spent sixteen seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest pitchers of all time.
Born in Denver and raised in Arvada, Colorado, Roy fell in love with baseball from an early age, trying every position on the field until, by age 14, his talent on the mound had begun attracting the attention of major league scouts. He led Arvada West High School to the 6A state championship in 1994, and the following year was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round of the 1995 MLB Draft, 17th overall, foregoing a college commitment to the University of Arizona to sign with Toronto.
His nickname, "Doc," a nod to Wild West gunslinger Doc Holliday, was coined by Blue Jays broadcaster Tom Cheek and stayed with him throughout his career.
Halladay made his major league debut in 1998, but after a promising start he struggled badly in 2000, posting a 10.64 ERA that stands as one of the worst seasons in MLB history for any pitcher with 50 or more innings pitched. Demoted all the way back to Single-A ball, he considered walking away from the game entirely. Instead, he reworked his mechanics from the ground up, changing his arm angle, adding movement to his pitches, and immersing himself in the mental side of the game. It is one of baseball's great comeback stories. By 2002 he had returned to the Blue Jays' rotation as an elite starter, and he never looked back.
Over the next decade, Halladay established himself as the most durable pitcher of his generation. He led the league in complete games seven times, more than any pitcher whose career began after 1945, and also led the league in innings pitched four times and strikeout-to-walk ratio five times. He was named to eight All-Star teams across both leagues.
His 2010 season with the Philadelphia Phillies stands among the most remarkable in baseball history. He threw the 20th perfect game in MLB history against the Florida Marlins on May 29, then followed it with only the second postseason no-hitter ever recorded, against the Cincinnati Reds on October 6. He won the National League Cy Young Award that year, having already won the American League Cy Young in 2003 with Toronto, making him one of only five pitchers in history to win the award in both leagues.
Halladay retired after the 2013 season with a career record of 203-105, 2,117 strikeouts, and a 3.38 ERA. Toronto retired his number 32, and Philadelphia retired his number 34.
Away from baseball, Roy gave back to the game in every way he could, working as an instructor for both former clubs and volunteering as a coach for his oldest son's high school team in Clearwater, Florida. He also shared a lifelong love of aviation with his father, who had begun teaching him to fly as a young child.
On November 7, 2017, Roy Halladay was killed when his private plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico near his Florida home. He was 40 years old.
In 2019, the Baseball Writers' Association of America elected Roy Halladay into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot, with 85.4% of the vote.
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