A Yankee Fan’s Perspective: Roy Halladay Is Amazing
September 5, 2009 · Doug Rush · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
The Yankees lost 6-0 on Friday night to the Toronto Blue Jays and recorded one hit.
In the words of Bob Uecker’s Harry Doyle, “One hit, only one g**-damn hit?”
Yes, the Yankees were one-hitted. But they were one-hitted by perhaps the best pitcher in baseball in Roy Halladay.
Halladay pitched a complete game, his sixth of 2009, allowing one hit, no runs, three walks and nine strikeouts to win his 14th game of the season.
In what has been a terrible 2009 season, Halladay has been the one bright spot for the Toronto team. He was nearly traded on July 31 to one of several teams, but nobody wanted to destroy their farm system for Halladay’s services.
Since the trade deadline, Halladay was 2-4 before Friday night’s game, losing to teams like the Yankees, Rays and twice to the Red Sox. Some might wonder if the trade talk or getting stuck in Toronto had a major effect on Halladay.
Friday night’s game was definitely a rebound game, and in some aspects, a must-win for Halladay. It sure looked like Halladay was back to his old form.
Through the first four innings, Halladay was perfect and mowing down the Yankee hitters. While Joba Chamberlain struggled with his command and left after three innings, Halladay was in it for the long run and looked dominant.
His perfect game ended when Jorge Posada walked with two outs in the fifth inning. Robinson Cano struck out to end the fifth, so the no-hitter was a possibility for Halladay.
Ramiro Pena ended the no-hit bid with a double to right. The Yankees loaded the bases with two outs, and Alex Rodriguez came up to have a chance to do some damage against Halladay.
A cutter on the hands with Rodriguez looking was called for strike three and Halladay avoided damage. It was the one and only time the Yankees had a chance off Halladay.
If there is one thing I have learned from watching Halladay, he is truly one of the best pitchers in this generation.
Coming up in 1998 as a 21 year old rookie, Halladay found his form in 2002, winning 19 games and pitching 239 innings.
In 2003, he won the Cy Young Award, going 22-7 with 204 strikeouts and pitching 266 innings.
He finished second in the Cy Young voting in 2008 to Cliff Lee and won 20 games for Toronto.
Halladay is also a six-time all star and was the American League starting pitcher in the 2009 All Star Game in St. Louis.
If anyone has seen Halladay pitch live, it has to be a special treat, just like seeing Johan Santana and Josh Beckett pitch live since they are some of the best pitchers in the game.
In 2003, I almost had the chance to see Halladay pitch live. I had tickets for the Yankees-Blue Jays for a game in July at Yankee Stadium and Halladay was facing Andy Pettitte.
The only problem was, heavy rain was in the forecast for New York. My two friends and I decided to chance the rain and try to go to the game, we made it to a rest stop on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey, but it was raining hard.
It was around 4:30 and we had gotten a phone call that New York was almost in total blackness from the rain and dark clouds. The game was postponed 15 minutes later and it was time to turn around to go home.
Since then, I have seen about three or four Blue Jays games against the Yankees, but I still have yet to have the luck to see Halladay pitch live.
Halladay is only 32 and still has a lot of major league career left. Where it will end will be a great question, considering he will probably want to leave Toronto soon.
His Hall of Fame quest will be one of many debates. Halladay currently is 145-74 for his career. If he were to pitch for another 10 years and average from 10-15 wins, he’ll creep very close and maybe even surpass the 300-win mark, which will all but lock up his mark for the Hall of Fame.
Going into Friday night’s game, the Yankees had won seven in a row and were 7 1/2 games ahead of the Red Sox in the division. A loss against Halladay doesn’t really have a terrible effect on the team because, well simply, Halladay is just amazing.
Plus, the Red Sox lost 12-2 to the White Sox, so really, no harm, no foul in the division rankings for the Yankees.
Wherever Halladay continues his Hall of Fame type career, whether it be the Yankees, Phillies, Cardinals, Mets or another team, it will be watching him dominate hitters and figure out how to get people out with many pitches.
If it’s not his fastball, his cutter gets you out, or his changeup gets you out, or some other breaking pitch gets you out. Halladay is not only a power pitcher, but a thinking pitcher who can figure out hitters like a math equation.
Halladay may very well be the best pitcher in the game today. And whether you get to see him live on TV or in the ballpark somewhere in the United States or Canada, Halladay truly is a spectacle and an honor to watch.
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