Roy Halladay Gets In To The Baseball Hall Of Fame On The First Ballot And Will Be Forever Enshrined In Cooperstown
NBCSports – Roy Halladay, the intelligent, intense and highly competitive pitcher who thrilled Phillies fans with a perfect game and a playoff no-hitter, has received his sport’s highest honor. Halladay, as announced Tuesday night, was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. The right-hander was named on 85.4 percent of the ballots cast by veteran members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, far surpassing the required 75 percent for election. Halladay’s first-ballot election comes just 14 months after he was killed at the age of 40 in a plane crash off the west coast of Florida. Halladay’s death hit family and former teammates hard and he was remembered in a touching memorial at the Phillies’ spring training stadium in Clearwater, Florida, on Nov. 14, 2017. In addition to Halladay, former New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, starting pitcher Mike Mussina and Seattle Mariners designated hitter Edgar Martinez were also elected to the Hall of Fame. Like Halladay, Rivera, arguably the greatest closer ever, was elected in his first year of eligibility.
Good. It doesn’t matter that he’ll most likely go in with a blue cap (he went back to Toronto to retire as a Blue Jay) and he may not have gotten in on the first ballot if it wasn’t for his untimely death, Roy Halladay deserves to be enshrined forever in Cooperstown. Roy Halladay was the epitome of class both on and off the field. He was a tenacious bulldog on the diamond who notched 2 Cy Young awards in 16 years and could be considered the pitcher of his generation. Off the field he was a family man who frequently posted about his kids playing ball – his final Tweet:
He was also a lighthearted jokester who, as intense as he was as a pitcher, didn’t take life too seriously.
Oopps you missed me! Walked right by me! Hope he gets to see his pic with me on Twitter, he doesn't know we took this pic.twitter.com/CHgFlVfafm
— Roy Halladay (@RoyHalladay) January 11, 2015
From a Phillies fan perspective, the guy was everything you want to see in an athlete and as person. The man left it ALL out on the field, and then some. He was the anchor of the 4 Aces (and Big Joe Blanton). Doc went above and beyond what was required for the city of Philadelphia. It didn’t matter if it was running poles in the snow at CBP in February to get ready for another Spring Training or his extraordinary engagement with the fans and charitable efforts, Roy Halladay was perfect. Personally, he was top 3 favorite athletes I’ve ever had the privilege to see in Philadelphia. It’s a damn shame he never won the big one in his career, but his contributions to this world will never be forgotten. This blog does not do him justice one bit. Heroes get remembered, and legends never die. And, dammit, Roy Halladay was the definition of a legend. Now he’ll be enshrined forever.
Long live Doc.