(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photos by Henk Seppen)
IN MEMORIAM
...Roy Halladay...
(1977 - 2017) |
 Former pitcher Roy Halladay dies in plane-accident
Nederlands
 ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (USA) -
Former Major League-pitcher Roy Halladay passed away on Tuesday (November 7) following a crash with his place off the coast of Florida.
Halladay, who pitched sixteen seasons in the Major League was only 40 years old.
Harry Leroy Halladay, who was born in Denver (Colorado), was a very successful Major League-pitcher.
He pitched 12 years for Toronto Blue Jays (1998-2009) and four for Philadelphia Phillies (2010-2013).
In his big league-career, Halladay pitched in 416 games and was 203-105 with a 3.38 ERA.
He struckout 2,117 hitters in 2,749 1/3 inning, while walking only 592.
The righthander was drafted in 1995 by Toronto Blue Jays and made his Major League-debut on September 20, 1998.
Seven days later, he made his second Major League-start on what was the final day of the regular season.
Pitching against Detroit Tigers, he was throwing a No-Hitter with two outs in the ninth inning, but then Bobby Higginson hit a homerun!
It was the lone hit Halladay gave up in the game that was won 2-1 by Toronto, which was his first Majior League-win.
From 2002 on, Halladay became a pitching-great and was a top pitcher in his era.
In that season, he was 19-7 with a 2.93 ERA and 168 strikeouts.
For the first time, he was chosen to play in the All Star Game.
That was to be the first of his eight All Star-selections.
In 2003, Halladay was 22-7 with a 3.25 ERA and won his first Cy Young Award.
On December 15, 2009, Halladay was traded to Philadelphia Phillies.
While playing in his first season for the Phillies in 2010, Halladay won his second Cy Young Award after going 21-10 with a 2.44 ERA.
In doing so, he became only one of six pitchers to have won the Cy Young Award in both leagues.
...Roy Halladay pitching for Philadelphia Phillies...
...during Spring Training 2011 in Clearwater, Florida...
(© Both Photos: Henk Seppen) |
2010 also was the season in which the righthander wrote history when he became the first pitcher to throw a Perfect Game and a No-Hitter in the same season.
On May 29, against Florida Marlins, Halladay threw the 20th Perfect Game in Major League-history.
He struckout eleven hitters in that game.
To remember the accomplisment, in August, he presented 60 Swiss-made watches to everyone of the team, including players, coaches and staff-members, with the inscription 'We did it together. Thanks, Roy Halladay'.
On October 6, he threw a No-Hitter against Cincinnati Reds during the National League Division Series in what was his first-ever postseason-start.
He allowed only one batter to reach base when he walked Jay Bruce in the fifth inning.
It was only the second No-Hitter in postseason-history.
The first one was pitched during the 1956 World Series when Don Larsen of the New York Yankees threw a Perfect Game.
With that, Halladay became only the fifth pitcher in history and the first since legendary Nolan Ryan in 1973 to threw two No-Hitters in one season.
In December 2013, Halladay announced his retirement due to a shoulder-injury, but he also wanted to be closer to his family.
During his stay with Toronto, Halladay and his wife did a lot of work for underprivileged children.
They also frequently invited sick children and their families to a special box at Rogers Centre, the home stadium of the Blue Jays.
Halladay, who was nicknamed 'Doc', loved flying and planes and he was an avid pilot himself.
On Tuesday, he flew in his ICON A5 amphibious plane, which crashed off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico.
The accident happened near Holiday, which is a suburb of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Cleawater-area, where he also lived.
The baseball-world was shocked and mourned after he news, resulting in many reactions from former teammates and coaches, as well as his former clubs Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies.
Major League Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement:
,,All of us at baseball are shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic passing of former Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay.
A well-respected figure throughout the game, Roy was a fierce competitor during his 16-year career.
On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to his family, including his wife, Brandy, and two sons, Ryan and Braden, his friends and countless fans, as well as the Blue Jays and Phillies organizations''.
(November 7)
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