Roy Halladay Exceeds Expectations

Roy Halladay arrived in 2010 with a portfolio that read “Best Pitcher in Baseball,” and incredibly, may have even exceeded our lofty expectations. 

A league leading 250.2 innings pitched, a league leading four shutouts, a league leading nine complete games, a league leading twenty-one victories and an ERA of 2.44 did not even begin to tell the story of this huge right-handers dominance.  Consider that not one other team accounted for as much as nine complete games. 

And, oh yes, there was that perfect game at Florida on May 29^th, a game that the Phillies just managed one run of support. Then, unbelievably, the big man went out and no-hit the Cincinnati Reds at Citizens Bank Park in the first game of the 2010 National League Divisional Series, with only a fifth inning walk preventing Roy from another perfect game! The occasion marked only the second time in major league history that a no-hitter was hurled in the post-season, the first, of course, being Don Larsen’s 1956 perfect game.

Since we’re discussing the perfection of Roy Halladay, if there is one thing that the big man cannot do, that is hit. On Sept. 10, 2010, Roy swung at a 0-2 pitch and grounded out to short. 

This momentous feat took place at Citi Field in New York. What made this play so extraordinary?  It was the first time that Doc actually put a 0-2 pitch into play. He had been 0-15, with 15 strikeouts! Halladay finished the season 0-20 on (0-2 pitches) with eighteen strikeouts and one sacrifice.

A first pitch fastball is oft times the best pitch a hitter will see in his at bat.  Consider this:  Roy Halladay had a tough time hitting, as overall his numbers were 13-92 constituting a .141 batting average. However, on those initial servings, Halladay went 5-13, .385.  Not only that, but all five of his RBIs came with a 0-0 count!

Halladay, the National League Cy Young Award winner, was at his best when facing runners on first and second base.  In those instances, hitters batted a feeble 7-48, .146.  With runners at first and third, opposing batsmen were also stifled at 3-24, .125.  Hitters were also disabled with the bases loaded, going 0-7, .000. 

Pitching with a one-run lead, Halladay was downright nasty, holding the opposition to 21-124, .169.

It is highly unlikely that David Wright of the Mets sent Doc a Christmas card last year, as Halladay abused him to the tune of 1-12, .083, with 7 strikeouts. I don’t believe that Carlos Beltran of the Mets is texting Halladay either, as Carlos managed a paltry 1-11, .091, with 5 punch-outs, although the one hit was a home run. 

Earlier, we made a point that initial (0-0) pitches are dangerous to the health of a hurler and as great as Doc was, he too, was not infallible.  Hitters went 42-131, .321, with 5 homers and 12 RBIs on those 0-0 offerings. 

In case you were wondering how Halladay fares on 0-2 pitches into play, here it is.  That would be a pathetic 11-99, .111, with one home run and two RBIs.  And Doc did not allow an RBI on an 0-2 pitch until September 4, when Alcides Escobar homered against him!

When Roy Halladay defeated the Washington Nationals in Washington on Sept. 27^th, 8-0, it clinched the Phillies fourth consecutive division title. It was also Roy’s ninth complete game of 2010, his fourth shutout and 21^st win. 

What the big man from Colorado does in his second season in Philadelphia will go a long way in determining the success of the 2011 Philadelphia Phillies.