Roy Halladay Brings Back the Lost Art of the Complete Game

I have full confidence in the Blue Jays getting a win whenever Halladay toes the rubber. I’m not a Jays fan by any means, I’m just accustomed to Doc’s inability to get bounced from a baseball game.

On June 7, Halladay got his 10th win (he’s 10-1) in yet another complete-game effort.

Believe me when I say Roy Halladay will be inducted into the Hall of Fame before all is said and done.

His career numbers sit at 141-67, an unbelievable .678 winning percentage in his 11-plus seasons of major league service. He is currently in his 12th year. Yes, the 3.48 era is very good, but the number that sticks out to me is Halladay’s 43 complete games.

He has only won 20 games or more twice (22 in 2003 and 20 in 2008) but has lost double-digit games once in his entire career. It was in 2008 where he went 20-11, yet sported a 2.78 era. The guy doesn’t lose, and he’s as old school as they get.

Talk all you want about today’s studs, but I’ll take Halladay over most teams’ aces because I know the bullpen is getting a day off when he throws. Johan Santana has gone the distance nine times in his career. Josh Beckett has thrown five. C.C Sabathia has thrown 28. These are all guys who are expected to win start after start.

Yet Halladay is the only one of them who is the most consistent winner. He’s led baseball four times in the complete game category. Baseball is a game that has evolved (or devolved) into a chess match. Middle relievers, setup men and closers are expected to take over after the seventh inning fairly consistently. Roy Halladay says no.

Halladay will more than likely reach 2,000 innings pitched this year for his career. He has finished top-five in Cy Young voting five times. He doesn’t get the recognition he deserves because he plays for the uber small-market Toronto Blue Jays, a city obsessed with hockey.

Doc Halladay is the best pitcher you’re not watching and he gives the fans their money’s worth almost every time out. He goes out and plays the game the way it should be played.

And if he really wanted to, he could probably win 45 games a year for the Toronto Maple Leafs.