Farewell To The Good Doctor

Halladay Deserves Better-

Roy “Doc” Halladay has been a pillar of strength for the Toronto Blue Jays for more than a decade. With that in mind, it is easy to say If ever a member of the Blue Jays deserved to move on it is Doc.

Early on in his career, Halladay struggled to get hitters out. As a result of his struggles, Doc was optioned to class A Dunedin to work with former Blue Jays pitching coach Mel Queen. Queen, who noticed Halladay was trying to overpower the hitters, spent two weeks working with Halladay, tweaking his delivery and adding a few new pitches to Doc’s arsenal. Halladay would spend another two months in the minor leagues, making his way to double A, then up to AAA Syracuse before returning to the Blue Jays lineup mid-season. The adjustments were a success, Halladay posted a 5-3 record in the second half, he had come full circle, completely reinventing himself as a pitcher. The rest, as they say, is history.

At the time of Doc’s struggles there were many fans that thought his career was over. Fact is, a lot of pitchers would have been so badly scarred by having to be sent down to single A ball that they never would have recovered psychologically. To his credit, and the credit of the Toronto Blue Jays, Halladay thrived after his, for the lack of a better word, “rehabilitation”. Doc may not have had the best fastball, maybe he didn’t have the most talent, but he did have Heart, something that would take him a long way in his career as one of baseball’s best pitchers.

Through the years, hard work, determination and the drive to succeed have catapulted Halladay into one of Major League baseballs best pitchers. Halladay reached his pinnacle in 2003, winning the coveted Cy Young Award as the American League’s best pitcher in 2003. Halladay has made six All-Star appearances and has consistently been amongst Major League Baseball’s best pitchers. Doc has always been regarded as a workhorse, his 246 innings pitched in 2008 were the most amongst all American League pitchers, as were his nine complete games. More importantly, Halladay has the respect of his teammates and the rest of the league, his talent speaks volumes, but it is Halladay’s character that separates him from the pack.

Halladay has been a model citizen in Toronto, in the face of controversy Halladay was always the voice of reason. When a teammate struggled Halladay focused on the positives. When the team was losing Halladay always looked to the future. Halladay is the consummate professional, a true leader, he is everything a baseball team prays for in a player. So, why trade him? When the news hit the media that Blue Jays general manager J.P. Riccardi would consider offers for his ace pitcher it was no surprise that many fans were immediately up in arms. How could you trade away a player of Halladay’s character and skill? The questions were understandable, the answer, predictable.

Let’s face it folks, outside of Roy Halladay, there has been very little to cheer about in Blue Jay Land for about a decade. Losing Halladay will be a tough pill to swallow, especially if he ends up going to the hated New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox. Fact is, Roy Halladay wants to win and the Blue Jays are nowhere near contending. Halladay has all but said he will not re-sign with the Blue Jays after the 2010 season is over, so, you got two choices here. Watch Halladay pitch for another year and a half, miss the playoffs again and then watch Halladay sign elsewhere with nothing in return. Or, you can deal with the fact that Halladay must be moved, hope JP Riccardi gets a boatload in return, and look to the future. Halladay has a no-trade clause, so he will have a say in where he goes, he deserves to go to a winner, regardless of the teams geography or alignment.

I liken Doc’s situation to that of Boston Bruins defenseman Ray Bourque being moved. Nobody wanted to see Bourque leave Boston, he was a legend there, and a good citizen to boot. Fact is, the time had come, the Bruins were not going to win anytime soon and Bourque’s career was coming to an end. The Bruins owed it to Bourque to let him get his shot at a Stanley Cup and the fans understood that. So, after much debate, the Bruin’s shipped Bourque off to the Colorado Avalanche, where he later won his first and only Stanley Cup championship. Outside of winning a Cup as member of the Boston Bruins, many Bruin fans got a ton of enjoyment watching Bourque skate around with the Cup in Colorado. This would be the case with Halladay. See, the fans realized, if you love something, or in this case, if you love a player, sometimes it is best if you set them free.

So, in the event that you are traded, to the good Doctor, we bid you farewell. Good luck in your new colors, whatever they may be, you have our blessing. Your time as a Blue Jay will never be forgotten, you will always be remembered as a class act and a player that wanted to win as a Blue Jay. You delivered, sadly, management was unable to bring in enough talent around you to get the job done.

And, to Jays fans, I say, there is always next year...or the next...or 2015.....

Thanks for the memories Doc!