The Life of Roy (Doc) Halladay. There are a ‘lot of “Docs” in this town, and I never got to see Dr. J play, and the Sixers just hired a new coach, Doc Rivers, but this guy was the other Doc in Philadelphia, who was in pinstripes, and that I watched. That would be Phillies pitcher the Late Roy “Doc” Halladay.
December 15th, 2009 was just like every other day of the year, getting ready for the holidays and it looked like Santa Claus came to Philadelphia earlier than expected and gave us Phillies fans an early Christmas Present. Toronto trading Roy Halladay to the Phillies was maybe by far the biggest piece of the puzzle for the Phillies to win another World Series and maybe another parade down Broad St and for yet another Red October. Everything was going great that year for Doc, who was dealing all year long as nothing could stop him.
On May 29th
On May 29th, the Phillies were in Florida taking on the Florida Marlins and Doc was throwing a perfect game without me even knowing it, because that same night the Flyers were opening the Stanley Cup Finals against the Chicago Blackhawks and I was riveted on the Flyers. I changed the channel for a split second and saw Roy had one out to go, a 1- 2 count on Ronny Paulino, who hit a grounder to shortstop Juan Castro, who threw it to first for “A PERFECT GAME” Exclaimed by Tom McCarthy on the air, and the Doc Halliday completed the second Perfect Game in Phillies History.
The other game that was another special game for me was September 27th, 2010. my mom and Dad’s wedding anniversary. What makes it “fun” is that the Phillies were one win away from another National League East Division Championship title for the fourth consecutive season. Doc was just great that night. He had another masterful game and the quote that stood out to me was in his interview after the game with Gary “Sarge” Matthews was, saying “yeah, it was fun, but it’s only gonna get funnier.
Speaking of “funnier:, in The Life of Roy (Doc) Halladayyou want to talk about a great debut in Doc’s first postseason game, which happened 10 years ago this week? On October 6th, it was just another day for Doc. It was a little stressful towards the end of the game but good ol’ Carlos “Chooch” Ruiz saved the no-hitter for Halladay. That year was becoming something special. Unfortunately, it ended with a loss to the eventual World Series Champion San Francisco Giants in the NLCS.
His accomplishments
His accomplishments were that he was the 2010 CY Young Award for the only second time in his MLB career. The other accomplishment was being on the cover of MLB 2K11. In 2013 he signed a one-day contract with the Toronto Blue Jays to retire. And lastly, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019. He is sorely missed every single day. If you are enjoying this article listen to it’s author James Scorza every Saturday morning on The Pattison Ave Phanatics Show.
Personal Life:
Roy lived with his wife Brandy and their two sons Braden and Ryan. Doc did some charity work in Toronto at a local children’s hospital called The Hospital for Sick Children and every game he brought families with their children to the games in his own suite called “Doc’s Box”. And when he came to Philadelphia, he still gave back to children like he did up in Toronto.
The Life of Roy (Doc) Halladay he did whatever he could to help people in need. His son Braden is a baseball player himself at Penn State University. In 2019, the Blue Jays drafted Roy’s son in the 32nd round of that year’s MLB draft. This year, the Phillies were going to retire Roy’s #34 on May 29th, 2020, 10 Years ago from his first Perfect Game. Sadly, that night never occurred due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Hopefully soon. the retirement will be on another day at a future date.
Interviews and Quotes:
The Life of Roy (Doc) Halladay
Roy Halladay after the Perfect Game Against the Florida Marlins
“It’s something you never even think about. It’s hard to explain, you know there are days you click and things happen you never go try and do, but it’s a great feeling and it’s a ‘lot better than eight and two-thirds.
Roy Halladay after His No-Hitter against the Cincinnati Reds
“It’s really hard to explain pitching a game like that being able to win the game comes first and that’s kind of like your only focus until it’s over with once it ends it’s a little bit surreal.”
Roy Halladay Talking about the Phillies Fans after losing Game 5 of the 2011 NLDS
“This is by far the greatest place I’ve ever played and the greatest fans that I have ever been around, and that was the loudest I’ve ever heard it here”.
Cole Hamels remembering Roy Halladay
“I have two boys of my own, and I got to see what that meant to him every time when he brought them to the ballpark. That left an impression and hopefully can do what it did for his boys. And to go to spend time with your family it’s cut short for somebody who is such a good person. To him and his wife Brandy is really going to transpire but he really does mean to all of us and we are going to miss him.”
Chase Utley remembering Roy Halladay
“I had the privilege of playing with Roy for four years. As a teammate, I saw every day what it took. A man among boys. Roy’s relentless work ethic, discipline, and determination were just a small piece of his mastery of baseball. I remember walking in with Brian Schneider. It was 5:45 in the morning, the sun wasn’t out yet, assuming we were the first ones here. I was definitely wrong. I was sitting at the table almost done eating breakfast,
Doc came in, had his workout clothes on and they were soaking wet. I was like there is no way he got a workout in, right? I asked him, was it raining when you came in? He let out a chuckle and said no I just finished my workout. I knew right then and there that he was the real deal.” If you enjoyed this article check out our other ones at EOPsports.com.
James Scorza is a Co-Host of the Pattison Ave Phanatics on Edge of Philly Sports. James attended the Connecticut School of Broadcasting. He loves Sports and Music and has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things Philadelphia Sports. He may be young but is knowledgeable beyond his years.
