Harry Leroy "Roy" Halladay III (born May 14, 1977 in Denver, Colorado), nicknamed Doc, is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher. The current ace of the Toronto Blue Jays, he received his nickname from the old famous Arizona gunslinger, "Doc" Holliday. He has played for the Jays since 1998 and was the team's first draft selection (17th overall) in the 1995 Major League Baseball Draft. He bats and throws right-handed.
In the beginning of his career in Toronto, Halladay often moved between the starting rotation and the bullpen. During the 2000 season, Halladay sported a 10.64 ERA in 19 games, 13 of which he started. At the beginning of the 2001 season, Halladay was optioned to class A Dunedin to rebuild his delivery. Halladay was a power pitcher, his fastball can sometimes be clocked at 95mph but it had little movement and his pitches were up in the strike zone which ultimately led him to the unsuccessful campaign in 2000. Following his demotion, the Blue Jays pitching coaches changed Halladay's delivery adjusting the arm angle in which he throws the ball. Instead of throwing over the top, he went to more of a 3 quarters delivery. He went from a being a pitcher who relied on his fastball to one who delivers everything down, regardless of the type of pitch he throws. The adjustments were proven to be successful. After a month and a half, he was promoted to class AA Tennessee, and then, a month later, to class AAA Syracuse. Halladay was recalled to the Blue Jays on July 1, and was soon inserted into the starting rotation. He posted a 5-3 record with a 3.19 ERA for the Jays in 16 starts in 2001, even though he could've easily had 10 wins if weren't for the blown saves by the Jays closer Billy Koch.
2002-2004 seasons
Halladay had one of his best seasons in 2002, as he posted career highs in wins, ERA, strikeouts, and innings pitched. Halladay made the All-Star team, and finished with a 19-7 record with 168 strikeouts and a 2.93 earned run average. His 19 wins were the most by a Blue Jay since David Wells won 20 in 2000.
Halladay's 2003 season was even better. He posted a 22-7 record, 204 strikeouts and a 3.25 earned run average, which won him the American League Cy Young Award. In 2003, he also led the American League in innings pitched with 266.0 and tied for the American League lead in complete games with nine.
In 2004, Halladay was placed on the DL twice due to right shoulder problems. In just 133.0 innings, he went 8-8 with a 4.20 ERA. He walked 39 batters, seven more than he had walked in 2003, when he pitched twice as many innings.
2005-2006 seasons
The first half of the 2005 season proved to be largely successful for Halladay, as he proved to be one of the best pitchers in the American League, as he went 12-4 with a 2.41 ERA in 19 starts. He was selected to his third All-Star team and was slated to be the starting pitcher for the American League at the All-Star Game in Detroit. However, on July 8, Halladay suffered a broken leg when he was hit with a line drive off the bat of Texas Rangers left fielder Kevin Mench. Obviously unavailable for the All-Star Game, he was replaced by Matt Clement of the Boston Red Sox, while Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox was named the starting pitcher for the American League. Despite rehabilitation and further evaluation on his leg, Halladay would sit out the remainder of the season.
On March 16, 2006, Halladay signed a $40 million, 3-year contract that will keep him with the club through the 2010 season.
During the 2006 season, Halladay finished near the top of the MLB in wins with 16. He was named to the American League All-Star Team as a reserve on July 3, 2006, along with four of his Jays teammates. It marked the second-most appearances in club history, and Halladay's fourth as an All-Star.
However, the Blue Jays bullpen blew six of Halladay's leads, a figure that led the league (American League Cy Young Winner Johan Santana had just one lead blown). On August 26, he pitched a complete game 4-hitter against the Kansas City Royals where he only gave up 2 solo homeruns, but was stuck with the loss after the Jays offense was shutout. In his next start against the Boston Red Sox, Jays right fielder Alex Rios misplayed a routine flyout off the bat of Alex Cora that resulted in a two-run homerun. Those two runs would ultimately be the deciding runs, and rather than leave with the game tied, Halladay left down those two runs and was again stuck with the loss. His next start against the Cleveland Indians didn't go much better for him. He left the game with a 2-1 lead, in search of his major-league leading 17th win, but the bullpen was unable to hold the lead for him and he got a no decision instead. His next start against the Los Angeles Angels ended no better for him. He was struck on his throwing arm by a line drive in the first inning and had to leave the game. His following start against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays carried much of the same luck for him. He pitched 9 innings, giving up only 3 runs, but the team was unable to get the victory until Aaron Hill hit a walk-off homerun in the bottom of the 10th. In what would end up being his final start of the season against the New York Yankees, he was forced to leave in the 4th, suffering a strained forearm. Rather than risk his health for next season, the team decided to shut him down.
Although Halladay's strikeout total was lower in 2006 than in previous seasons, his groundball to flyball ratio, complete games, and innings pitched were all among the American League leaders.
Roy Halladay is not your typical strikeout pitcher, in fact he averaged 0.705 strikeouts per inning throughout his career, he's rather a ground ball pitcher with a good strikeout-to-walk ratio. He will scatter a lot of hits and will give a manager many innings in every outing. Halladay's arsenal includes a two-seam fastball that he sinks and has been clocked at 90-92 MPH, his knuckle-curve is also one of the best curveballs in the league. He also possesses one of the most dangerous cut fastballs in the league. He throws his cutter in to lefties, and his sinker down and away. It's rare to see a four-seam fastball from Halladay, although he is well capable of throwing it at 95 mph with late movement. He also added a change-up in 2006. In an interview with The Globe and Mail Halladay noted that overusing his cutter in 2006 caused some discomfort towards the end of the season, and that he plans to throw more sinkers in 2007, to avoid further pain or stiffness.
Source : Wikipedia
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