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Roy Halladay, who pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies, died when his plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday. The two-time Cy Young Award winner retired from the MLB just four years ago. Halladay was 40.
Statement from the Blue Jays organization on the tragic passing of Roy Halladay: pic.twitter.com/Ih8D0RQE9p
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) November 7, 2017
Police said they couldn’t confirm if there were any additional passengers or where the plane was headed. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.
Halladay received his pilot’s license several months ago and tweeted pictures standing next to his new ICON A5 plane. His father was a corporate pilot.
Halladay spent the latter part of his career with the Phillies and quickly became an integral part of that franchise. Cole Hamels was Halladay’s teammate for all four of his seasons with the team. Hamels expressed how he, his teammates and the fans are affected.
Halladay signed a one-day contract with Toronto in December 2013 so he could retire as a Blue Jay.
Historic Career
Throughout his 16 years in the majors, Halladay was named an All-Star eight times and he was baseball’s best pitcher twice. He led the leagues in wins on two occasions, once with Toronto and once with Philadelphia.
In his prime, Halladay was an unhittable ace on the mound. From 2002-2012 he racked up 181 wins and had double digit wins in each of those seasons except one. Over his entire career, Halladay recorded a 3.38 ERA . Plus, that long, successful career included one perfect game against the Miami Marlins on May 29, 2010.
Although Halladay’s career didn’t include much postseason action, he did turn in one historic playoff performance. On October 6th, 2010 he completely dominated the Cincinnati Reds. The Phillies ace struck out eight and walked one in a no-hitter.
