Roy Halladay, former superstar Major League Baseball pitcher, died on Tuesday afternoon in a Plane crash in the Gulf Of Mexico. As reported by Sportsnet, Halladay was flying a single-pilot Icon A5 aircraft – the first of the line – which had been delivered to him less than a month prior to the accident. Halladay posted pictures of the plane on the ground and of him flying the plane on his Twitter account in the days before the accident. It is still undetermined whether the crash was caused by pilot error, mechanical issues with the aircraft, or some other unknown cause.
A little flying with pilot Roy ✈️ @RoyHalladay pic.twitter.com/tOLxWyGldI
— Hud (@nolanhudi) November 5, 2017
Career
A first-round draft pick of the Toronto Blue Jays in 1995, Halladay spent 12 seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays before being shipped to Philadelphia Phillies for three high-profile prospects in the 2009-10 offseason. Halladay won 203 games in a career that spanned from 1998 to 2013, with a 3.38 career ERA and a nearly identical 3.39 FIP. Known for his durability as well as his high level of performance, Halladay was a two-time Cy Young Award winner and four times led his league in innings pitched. He also threw a perfect game in May of 2010 and just the second playoff no-hitter in baseball history in that same season’s playoffs, and is also remembered for nearly throwing a no-hitter in his second career start in Septmeber of 1998.
He was known for being a quick worker on the mound and limiting the number of pitches he threw which allowed him to work deep into games and throw a lot of innings. For example, on May 31st, 2007, he and Mark Buehrle locked up in a 2-0 affair which lasted just one hour and 50 minutes.
Following a disastrous major league season where he recorded a 10.64 ERA in 19 games in 2001, Halladay was sent all the way back down to Single-A Dunedin by the Blue Jays in 2001 to rework his mechanics.
He re-emerged on the big league scene toward the end of that season as the ace pitcher that he would remain for the next decade.
Already a prime Hall of Fame candidate, it seems likely that Halladay will be elected posthumously once he becomes eligible in 2019. It’s also worth remembering that when Roberto Clemente died under similar circumstances in 1972 (in a plane crash on New Year’s Eve in Puerto Rico), the five-year waiting period was waived and he was inducted into Cooperstown a few months later, according to the New York Times.
It remains to be seen whether Major League Baseball will do something similar in this case.
Personal life
Halladay was born in Denver, Colorado, in 1977, and was 40 years old at the time of his death. Growing up, his father was a pilot and it was widely reported that he had pursued flying as a new passion ever since his retirement. He leaves behind his wife Brandi and two children.
