Who’s the one,
Whose pitches sway?
Down and in
Or low and away?
It’s not Greinke,
Nor Daisuke.
It’s the Blue Jays’
Halladay.
You can fly to Paris and spend a day at the Louvre or buy a ticket and watch Roy Halladay pitch. Either way, you’re spending time among the greats.
Halladay has become a living museum-piece. We pay our admission (or cable bill) to stand back and marvel at the mastery. Watching the man pitch is like eyeing Claudio Coello’s The Triumph of St. Augustine; one has to look real hard to find imperfection.
Yes, this all sounds a little flowery. But let us consider what we’re watching.
Each starting assignment involves at least one batter spotted mumbling to himself after a strike out. Sunday, it was Billy Butler. Last Tuesday, it was Gary Matthews. Next Friday, it will be some hopeless Florida Marlin.
John Lackey, a pretty good pitcher in his own right, loves a Toronto series for the sheer pleasure of getting to watch Halladay work. And who was that kid angling for the best view at the front of the Royals’ dugout today? That was the Sports Illustrated cover-boy himself, Zack Greinke.
Last year, Boston’s Kevin Youkilis was heard referring to Halladay as “a future Hall of Famer” and the comment caused a little head-scratching. Halladay? C’mon now. Sure he’s good, but...
But what?
Knowing 300 victories (he’s got 141 now) is the access code to Cooperstown, Halladay will need to pitch well in to his forties while hoping time doesn’t erode the snap on his cutter.
But that lofty number isn’t mandatory. Plenty of pitchers (Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Jim Palmer, Catfish Hunter) have been enshrined without. (The four mentioned here, it should be noted, played for World Series winners). The critical element for pitchers like Koufax is that they dominated their time, and that’s exactly what Halladay has been doing for a while now.
So I ask: who has been the best pitcher in the American League this decade?
Johan Santana?
A case can certainly be made.
Roger Clemens?
Looks like he had some help.
Josh Beckett?
You can’t mistake his work in the playoffs.
In many ways, from an historical perspective, Halladay is comparable to the great Walter Johnson.
He wins way more than he loses (Roy is 141-67, Johnson was 417-279).
Halladay hasn’t pitched in the post-season (Johnson didn’t until his 18th season).
Both earned the admiration of a U.S. President (George W. Bush said he’d build a team around Halladay, Johnson received several honours from Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge).
Halladay, as noted above, commands an abundance of praise from opposing players (Johnson routinely drew an audience for his warm-up tosses and was beloved by the crusty Ty Cobb)
The point is this: The Big Train was the dominant pitcher of his era. It says here Roy Halladay is too.
Care to disagree?
