Saturday's game not only honoured Roy Halladay, it passed the torch to Jose Bautista.
TORONTO – There was an important symbolism to Jose Bautista’s home run off Roy Halladay on Saturday afternoon, one far more layered than the simple sight of the new face of the franchise completely obliterating a pitch from the previous one.
Long is the shadow cast by Doc, a presence that for many Toronto Blue Jays fans has lingered in the season and a half since the ace right-hander’s departure.
In him they still see the best from a decade of disappointment, and for a long time he was the prime reason to believe in a brighter future.
So they stood and applauded him when he went to warm up in the bullpen, again when his name was announced in the starting lineup, and once more when he took the mound for the bottom of the first in the red and grey of the Philadelphia Phillies.
It was a chance for the crowd of 44,078—more than twice the Rogers Centre average—to show their appreciation for his work in 12 big-league seasons with the Blue Jays, to finally part ways with the object of their adoration.
Halladay was grateful, but wants no part of any more Flashback Friday moments.
Shi Davidi game story: Doc goes distance in emotional return.
"I always felt like as a player here we’d have great players that came back and there seemed to be a big focus on those players," Halladay said after beating his former teammates 5-3. "I think it’s important for the organization to be able to move forward, take the players they have and have this identity.
"I feel like they’ve done a good job of moving forward. I don’t want to be the guy that is always trying to bring back the glory days. It’s nice to come back and I think that’s over. I know the fans here will always appreciate you, (but) it is in a way, a way to turn the page."
The time for that has certainly come, and it was crystalized in the fourth inning when Bautista crushed a 3-1 Halladay offering off the Windows restaurant in centre field, causing a roar like few the building has heard in recent years.
They loved the old guy, but it was a meaningful display of affection for the new guy. Right there, in a sense, the torch was unofficially passed.
"It’s phenomenal," Halladay said of the ovation fans gave Bautista after the homer. "He’s done some special things, last year and this year and I’m happy for him. He obviously has shown that he just needed the chance to go out and do it and he’s made the most of it.
"It’s a special thing to be in a city and to be appreciated, and I think he’s a great guy to appreciate. He’s a great guy on and off the field and I hope it continues, as long as it’s not at our expense."
For now he has little to worry about.
Halladay is part of a perennial playoff contender in Philadelphia, one that at 53-31 after Saturday’s win, is riding atop the baseball world right now.
The Blue Jays, on the other hand, remain a work in progress and the supporting cast around Bautista has yet to be filled in, much like the way it was lacking during Halladay’s time in Toronto.
"I think it’s a chase, really," Halladay said. "Obviously, the ultimate goal is to win a World Series but to be able to have a chance to try and do that and what we did last year, obviously our expectations were more than what we achieved, but I think more than anything, it’s to have a chance to chase it."
By the end of his tenure with the Blue Jays, he no longer felt the team would have that chance, at least not in time for him to be a part of it while at his competitive peak.
Post-game video: Halladay admits to pre-game nerves.
Many fans still blame former general manager J.P. Ricciardi for Halladay’s decision to leave.
Fact is, he had enough of waiting for that one year when everything falls right.
"He asked to be traded," said current GM Alex Anthopoulos. "I think everybody understood that he was a year away from free agency and he wasn’t going to come back, and the alternative was essentially two draft picks. … It was the only choice for the organization to make."
The current Blue Jays are glad to put this day behind them.
Staff ace Ricky Romero noted after Friday’s 7-6 loss that Halladay deserved the standing ovation he received during a brief pre-game on-field appearance that night, "but as of (Saturday) I think he’s our enemy and I hope we don’t see a standing ovation from our fans."
He got it anyways, and fellow starter Carlos Villanueva echoed the new Blue Jays ace’s sentiments.
"I don’t really care for that," Villanueva said of Saturday’s ovations for Halladay. "I know he did a lot for this team and this city but we have a new ace here and his name is Ricky Romero. I’m here to stick up for the 24 other guys that are playing behind me and when he (Halladay) steps on that mound, he’s with the other team. He is who he is."
And the person Halladay is now is very much a member of the Phillies, through and through.
That’s why he felt awkward receiving the ovations from Blue Jays fans Saturday and why he didn’t acknowledge them until a little post-game tip of the cap as he walked off the field.
"Definitely appreciated it, but yeah, it was different," he said of the ovations. "Especially at the start of the game, you never know how to deal with it, you’re trying to keep things as normal as possible, you’re in somebody else’s home field, there’s a lot going on to that.
"You’d love to stand out there and wave your hat and all that good stuff, but ultimately you have a job to do and I think that’s really what you try to keep your focus on."
Halladay has moved on.
Now that the goodbye has been said, time for everyone else to do the same.
