THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Aaron Hill wasn’t surprised to see former teammate Roy Halladay throw a perfect game.
He just figured it would have happened already.
"We expect that every time out of Doc when he goes out there," Hill said Sunday. "We know how good he is and what he’s capable of doing. We’re surprised it took him this long.
"Everyone in here was happy for him. I’m sure he got a lot of text messages from Blue Jays saying congrats. It would be unbelievable to be a part of that. It would be something pretty special."
Halladay went 27-up, 27-down for the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday in a 1-0 win over the Florida Marlins for the 20th perfect game in big-league history.
Manager Cito Gaston watched the game on TV and called to congratulate Halladay afterwards, failing to reach him but leaving a message.
Gaston was the manager when Halladay attended his first major-league spring training camp and knows him off the field as well.
"You feel happy for Doc because you know the effort he puts into his preparation," Gaston said. "He’s no-nonsense during the baseball season. He works on off-days.
"He works hard, so I’m real happy for him."
Gaston was a year removed from his first stint as manager when Halladay made his major-league debut in 1998 and came within one out of pitching a no-hitter in his second major-league start.
"I think you felt it was going to happen," Gaston said of the perfect game. "He’s just got that kind of stuff."
Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos, who traded Halladay to the Phillies last December because the right-hander wanted to play for a contender, was at a wedding when he found out.
"It’s amazing, I got so many e-mails and texts," Anthopoulos said. "I just thought about how he’s accomplished almost everything in his career, a Cy Young Award, a 20-game winner, now he’s got the perfect game.
"All he needs is a championship and I’m rooting for him."
Reliever Casey Janssen said he will offer his congratulations when the Blue Jays play in Philadelphia at the end of June.
"It’s amazing to see a perfect game out of any pitcher," Janssen said. "It’s pretty special, but because he played here it’s kind of nice to cheer him on."
