Edgar Martinez doesnB次元官网网址檛 recall many easy at-bats against Roy Halladay. Mike Mussina and Mariano Rivera remember admiring the former Blue Jays ace from across the diamond.
All four players will take their place in the Baseball Hall of Fame this summer, but the July ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y., will be bittersweet for Martinez, Mussina and Rivera, who wonB次元官网网址檛 have Halladay to share it with.
The two-time Cy Young Award winner, who died in a plane crash in 2017 at age 40, received 85.4 per cent of the vote by the Baseball WritersB次元官网网址� Association of America on his first year on the ballot.
Mussina, who spent his entire career in the AL East as a pitcher with the Orioles and Yankees, said he was thankful to have had a front row seat to most of HalladayB次元官网网址檚 Hall of Fame career.
B次元官网网址淐ertain people step out there on the mound and they feel like theyB次元官网网址檙e in control of the game B次元官网网址� and I thought Doc was like that,B次元官网网址� Mussina said on a conference call following the vote announcement Tuesday night.
B次元官网网址淔or his family itB次元官网网址檚 a tremendous honour and to have seen him pitch and pitch against him, itB次元官网网址檚 an honour for me and IB次元官网网址檓 proud to say that I was able to do that.B次元官网网址�
Halladay spent 12 seasons with the Blue Jays from 1998-2009, pitching more than 2,000 innings and winning the American League Cy Young in 2003.
A great honor for a great player and an even greater person, proud of you dad! I love you
B次元官网网址� Braden Halladay (@BradenHalladay)
He represented Toronto at six all-star games B次元官网网址� he appeared in eight overall B次元官网网址� had three 20-win seasons and five with 200 or more strikeouts, and earned the NL Cy Young with the Phillies in 2010 in his first season in Philadelphia.
B次元官网网址淭he other day I was thinking how sad it is that heB次元官网网址檚 not around to be with his family and enjoy this great moment,B次元官网网址� said Martinez, a former designated hitter with the Mariners. B次元官网网址淚t will be a moment that his family will be very proud of him and remember him and honour him so itB次元官网网址檚 kind of bittersweet.
B次元官网网址淎s a player facing him, he was very difficult. B次元官网网址� I donB次元官网网址檛 remember having a lot of success against him because it felt like it was always a tough at-bat.B次元官网网址�
Edgar gets the call.
B次元官网网址� Seattle Mariners (@Mariners)
B次元官网网址淯nfortunately we donB次元官网网址檛 have him with us but he was a tremendous competitor,B次元官网网址� Rivera said.
Halladay signed a one-day contract with Toronto in December 2013 to retire as a Blue Jay, and Toronto retired the right-handerB次元官网网址檚 No. 32 on opening day of the 2018 season, four months after he died when the small sport plane he was piloting crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.
B次元官网网址淥f the countless players that have worn the Blue Jays uniform, few have done so with the determination and elegance of Roy Halladay,B次元官网网址� Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro said in a release. B次元官网网址淭oday is a bittersweet day for our community and organization, as we remember a beloved pitcher, teammate, and family man, but we can take comfort in the boundless impact Roy had on Canadian fans nationwide and the game of baseball.B次元官网网址�
Halladay told Toronto reporters in 2016 that heB次元官网网址檇 go into the Hall of Fame wearing a Blue Jays cap on his plaque. Should that happen, it would make him just the second player to be enshrined as a Blue Jay and first since Roberto Alomar in 2011.
AlomarB次元官网网址檚 tenure with Toronto didnB次元官网网址檛 overlap with HalladayB次元官网网址檚, but he said he always admired Halladay from afar.
B次元官网网址淗e was fearless, he was a great pitcher, he liked to compete and I wish I wouldB次元官网网址檝e played with him instead of playing against him because he was really tough to hit,B次元官网网址� Alomar said.
B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 not here with us in person but itB次元官网网址檚 going to be an honour to see his name B次元官网网址� inducted into the Hall of Fame.B次元官网网址�
Halladay amassed a 203-105 record and a 3.38 earned-run average and 2,117 strikeouts over 416 regular-season major league games and was 3-2 with a 2.37 ERA through five post-season starts, all with Philadelphia.
He became just the second pitcher in major league history to throw a no-hitter in the post-season, opening the 2010 National League Division Series with one against the Cincinnati Reds in the first playoff start of his career.
That no-hitter was his second after a perfect game earlier that season against Miami.
Halladay led his league in complete games seven times, strikeout-to-walk ratio five times, shutouts four times, innings pitched four times and victories twice.
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Canadian right-hander Scott Mathieson, who spent some time with Halladay in Philadelphia, recalled his unmatched work ethic and preparedness.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e never met someone who worked as hard as he did. ThereB次元官网网址檚 nobody that even came close,B次元官网网址� the Vancouver native said in a phone interview this week. B次元官网网址淭hey had to give him a key to the facility because he was beating the grounds crew and the maintenance people to the field.
B次元官网网址淚 remember sitting through some of the pitchersB次元官网网址� meetings and talking to him one on one B次元官网网址� I felt embarrassed sometimes because he was so much more prepared than everyone. When I talked to him it felt I really had to do my homework because it was like going up to a professor.B次元官网网址�
Enter Cooperstown.
B次元官网网址� MLB (@MLB)
Mariano Rivera is a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Maple Ridge native Larry Walker, a former National League MVP with the Colorado Rockies, was on the ballot for a ninth year. He received 54.6 per cent of the vote, a significant jump from the 34.1 per cent he received in 2018.
Rivera become baseballB次元官网网址檚 first unanimous Hall of Fame selection, receiving all 425 votes in balloting. The quartet will be enshrined in Cooperstown along with TodayB次元官网网址檚 Game Era Committee selections Harold Baines and Lee Smith on July 21.
Melissa Couto, The Canadian Press
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