Top 5 Blue Jay greats that never made the playoffs

Dec 9, 2013; Orlando, FL, USA; Former pitcher

Roy Halladay

waits before announcing his retirement the MLB Winter Meetings at Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort. Halladay signed a one-day contract and retired with the Toronto Blue Jays. Mandatory Credit:

David Manning

-USA TODAY Sports

Roy Halladay – SP
Blue Jays years 1998 – 2009

The Blue Jays first pick 17th overall of the 1995 draft was arguably the best pitcher in Jays history.  Good old #32 Doc Halladay was one of the best pitchers during his time.  After showing off the dominance to come in his second career start which was an 8 2/3 inning no hitter against the Tigers on Sept. 27th of 1998 Halladay had a decent 1999 season in the Jays rotation.  He threw a solid 149.1 innings and was just under a 4 ERA at 3.92.  In 2000 however it appeared that hitters figured out Halladay as he was tuned up for a 10.64 ERA through 67.2 innings.  After a demotion all the way to Single-A ball the hard working Halladay retooled his delivery to become the force that we knew.  He changed his arm angle and took a couple miles per hour off his fastball to allow more movement.  By mid-season in 2001 the future ace was back with the big club and in the rotation.  He showed for the rest of the season he was going to be a force on the mound every fifth day.  He posted a 5-3 record with a 3.16 ERA in 105.1 innings for the remainder of the 2001 season.  Now with the Doctor in Halladay broke out in 2002 as an All-Star.  Halladay would go onto pitch 239.1 innings and win 19 games.

Doc came out in the 2003 season full force and showed why he is the best pitcher in baseball as he completely dominated the world of baseball.  With a 3.25 ERA and an amazing 6.38 Strike-out to walk ratio Doc took the AL Cy Young Award.  The 22 wins in 266 innings just showed how much of a work horse Halladay could be.  He threw 9 complete games with 2 shutouts in 2003.  In 2004 and 2005 Halladay was plagued by freak accidents that kept him from pitching as often as in previous seasons.  In the 2006 season the doctor was in and continued his success.  From 2006 to 2009 Halladay finished in the top 5 of the Cy Young award voting and was an All-Star 3 times.  He also won at least 16 games each season in that time frame and had a sub 3 ERA 2 of those seasons.

Roy Halladay was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies on the December 16th, 2009 after a 17 win season.  The Blue Jays return was later traded and Kyle Drabek was the only player that ever dawned a Jays uniform from the initial trade.  Doc would go on to have career years with the Phillies and led their pitching staff to the playoffs in 2010 and 2011.  In 2010 Roy Halladay wrote himself into the history books as the second pitcher in baseball history to throw a no hitter in the playoffs.  Don Larson’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series being the only other playoff no hitter.  He would pitch 2 more times in the 2010 post season and had a 2-1 record and allowed only 6 runs in 22 innings while striking out 20 batters.  In 2011 Halladay was masterful in the NLDS but the Phillies came up short.  Halladay pitched 16 innings and allowed 4 runs while striking out 15.

Roy Halladay would come back to the Blue Jays as he signed a one day contract with the Jays to retire as a Blue Jay.  This is just one of the many classy acts that Halladay showed through out his career.  Doc is the among the Blue Jays franchise leaders in most pitching categories.  He is in the top 3 in nearly every category and amongst starting pitchers is only rivaled by Dave Stieb.   He is second in pitching wins (148) and strike outs (1495) on the Jays list.

Jays Career WAR – 48

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