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Who throws out the Blue Jays playoff opener first pitch?
By Craig Borden
Arguably the best pitcher to ever wear a Toronto Blue Jays uniform and probably one of the best pitchers of his time should be a no brainer to throw out the first pitch. The Doc is one of the best Blue Jays of all time and never got a chance to pitch postseason ball for the Jays. He ranked at the top of my article the other day which looked at “Top 5 Blue Jays to never play in the post season as a Jay”.
Halladay has been a class act all around and makes Blue Jay fans very proud. Even when the team was having down seasons, the stadium was at its fullest when Doc was on the mound. The 2003 Cy Young winner for the Blue Jays was dominant every time he came out onto the field. He was known for having an insane work ethic and was always the first guy at the ballpark. Halladay pitched an incredible 49 complete games in his Jays career and was clearly the staff work horse. With Doc leading the way every season the Jays always had a fighting chance at making the playoffs but somehow the teams would always fall short.
After the 2009 season, management was forced to trade Halladay after they discussed with him that they were going to enter a rebuilding period. Those discussions led to a trade to the Phillies where Doc finally got his time to shine in the post season. He would go onto pitch the 2nd no-hitter in postseason history for the Phillies in 2010. The first no-hitter since 1956, Don Larsen‘s World Series Perfect game. Halladay shined with the Phillies and was still one of the best pitchers in baseball. In the coming years he should be an easy pick on the Hall of Fame ballots as he was a dominant pitcher of his era. Halladay would sign a 1-day contract with the Toronto Blue Jays to announce his retirement from the game he loved. Now that his career has went full circle, I find it only fitting that the Blue Jays greatest pitcher should suit up for one more pitch to kick this post season into high gear.
#Doc1Pitch
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