Blue Jays: Roy Halladay looking like a lock for the Hall of Fame

While the voting is far from over, things are looking very good for the late Roy Halladay’s case as a first ballot Hall of Famer, deservedly so.

We’re quite a ways from the Hall of Fame announcement in late January, but we’re already seeing enough public ballots that we can start to draw some early conclusions.

Thanks to the annual work of Ryan Thibodaux (@NotMrTibbs), we have an idea of where the voting stands for most of the candidates, including several former Toronto Blue Jays. Most notably, it’s looking like there’s a good chance that Roy Halladay will be admitted as a first ballot entry.

The late Halladay was remarkably dominant during his 16 year career, including 12 seasons with the Blue Jays and four with the Philadelphia Phillies. He finished up his career in 2013 with a record of 203-105, including a 3.38 ERA and a 1.178 WHIP. He was an eight time All-Star, a two time Cy Young award winner (2003, 2010), and also finished in the top five in voting in five other seasons.

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For years he was the anchor of the Blue Jays rotation, and through a few difficult years he was one of the only reasons to get excited. He remained faithful to the only franchise he’d ever played for until near the end of his career, and the Blue Jays granted his wish to chase a ring with a contender. Unfortunately the Phillies came up short during his four years there, but Halladay added to his career heroics with a perfect game, and a playoff no-hitter. He was just the second pitcher in MLB history to toss a no-hitter in the postseason, joining Don Larsen on the exclusive list.

According to Thibodaux’s very handy Hall of Fame voting tracker, Halladay’s candidacy is looking really strong at the moment. Of the 29 public ballots that have been submitted so far, Halladay has appeared on 26 of them, good for a percentage of 89.7%. The only two who have a higher percentage at this point are Mariano Rivera and Edgar Martinez, each at 100%. Again, this is far from over at this point and these are just the public ballots, but it’s a good indication of their chances.

For those unfamiliar with the process, players need 75% of the vote in order to be voted into the Hall. Halladay is on a great pace for that, which would be a great honour for the late pitcher. It’s very unfortunate that Halladay is no longer with us and won’t be able to enjoy his enshrinement first hand. However, it’ll be a wonderful honour for his wife and children.

If for some reason he doesn’t get at least 75% of the vote this year, he’s a near certainty to be included in the Hall of Fame at some point. That said, it’s looking highly likely that he’s going to make the cut on the first ballot, deservedly so.