What’s up, Doc?
Roy Halladay, better known as the Doc, is a vital part of the pitching greatness that is collectively formed by Cliff Lee, Halladay and Roy Oswalt. Together they are said to be the best pitching lineup in Major League Baseball (MLB) history. Currently they
are all pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Roy’s talent is capable of easily retiring any big league batter. His fastball, curve and changeup are a batters worst nightmare when up against him. His pitching talents aside, it is his confidence coupled with the competitive but not proud nature of Halladay
that makes him the great player that he is today.
Former teammate, Troy Glaus, said about him, “He gives you a chance to win every time you go out there. It doesn’t matter if you are on a hot streak or a cold one, with him pitching; you know you have a good chance”.
The list of awards bestowed upon him throughout his career is staggering, yet, still not proof of the greatness he possesses. He has been selected for the All Star seven times and was the recipient of the coveted Cy Young Award twice. Once when he was in
the American League, and once when he was in the National League.
He was named Major League Baseball’s Clutch Performer of the Year 2010 and the same year he was given MLB’s, ‘This Year in Baseball Awards’, starting Pitcher of the Year Award. He had the honor of pitching a perfect game on May 29th in 2010.
There was a time when Roy used to rely on his physical strength and adrenaline rushes to get batters out but now he is much more seasoned and in control of the ball along with his power.
He has mastered getting batters out by letting them think that he is pitching some harmless grounder. He has a knack for getting inside the batters head and takes his time carefully calculating each and every pitch that he throws, not willing to waste a
single ball.
Roy has mastered three different types of fastballs which he uses to his advantage to dismiss batters. If his curve is working he starts at a right-handers head and nips towards the outside corner. He has time and again established high pitch counts and
controls the ball, rather than letting the ball control him.
His height and excellent agility make him above an average fielder as well. The downside to his frame is that it works against him at times when he has to run to the plate as it slows him down.
Roy possesses the mind and body to makeup a world class pitcher. Roy takes losses hard and has placed more pressure on himself to exceed than anybody else.
He said,”I am the ace and I need to be able to pick the team up when things aren’t going well. I like that responsibility”.
Roy was born a natural athlete. His height, gracefulness and coordination are proof of that. There have been times when his pent up energy has gotten the best of him. Halladay once said, “The easiest thing for me to do is the physical work. The weightlifting,
conditioning—for me, that’s the easiest part of baseball. The hard part is controlling my emotions, controlling my thoughts in between games”.
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