2011 MLB Playoffs: Why Roy Halladay Must Beat the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 5

The MLB playoffs mean a lot to fans, to players, to managers—they’re understandably important to just about everyone involved with MLB in some way or another. But there’s one person these playoffs must matter to more than anyone else.

Roy Halladay.

But why should they matter to “Doc” Halladay more than anyone else? After all, he might be the best pitcher of his generation.

When it comes to regular season accolades, what more can Halladay accomplish? Cy Young award in both leagues? Check. Multiple All-Star Selections? Check (Eight total). Perfect Game? Check. It’s clear that Halladay is basically a lock for the Hall of Fame based on his regular season achievements alone.

But Doc also has some other very impressive things on his resume: he’s on the cover of a baseball video game (albeit the inferior competitor to MLB: The Show) and he pitched a no-hitter in his first career playoff start. When sports talk radio hosts and know-it-all sportswriters (like me) have the discussion about “Who would be my pitcher if I had to win one game,” Halladay is usually at the top of the list. Hell, he probably should be the list.

There’s nothing left for you to accomplish, Doc. You’re like a superstar collegiate quarterback after a Heisman-winning junior year: You’ve done all you can do, it’s time for the next level.

Because there’s one thing that has eluded Halladay in his 14-year career: That same thing which eluded other hall of famers like Dan Marino, Charles Barkley, Frank Thomas and Jeff Kent. The ring.

There’s no doubt that Halladay wants that little piece of jewelry like the blazing eye of Sauron in “Lord of the Rings” (nerd reference, sorry). And he’s never going to have a better opportunity than this year to get it.

The Phillies are stacked—prohibitive favorites to win the World Series. For years they’ve had a lineup anchored by some of the best hitters in the game: Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins. But then GM Ruben Amaro Jr. decided to assemble a poker player’s wildest dream: four aces.

He added Cliff Lee to his already talented top three of Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt, and the pitchers have been sickeningly dominant.

Here’s some numbers to mull over: In the NL, Hamels, Halladay and Lee are all in the top five in WHIP, top six in ERA and top 10 in strikeouts. For those of you who prefer sabermetric stats, Halladay’s WAR is an absurd 8.2, followed by Lee (6.7) and Hamels (4.9). Oswalt’s season was limited to 23 starts, but he still posted a respectable 3.69 ERA with 2.5 WAR.

But like so many championship runs, this window is closing fast. Oswalt is 34 years old, and Lee is right behind him at 33. We’re likely nearing the end for at least one of Philly’s aces; only so many pitchers can have pinpoint control and smarts like Greg Maddux that allows them to keep chucking into their late-30s and early-40s.

The Phillies overall are not a young team. It feels like only yesterday that Howard couldn’t get past Jim Thome to be the team’s starting first baseman; but Howard is 31 now, and big fellas with his body type can flame out pretty fast in their 30s. Utley has also crossed that 30-year-old threshold, and free-agent-to-be Rollins might be gone in the offseason. Rebuilding can’t be put off forever—just ask the Boston Red Sox, who have some tough questions to ask after spending $300+ million the last two years with nothing to show for it.

So the time is now for Halladay. He couldn’t ask for a better draw: Philadelphia has a tremendous pitching advantage over every NL competitor. And in the World Series, who would best the four aces? The Yankees and Tigers both have one-man pitching rotations, and C.C. Sabathia and Justin Verlander can’t pitch every game in a series.

The Phillies should have beaten the Giants in the NLCS last year. On paper, the matchup wasn’t even close—but as the saying goes, games aren’t played on paper. The Phils are easily favorites again this year, and there are no excuses if they fail to deliver another championship.

As the most dominant and talented ace on a staff full of them, Halladay must pitch one of the best games of his career against the Cardinals. This is Halladay’s best chance at getting his ring, and his legacy may forever be defined by this playoff run—a run which will end Friday night if he doesn’t lead the Phillies to victory. No pressure, Doc.

For more foolish analysis, with an occasional witty comment, follow me on Twitter (@FernandoRGallo)

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