Has Roy Halladay Fallen off MLB’s Pitching Pedestal for Good?
June 7, 2012 by Alec Snyder
Filed under Fan News
As baseball fans around the country know by now, Roy Halladay is hurting, both literally and figuratively. Doc currently sits on the 15-day DL with a latissimus dorsi strain that could keep him out for six to eight weeks. And when he was pitching, he posted a 4-5 record with a 3.98 ERA. Not the 2012 that Doc nor baseball and Phillies fans were envisioning.
Halladay hasn’t been on the DL since 2009, and he hasn’t been on the DL for an arm-related issue since 2004…until now. In spring training, there were concerns that Doc’s fastball velocity had been dropping, but the reason why was unclear. Possibly aging, possibly wear and tear—after all, Doc has logged just over 2600 innings throughout his career, and he’s led his league, if not all of baseball, in complete games each of the last five years. Simply put, he’s a workhorse.
In light of these recent events, is it still fair to consider Doc among the league’s elite starters? Is Roy Halladay truly an ace anymore? Or is he just falling from grace earlier than expected?
I’d say yes to those questions, but more arise just as quickly. But is Doc’s reign of supremacy over the rest of baseball coming to a close? One could argue that Halladay’s career—which was seemingly improving following his trade to Philadelphia from Toronto before the 2010 season—is now on the downturn, and that within the next couple of years, Doc could call it a day and ride off into the sunset known as retirement.
Let’s take a look at whether Doc Halladay has still got it or if his best days are behind him.