What Makes Roy Halladay the Best Pitcher In Baseball

Roy Halladay was absolutely dominant last season.

He had a 21-10 record (which would have been higher had he received more run support), a 2.44 ERA, and 219 strikeouts. He pitched a perfect game on May 29 against the Florida Marlins. He pitched only the second postseason no-hitter ever on October 6 against the Cincinnati Reds.

Although Halladay did not lead the MLB in wins, ERA, or strikeouts, he was among the most consistent pitchers in the sport—his WHIP was 1.04, he only gave up 30 walks all season, and his K/9 ratio was 7.86. That’s impressive.

What makes Roy Halladay different from all other pitchers, though, is his work ethic. While most people might know that he is always staying in shape, a lesser known fact may be that he started working out for the 2011 season on December 1, and has continued to do so, almost—if not every day—since. That shows determination.

Roy Halladay has already proved his worth as a pitcher. He has won two Cy Young Awards, one in both the NL (2010) and AL (2003), being among a select group of players to achieve the feat. In each of his Cy Young Award winning seasons, Halladay was also his respective league’s wins champion.

He pitched two no-hitters in the same season in 2010, becoming only the sixth-ever pitcher to accomplish this, and the first since Nolan Ryan in 1973. Doing the math, that amounts to 38 years ago. That’s quite a long time ago.

While Roy Halladay’s first season with the Phillies last year was arguably his best ever, he did have quite the career in Toronto. He amounted a 148-76 record in 11 seasons there as their ace for many seasons, and he came within one out of a no-hitter in just his second-career start. While he was sent down to the minor leagues again in 2000, he bounced back and quickly rose to greatness once again.

Among his career achievements are seven All-Star selections, most recently in 2010. He also won two “This Year in Baseball Awards” for 2010 Starting Pitcher of the Year and 2010 Postseason Moment of the Year for his no-hitter in his first career postseason start. He was also awarded the MLB 2010 Clutch Player of the Year award.

Roy Halladay is one of the best pitchers in the league today, and being backed by such a rotation as his current one is astounding.

He had a career season last year, but it will only get better from here on out.

Roy Halladay is, in my mind, undoubtedly the best pitcher in baseball and is the leading candidate to win the Cy Young Award next season.

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