Roy Halladay

Harry Leroy "Roy" Halladay III (born May 14, 1977), nicknamed "Doc", is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. His nickname, coined by the late Toronto Blue Jays announcer Tom Cheek, is a reference to Wild West gunslinger "Doc" Holliday.

He was the Blue Jays' first draft selection in the 1995 Major League Baseball Draft, the 17th pick overall, and played for the team from 1998 through 2009, after which he was traded to Philadelphia.

Halladay is known for his ability to effectively pitch deep into games, and is currently the active major league leader in complete games with 63, including 19 shutouts.

On May 29, 2010, Halladay pitched the 20th perfect game in MLB history, beating the Florida Marlins by a score of 1–0. On October 6, 2010, in his first post-season start, Halladay threw the second no-hitter in MLB postseason history (Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series being the first) against the Cincinnati Reds in Game 1 of the 2010 NLDS.

It was his second no-hitter of the year (following the May 29 perfect game), making Halladay the fifth pitcher in major league history (and the first since Nolan Ryan in 1973) to throw multiple no-hitters in the same season.

Early life

Born in Denver, Colorado, he grew up in the suburb of Arvada; his father was a pilot for a food-processing company, while his mother was a homemaker.

From an early age, Halladay loved baseball, trying every position on the field until, by age 14, his success on the pitcher’s mound attracted the attention of major league scouts.

By the age of 13, he had begun training with legendary Colorado baseball guru Bus Campbell, who had helped almost every promising pitcher from the Denver area, including Goose Gossage and Brad Lidge. In 1995, after graduating from Arvada West High School,he was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the amateur draft, in the first round, as the 17th overall pick. He was promoted to the major-league club as a September call-up in 1998.