Roy Halladay says back injury, desire for family life prompted him to sign one-day deal and retire with Toronto Blue Jays
Halladay held a news conference in Orlando on Monday afternoon where baseball is staging its winter meetings this week. He revealed that the retirement is a reflection of a persistent back injury that forced him to change his pitching mechanics, which further led to the shoulder problems and loss of velocity and effectiveness that he suffered over the last two seasons. The 36-year-old also believed it was time to be a bigger part of family life.
“We spent a lot of time talking as a family and for me there was a lot of things that came into play,” Halladay said. “Baseball, there’s a lot of travelling and there’s a lot of time away from family, from loved ones, and I felt like this was a great time for me to get back involved to help my kids [as] they’re starting to strive for their dreams and that’s something I want to be a part of.”
Halladay became a free agent at the end of the season and likely would have been looking for work with a new organization. He said he probably could have continued to pitch but he would not have been the same pitcher he was in his heyday with the Jays and Phillies. Continuing to battle through the injuries might have reduced his quality of life as he got older.
“The major issue for me was, which I mentioned to some of the media last spring, was that my back really became an issue for me,” Halladay said. “I have two pars fractures, an eroded disc between the L4 and L5,” which were causing pinched nerves.
“Really it’s made it hard to pitch with the mechanics I want to pitch with. Over the last two seasons I had to change some things, do some things different to be able to throw the ball and unfortunately that’s led to some shoulder issues. The big thing has really been the back, and speaking with doctors, they feel like at this point if I can step away and take some of that high-level pressure off of it, it will really, hopefully, allow me to do some regular things and help out with the kids.
“The biggest thing is I’m trying to avoid surgery. They feel like we can address a lot of things by injections, by physical therapy, but we’re trying to avoid having it fused, that will just lead to more issues down the road.”
Signing with the Blue Jays for one day allowed Halladay to honour the team that drafted him in the first round in 1995 and helped him overcome his greatest hurdle in becoming a major leaguer. A disastrous 2000 season in which he compiled a 10.64 ERA in 19 games by allowing 107 hits and 42 walks in just 67 2/3 innings halted his ascent. Halladay was demoted all the way back to Class-A where he worked with Mel Queen to rebuild himself from the ground up.
When he returned to Toronto for good in July, 2001, he was on his way to becoming one of the greatest Blue Jays ever. He finished the 2001 season with a two-hit complete-game shutout that announced the brilliance he would exhibit over the next eight seasons with Toronto. By 2003, Halladay had won his first Cy Young Award.
When things aren’t going your way, when there’s other things in the back of your head going on, it’s not always easy to just go out there and give everything you have
He won another with Philadelphia in 2010 and reached the playoffs for the first time with the Phillies. On May 29, 2010, he pitched the 20th perfect game in major-league history and he threw a no-hitter Oct. 6, 2010 against Cincinnati in his first playoff start — just the second no-hitter in baseball post-season history.
“I want the Phillies organization to know, I want the fans to know how much I enjoyed my time there. How much they meant to me, how much they meant to my family and what a major part of my career they were,” he said. “But to me the biggest thing was had I not been fortunate enough to come up with the Blue Jays and have the people around me that I did, and have the people develop me that I did, I would have never had that chance to play with the Phillies. You know, I could have very easily been out of baseball in 2000, 2001 and never had a shot. To me that was the most important thing. I felt like everything the organization had done for me, the player they allowed me to become, I felt like it was really important to acknowledge that. Had I not had those chances, I would have never been able to play for the Phillies.”
Halladay was famously traded to Philadelphia on Dec. 16, 2009 for Travis d’Arnaud, Kyle Drabek and Michael Taylor as the Blue Jays sought to build for the future while giving Halladay a chance to play for a contending team.
(Drabek remains a member of the Blue Jays; d’Arnaud was traded a year ago to the Mets to acquire R.A. Dickey; Taylor was dealt for Brett Wallace, who was later traded for Anthony Gose.)
“Roy is one of the most professional and dominant pitchers of his generation and the Toronto Blue Jays are very proud and honoured he will retire as a member of our organization,” Jays president and CEO Paul Beeston said in a statement. “His talent and determination led our club for many years on the field and his work ethic provided an example for all to follow.
“He also contributed generously in the community, through the Jays Care Foundation and his own initiatives like ’Doc’s Box’ for patients at Hospital for Sick Children to attend games. Congratulations to Roy on a tremendous career.”
Halladay’s time with the Jays is remembered for his ubiquitous presence on the franchise’s career leaderboards. He is one of the three pitchers, with Dave Stieb and Jimmy Key, to throw more than 2,000 innings with the Jays. He ranks second among Toronto pitchers in wins (148), strikeouts (1,495) and shutouts (15), and third in ERA (3.43), starts (287), complete games (49) and innings pitched (2,046 2/3). His .661 career winning percentage (148-76) is the highest in club history.
Despite his achievements, Halladay said he simply wanted to be remembered for being a battler in every situation.I think for me it was just not quitting. I definitely had some bumps in the road and even when things were good you’re going to have bad games and you’re going to have things you have to overcome and I didn’t ever feel like, when I took the mound, that I gave anything less than my best effort,” he said.
“It sounds cliché, it sounds easy enough, but when things aren’t going your way, when there’s other things in the back of your head going on, it’s not always easy to just go out there and give everything you have. I’m really proud of the fact that I feel like I was able to do that.”
He would like to remain a part of baseball, although he did not know in what capacity.
“I still want to find ways to be involved and hopefully help pass on things I’ve learned, and not so much the pitching part or the mental part but really things that other players have taught me about being a good person and playing the game the right way, about being respectful to the game, to your teammates, to the organization you play for.”
