Thursday, November 18, 2010

Roy "Doc" Halladay wins first NL Cy Young

I meant to post this on Tuesday. Doc Halladay picked up his first Cy Young in the National League.
Phillies right-hander Roy Halladay won the 2010 National League Cy Young Award, as voted by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Halladay is the fourth Phillie to win the award, joining Hall of Famer and four-time winner Steve Carlton (1972, 1977, 1980, 1982), John Denny (1983) and Steve Bedrosian (1987).

For Halladay, 33, it is his second career Cy Young Award, having won it in the American League in 2003 as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. He became the fifth pitcher in major league history to win the award in both leagues, along with Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson and former Phillie Pedro Martinez.

Halladay went 21-10 with a 2.44 ERA in 33 starts for the Phillies this past season, his third career 20-win season, and was the first Phillie to win 20 games since 1982 (Carlton). A 2010 NL All-Star (seventh selection), he led the league in wins, innings (250.2), complete games (9) and shutouts (4). Halladay pitched the 20th perfect game in major league history on May 29 against the Florida Marlins.[...]

In his first career postseason start, Halladay pitched just the second no-hitter in major league baseball's playoff history when he shut out the Cincinnati Reds. He became the sixth pitcher in major league history to have two no-hitters in the same calendar year and first since 1973 (Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan). Overall, he went 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA in three postseason starts.
More on Halladay's reaction:
Halladay has been considered one of the best pitchers in baseball -- if not the best -- for the past nine seasons.

Tuesday's honor moved him a little closer to the Hall of Fame.

"I think there are obviously things I would like to accomplish first," Halladay said during a conference call Tuesday, when asked about the Hall of Fame. "First and foremost, winning a World Series. I really just want to keep my focus on that at this point. I think my guess would be most players in the Hall of Fame didn't play to try to get into the Hall of Fame. They played to be good teammates and good competitors. Obviously, every player would hope to be there, love to be there, but my focus will always continue to be on trying to be the best teammate and hopefully getting a chance to win the big one."

Halladay remains committed to the ultimate team prize: a World Series ring.

But Tuesday was about his tremendous individual achievement.

Halladay, who won the 2003 American League Cy Young Award with the Toronto Blue Jays, went 21-10 with a 2.44 ERA in 33 starts. He led the league in wins, complete games (nine), shutouts (four) and innings pitched (250 2/3). He finished second in strikeouts (219) and walked just 30 batters.

Only six other pitchers have walked 30 or fewer batters in 250 or more innings in the modern era, and none has accomplished the feat since Grover Cleveland Alexander walked 30 in 305 innings in 1923 with the Chicago Cubs. The other pitchers include Cy Young (1904-06), Christy Mathewson (1913-14), Deacon Phillippe (1902-03), Addie Joss (1908) and Babe Adams (1919-20).

Alexander, Mathewson, Joss and Young are in the Hall of Fame.

The other four pitchers to win the Cy Young Award in both leagues? Gaylord Perry, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez. Perry already is in the Hall of Fame. Johnson and Martinez are locks. Clemens would be a lock, except for the controversy surrounding his use of performance-enhancing substances.[...]

Halladay is a late bloomer of sorts, but a few more solid seasons and he will make a strong case for enshrinement. (He only has 169 wins.) He already has. Baseball-Reference.com uses a Hall of Fame Monitor. A score of 100 or more typically translates to a Hall of Fame player.

Halladay already has a score of 108.

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