Every dominant pitcher has something they do better than just about anybody else on the mound. From yesterday’s era of aces, Greg Maddux had the precision to work every inch of the strike zone. Randy Johnson could blow batters away with an overpowering fastball in the upper-90s. Johan Santana had a devastating changeup that kept hitters off balance.

But Roy Halladay had everything.

He cut the plate in half and frustrated hitters with his control. When he needed a strikeout, he could reach back and pump a mid-90s fastball by somebody. He had the ability to keep batters off balance with a nasty breaking ball. When he didn’t have his good stuff, he still found a way to get hitters out most of the time.

Since his tragic death in a plane crash in November of 2017, Halladay has been remembered as one of the most dominant and prolific pitchers of his era.

With Halladay expected to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday in his first year of eligibility – he’s currently polling at 92.5 per cent on public ballots – TSN.ca takes a look at the numbers behind one of the most dominant pitchers in recent memory.

 

The numbers say…

Let’s start with the basics. Over the course of his 16-year career, split between the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies, Halladay went 203-105 with an earned-run average of 3.38, including a minuscule 2.37 in the playoffs.

He won two Cy Young Awards (2003, 2010) and is one of six pitchers to win the award in both leagues. For good measure, he also finished second in 2008 behind Cleveland Indians left-hander Cliff Lee. Halladay was named to eight All-Star Games (2002-03, 2005-06, 2008-11) and started two; once in 2009 and again in 2011.

He had three 20-win seasons, eight years with 200-plus innings and five seasons with 200 or more strikeouts. From 2001 to 2011 Halladay had 175 wins, barely second to CC Sabathia’s total of 176. Considering Halladay won most of those games for a Blue Jays team that never made the postseason, it’s even more impressive. Only three pitchers logged more innings than Halladay during that stretch.

Halladay’s winning percentage of 65.9 is higher than recently inducted 300-game winners Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson. ‘Doc’ is one of only six with at least 200 victories and a winning percentage of .650-plus among pitchers who began their career in 1900 or later.

Halladay’s numbers reflect a style of pitching mostly lost in today’s era of openers and advanced stats that suggest starters should only face certain hitters a limited number of times.

Among pitchers active from 1998 to present, Halladay’s 67 complete games are the most in baseball, 13 more than Johnson’s runner-up total of 54 over that span. Halladay led the league in complete games seven times and both innings and shutouts four times.

 

Halladay's Domination (2008-2011)

 
Year Team W-L ERA WHIP IP Ks SO/W
2008 TOR 20-11 2.78 1.05 246.0* 206 5.28*
2009 TOR 17-10 2.79 1.12 239.0 208 5.94*
2010 PHI 21-10* 2.44 1.04 250.2* 219 7.30*
2011 PHI 19-6 2.35 1.04 233.2 220 6.29*
Total - 77-37 2.59 1.06 969.1 853 6.14
 

*= League Leader

He didn’t really walk guys either. Halladay led the league in strikeout-to-walk ratio five times including four consecutive seasons from 2008 to 2011. 

His best season probably came in 2010 – and not just because of the 2.44 ERA in 250.2 innings and Cy Young Award. On May 29 against the Florida Marlins, he threw the 20th perfect game in major league history as the Phillies won 1-0. A couple months later, in his first career playoff start, Halladay made history again. Facing the Cincinnati Reds in Game 1 of the National League Division Series, Halladay joined Don Larson as the only other pitcher to throw a post-season no-hitter.

Halladay is one of 23 pitchers to ever throw a perfect game and one of seven pitchers to throw at least two no-hitters. Below is a comparison of both outings:

 

Comparing History

 
Game Date Final Score Ks Pitch Count Strikes/Balls
Perfect game vs. Marlins May 29, 2010 1-0 PHI 11 115 72/43
Playoff no-hitter vs. Reds Oct. 6, 2010  4-0 PHI 9 104 79/25
 

 

What might voters say?

A player must receive at least 75 per cent vote, as decided on by the Baseball Writers Association of America, to enter Cooperstown.

Halladay’s current pace has him tracking at 92.5 per cent based on public ballot tracking by Ryan Thibodaux. While nothing is official yet, it’s highly unlikely that Halladay would lose 17.5 per cent as the final voting statistics are revealed on Tuesday.

Halladay and Yankee legend Mariano Rivera are two of four players currently projected for induction with Edgar Martinez at 90 per cent and Mike Mussina at 81.1 per cent seeming like probable bets. Harold Baines and Lee Smith will also be inducted after the Today’s Game Era Committee voted them to the class of 2019. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling project to narrowly miss out.

The BBWAA has elected at least two Hall of Fame candidates in five straight years and a total of 16 during that span. Those elected will be officially inducted on July 21 at the Clark Sports Center in Cooperstown, N.Y.

 

Inductees since 2014

 
Year Player Voted By Ballot % Final Season Career WAR
2019 Harold Baines Veterans - 2001 38.7
2019 Lee Smith Veterans - 1997 29.0
2018 Vladimir Guerrero BBWAA 92.9% 2011 59.4
2018 Trevor Hoffman BBWAA 79.9% 2010 28.0
2018 Chipper Jones BBWAA 97.2% 2012 85.2
2018 Jack Morris Veterans - 1994 43.9
2018 Jim Thome BBWAA 89.8% 2012 72.9
2018 Alan Trammell Veterans - 1996 70.7
2017 Jeff Bagwell BBWAA 86.2% 2005 79.9
2017 Tim Raines BBWAA 86.0% 2002 69.4
2017 Ivan Rodriguez BBWAA 76.0% 2011 68.7
2016 Ken Griffey Jr. BBWAA 99.3% 2010 83.8
2016 Mike Piazza BBWAA 83.0% 2007 59.6
2015 Craig Biggio BBWAA 82.7% 2007 65.5
2015 Randy Johnson BBWAA 97.3% 2009 101.1
2015 Pedro Martinez BBWAA 91.1% 2009 84.0
2015 John Smoltz BBWAA 82.9% 2009 69.1
2014 Tom Glavine BBWAA 91.9% 2008 80.8
2014 Greg Maddux BBWAA 97.2% 2008 106.7
2014 Frank Thomas BBWAA 83.7% 2008 73.9
 

 

Stats courtesy of TSN's Kevin Gibson