Perfect Roy Halladay

Ok, so there have been a total of just 20 perfect games in the entire history of the Major Leagues, and we had two of them less than three weeks apart?  No sport is based on statistics more than baseball, and some statistician somewhere will calculate the probability of this happening. 

That same statistician could look at Philadelphia Phillies right hander Roy Halladay and conclude that he would be a likely candidate to pitch a perfect game, which he did in Miami on May 29th as the Phillies beat the Florida Marlins 1-0.

Halladay’s career numbers have been outstanding.  After the May 29th perfect game, his lifetime record was 155-79 with an ERA of 3.37.  Most of that record came as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, who have been stuck behind the Yankees, Red Sox, and more recently the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East; he should be even better with the front running Phillies.  With the Jays, Halladay’s  won-lost records included seasons of 19-7, 22-7, 16-5, 16-7, and 20-11.  In 2005, he started the season 12-4 before getting hurt and missing the last three months of the season.  He has great command of his pitches, too; for example, last season he walked just 35 batters in 239 innings pitched, while striking out 208.  He finishes what he starts, as much as any pitcher does is this era of situational relief pitchers;  last year he led the Majors with 9 complete games  and he already has 5 complete games in his 11 starts this season. 

The Phillies acquired Halladay in a trade over the winter, and also traded Cliff Lee to the Seattle Mariners.  The Phillies had picked up Lee from the Cleveland Indians halfway through the season, and he pitched very well for the Phillies, helping them win the National League championship.  Lee, like Halladay, is considered to be one of the best starting pitchers in the game, so there was some question as to whether or not this move improved the Phillies or just changed out a couple of fairly equal players.  The edge has gone to Halladay, who has a 7-2 record with an ERA of 1.99, plus that perfect game; Lee opened the season on the disabled list and since returning, has a record of 3-2 with a 3.22 ERA. 

Not bad, but as we say here at Fikkle Fame, sometimes you’re hot, sometimes you’re not, and right now, Roy Halladay is one of the hottest pitchers around.

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Tags: ERA philadelphia phillies, roy, tampa bay rays, toronto blue jays