By Tyler King, NCC News
July 14, 2009
SYRACUSE -- When former Syracuse Chief Roy Halladay takes the mound for the American League All-Star team tonight (8pm, FOX), it will be the latest stage of a voyage highlighted by both great expectations and great disappointment.
Halladay, a star prospect when he made his full-season debut for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2000, struggled mightily at the outset, setting a Jays record for highest earned run average by a regular starting pitcher. Toronto in response sent Halladay back to the minor leagues to recreate his game; a path he finished in 2001 with the Chiefs.
“It was just a matter of getting his command,” former big-leaguer Steve Grilli, the Chiefs’ television color commentator at the time, recalls, “and mechanically, they just kind of broke him down and rebuilt him.”
Since being rebuilt, Halladay has gone on to win a Cy Young award as best American League pitcher, and placed 2nd and 5th in two other years of Cy Young voting. Tonight will mark the sixth all-star appearance for the former Chief now frequently referred to as one of the best in baseball.
Related:
Roy Halladay’s Career Stats from baseball-reference.com
Roy Halladay’s Minor League Statistics from baseball-reference.com
No comments:
Post a Comment