Phillies: Reliving HOF Roy Halladay’s 2010 NLDS no-hitter

In honor of the stacked 2019 Hall of Fame class, we can take a look back at some of the most memorable moments of the inductees’ careers. One of the signature games of Phillies ace Roy Halladay’s career was his historic 2010 NLDS no-hitter.

The unceasing nature of former Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies ace Roy Halladay was never far from the batter’s mind, as he stepped into the box to face the undisputed ace of the game. He was a force on that mound- that of Rodgers Centre and Citizens Bank Park- and everyone knew it.

On October 6, 2010, Roy had made seven All-Star teams, had a CY Young and the second was essentially wrapped up, recorded the hardest feat in his sport- pitch a perfect game- and was about to do the unthinkable. The no-hitter is strictly a regular-season endeavor, as players become selfless and managers become risk-averse, simultaneously they set their sights on one thing- a victory.

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Roy Halladay set out to do one thing on that October afternoon, to begin a run to the World Series, in hopes of reaching it for the third season in a row. Before his arrival in 2010, the Phillies defeated the Rays in the 2008 Fall Classic and were defeated by the Yankees in 2009. Halladay’s arrival onto the scene in 2010 was a bold move to capture another trophy and thus far the hand had turned up all aces.

Unfortunately, despite the vivid success of Halladay, the Phillies could never reach that illustrious final game again. However, that does not obscure the awe-inspiring feat that any baseball fan from 2010 will reminisce upon fondly.

From the first pitch, his tenacity was on full display, Brandon Phillips could only muster a weak chopper out to Jimmy Rollins for an easy out. From there it was near all the same, jamming batters as he worked inside, changing speeds, and above all else a plethora of weak contact.

He was not the type of pitcher that would use heat to overwhelm a batter, rather he intrinsically knew his craft and honed it well. 2010- and this moment in particular- was the pinnacle of his success. He executed every single pitch where he desired and was cerebral enough to know for certain that these locations were the most appropriate ones.

He was in such an absolute command that afternoon into the evening that there was not as much as a feint threat of a hit. When Cincinnati Reds batters could find a way to put the ball into play it was either a pop-up or a softly hit ground ball. The final out was the weakest of them all a squibbed ball inches from home plate, catcher Carlos Ruiz scrambled for and fired to first baseman Ryan Howard to earn a spot in the history books.

This final batter was Brandon Phillips the same man that grounded out on the first pitch of the game. In this fact, the game had an awfully cyclical nature in which the new Hall of Fame inductee had a firm grasp from the opening pitch until the closing one.

As far as the history books are concerned, Roy Halladay joined the prestigious company of Don Larsen as the only other player to throw a postseason no-hitter. The Yankees Larsen’s performance was undertaken 54 years earlier, two days to the date, October 8, 1956, against the common opponent of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

This weekend accomplishments like this must be celebrated, as these are the accomplishments that make a Hall of Fame career truly special.