MLB 21st century face of the franchise — Toronto Blue Jays: Roy Halladay
Over the span of a dozen seasons in Toronto, Roy Halladay justified the perception of him as one of the dominant pitchers in Toronto Blue Jays history.
A 148-game winner for the Jays, Halladay led the American League in victories in 2003 (with 22), and three times (2002,2003, 2008) was the most heavily used pitcher. His 266 innings of work in 2003 included 36 starts and 9 complete games, winning the Cy Young Award for his trouble. If any manager asked a pitcher to do either of those things today, that manager would be arrested for abuse.
Throughout his career, he was a bear-down artist. With two out and runners in scoring position, opposing batters hit just .216 against Halladay. He was particularly tough on the Detroit Tigers, who batted just .223 in 16 games against Halladay.
Halladay was an 18-year-old high schooler when the Jays picked him 17th overall in 2005. Sadly for Blue Jays fans, the team’s financial situation eventually forced Halladay’s Dec. 2009 trade to Philadelphia for three players, none of whom ever did anything for the Jays.
Halladay was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2019, one year after his death in a private plane accident. He still ranks second in franchise history in pitcher WAR, wins, strikeouts and shutouts, in each case behind only Dave Stieb.
He is first in Jays history in two major categories, Win Probability Added, with 29.7 games, and Adjusted Pitcher Wins, with 26.2.
In the wings: In the near future, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will replace Halladay as the face of the Jays. Only 24, Guerrero has hit 80 home runs with 208 RBI in the past two seasons, finishing second in 2021 MVP voting and making both All-Star teams. Another year or two of that kind of production and it will be time for a re-evaluation.