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Johan Santana, CC Sabathia, Tim Lincemcum.
All three generally considered the best pitchers in the game. But with the Toronto Blue Jay’s major league best 23-12 record, we can finally put Roy Halladay into the true upper-echelon of starting pitchers.
Why couldn’t we put him in this category during his Cy Young winning season in 2003? Simple, his team wasn’t good enough. While the Blue Jays finished 10 games above .500, they placed only 3rd in their division and missed the playoffs.
So now, with the league’s best record supporting him, we can finally welcome Roy Halladay into the top of the elite when it comes to starting pitchers. Halladay has gotten off to yet another amazing start, leading the AL with seven wins and only one loss while posting a scary good 2.95 ERA, and a 1.03 WHIP.
The aspect that stands out most is Halladay’s impeccable control; he has only walked 7 batters in 61 innings pitched. That’s walking less than a batter per game. Now tell me, how can you win if you can’t even get on base. According to Halladay, the answer is…you don’t.
Halladay’s arsenal consists of a mid-90’s fastball with late sinking movement, a swooping curveball that stays around 75 MPH, a cutter that runs in on right-handers at 92 MPH, and a deceptive change up that remains in the low 80’s.
With Toronto’s weak performances the past few seasons, trade rumors involving Halladay have surfaced every year. But with the team surging this season, look for Halladay to become a main stay fixture in Toronto. This comes as unfortunate news for the teams in the AL East, especially the New York Yankees. Halladay is a very close second to Babe Ruth for the all time best winning percentage (.729) against the Yanks.
So now it goes Santana, Sabathia, Lincemcum, and officially Halladay when you talk about the absolute best pitchers in baseball.
Roy Halladay is keeping his pitch hand strong.
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