Timeline of Halladay's Hall of Fame career
After a career full of iconic moments for two franchises -- from the complete games and first Cy Young Award with the Blue Jays to his perfect game and postseason no-hitter with the Phillies -- Roy Halladay is a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
The late, great right-hander, who died at age 40 in a plane crash in 2017, was announced as one of the four members of the Hall of Fame's Class of 2019 on Tuesday. He was named on 85.4 percent of the 425 ballots cast, easily surpassing the required 75 percent.
One of the greatest players in Toronto franchise history, a leader of some of the most dominant rotations ever to take the mound in Philadelphia and one of the true workhorse aces of the modern game, Halladay will be enshrined in Cooperstown, N.Y., this July.
• Complete 2019 Hall of Fame election results
Here's how he got there.
May 14, 1977: Halladay is born in Denver.
June 3, 1995: The Blue Jays select Halladay with the 17th overall pick in the MLB Draft out of Arvada (Colo.) West HS. That first round also featured Darin Erstad (No. 1 overall), Kerry Wood (No. 4) and Todd Helton (No. 8) -- and Halladay's career WAR of 64.3 is best of the group (Helton next at 61.2).
Sept. 20, 1998: Halladay makes his MLB debut for Toronto, facing the Devil Rays at Tropicana Field. He struck out the first batter he faced, Randy Winn, and went on to throw five innings of three-run ball in a no-decision. Halladay was in line for the win until Fred McGriff hit a game-tying home run in the ninth inning.
Sept. 27, 1998: In his second career start, on the final day of the 1998 regular season, Halladay has a no-hitter broken up with two outs in the ninth inning on a solo homer by Tigers pinch-hitter Bobby Higginson. He still finished off the one-hitter -- the first of his 67 career complete games -- and got his first win.
2001: The Blue Jays send Halladay to the Minors after a 2000 season in which he struggled to a 10.64 ERA. Working with pitching instructor Mel Queen, Halladay changed his delivery to a three-quarters arm angle, which let him develop his trademark sinker.
July 7, 2002: Halladay makes his first of eight All-Star teams. He pitched one inning, striking out Sammy Sosa but allowing a homer to Barry Bonds.
Sept. 6, 2003: Halladay throws a 10-inning, three-hit shutout against the Tigers at the SkyDome -- the first shutout of more than nine innings in MLB since Jack Morris' in Game 7 of 1991 World Series.
Nov. 11, 2003: Halladay wins his first Cy Young Award after going 22-7 with a 3.25 ERA for the Blue Jays while leading the Majors with 266 innings pitched, nine complete games and two shutouts. No pitcher has eclipsed 260 innings in a season since.
April 13, 2007: Halladay throws another 10-inning complete game -- also against the Tigers -- the last complete game of more than nine innings in the Majors to date.
May 31, 2007: With seven shutout innings to beat the White Sox at Rogers Centre, Halladay notches his 100th career win.
July 14, 2009: Halladay gets the All-Star Game start for the American League after going 10-3 with a 2.85 ERA, three complete games and one shutout in the first half.
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Dec. 16, 2009: After 12 seasons with the Blue Jays, Halladay is traded to the Phillies. He ended his Toronto tenure with a 148-76 record, 3.43 ERA, 1,495 strikeouts, 49 complete games and 15 shutouts. He ranks second in franchise history in wins, strikeouts and shutouts, and third in complete games.
April 5, 2010: Halladay starts on Opening Day, making his Phillies debut. He throws seven innings of one-run baseball and strikes out nine to beat the Nationals.
May 29, 2010: Doc spun the 20th perfect game in MLB history, an 11-strikeout masterpiece against the Marlins at Sun Life Stadium. It was the second perfect game in Phillies history, after Jim Bunning's in 1964. "It's never something that you think is possible," Halladay said after the game.
Sept. 27, 2010: With the Phillies' magic number at 1, Halladay takes the mound for his final start of the regular season and throws a two-hit shutout against the Nationals to clinch the division -- the Phillies' fourth straight NL East title.
Oct. 6, 2010: After 13 years in the Majors, Halladay finally got to pitch in the postseason for the first time. And he threw a no-hitter. In Game 1 of the NL Division Series, Halladay no-hit the Reds in front of 46,411 fans at Citizens Bank Park, joining Don Larsen as the only pitchers in MLB history to throw a no-hitter in the postseason. He became the first pitcher to throw multiple no-hitters in a season since Nolan Ryan in 1973.
"It's hard to explain, but pitching a game like that, being able to win the game comes first," Halladay said afterward. "That's kind of your only focus until after it's over with. I think once it ends, it's a little bit surreal."
Nov. 16, 2010: Halladay wins the NL Cy Young Award by unanimous vote, becoming the fifth pitcher to win the award in both leagues, along with Gaylord Perry, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens. In his debut season in Philadelphia, Doc went 21-10 -- the Phillies' first 20-game winner since Steve Carlton in 1982 -- with a 2.44 ERA and a Major League-leading 250 2/3 innings pitched, nine complete games and four shutouts, including his perfect game.
July 12, 2011: Halladay starts the All-Star Game again, but for the NL this time, becoming the fourth pitcher to start the Midsummer Classic for both leagues, along with Vida Blue, Johnson and Clemens.
Oct. 7, 2011: In what would be his last postseason start, Halladay went toe-to-toe with the Cardinals' Chris Carpenter in a classic pitchers' duel in the winner-take-all Game 5 of the NLDS in Philadelphia. Doc was great, throwing eight innings of one-run ball, but Carpenter was even better, throwing a three-hit shutout to send St. Louis to the NL Championship Series.
July 29, 2012: Halladay strikes out the Braves' David Ross for the 2,000th strikeout of his career, becoming the 67th pitcher to reach the mark.
April 14, 2013: Halladay gets his 200th win, allowing one run over eight innings against the Marlins in Miami.
Sept. 17, 2013: Halladay wins his final game, No. 203, in front of the hometown fans at Citizens Bank Park. He made one last start a week later, on Sept. 23.
Dec. 9, 2013: Halladay retires after signing a ceremonial one-day contract with the Blue Jays, ending his career where it began. Over 16 Major League seasons, Halladay went 203-105 with a 3.38 ERA, 2,117 strikeouts, 67 complete games and 20 shutouts. He was an eight-time All-Star and two-time Cy Young Award winner.
"As a baseball player, you realize that's something you can't do the rest of your life," Halladay said at his retirement press conference. "I really don't have any regrets."
Nov. 7, 2017: Halladay dies in a plane crash off the coast of Florida, near his Clearwater home, when the ICON A5 light-sport aircraft he was piloting crashed in the Gulf of Mexico.
Dec. 21, 2017: The Phillies announce that, in honor of Halladay, they will not wear No. 34 during the 2018 season, the number Halladay wore with the Phillies.
March 29, 2018: The Blue Jays retire Halladay's No. 32 on Opening Day at Rogers Centre.