By: Alex Becker
Roy Halladay, the eight-time All-Star and two-time Cy Young Award winner, was one of four inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday afternoon. The late Halladay, who was a standout pitcher at Arvada West high school, received 85.4 percent of vote. He eclipsed the necessary 75 percent, becoming a first-ballot hall of famer in a class that saw Mariano Rivera become the first-ever unanimous choice for the hall.
Former All-Star closer and graduate of Cherry Creek high school, Brad Lidge, joined Eric Goodman and Les Shapiro of Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 to discuss what it was like playing with Halladay.
Lidge recalled a special story of when both players were Phillies teammates.
“I realized when I was watching one of his games, maybe 2010 or 2011, if he keeps doing this for another year or two, he’s definitely a hall of famer,” Lidge explained. He also recalled one of Halladay’s complete games and mentioned to some players in the bullpen, “Nobody does this anymore.” Halladay threw 67 complete games in his 16-year career, including at least seven per year from 2007-11, leading the league each of those years.
Many baseball writers have different standards for what constitutes landing in Cooperstown. Lidge said, “When you dominate for 12 to 14 years the way he did, that is the criteria for being in the hall of fame.”
Halladay was known for being a pitcher who kept the ball out of the air and worked at a quick tempo. He had four 9-plus inning complete games pitched in less than two hours, a testament to his rapid pace on the mound. Lidge described some of Halladay’s nastiness by saying, “He could have the fastball going both in and away to lefties or righties.”
In 1994, Halladay helped the Arvada West Wildcats win a 6A state baseball championship. The team lost only one game the entire spring season.
Halladay, nicknamed “Doc,” passed away on Nov. 7, 2017 when the aircraft he was piloting crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.
Click here to listen to the full interview with Brad Lidge, including what he thinks of Larry Walker and Todd Helton’s hall of fame chances, or listen to the podcast below.
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