Doc: The Life of Roy Halladay by Todd Zolecki

Triumph Books.

Roy Halladay was one of the most dominant pitchers of his generation. If not for injuries, there’s no doubting that he would have played a few years. Unfortunately, he’s no longer with us after dying in a November 2017 plane crash. Todd Zolecki is able to capture the entirety of what made Halladay the person that he is and what drove him as a player in his recent book, Doc: The Life of Roy Halladay, published by Triumph Books. Interestingly, the book features Halladay in a Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays uniform for the US and Canadian publications, respectively. I couldn’t think of a better tribute to Halladay. After all, the decision was made by his family to go into the Hall of Fame without a logo on his plaque.

Zolecki goes above and beyond in giving Halladay the biography that he deserves. He interviews the people who knew him the best along with a countless number of teammates and coaches. He got access to a few long-form interviews with Halladay that really take the book to the next level. It was while watching a long-form interview with Chris Carpenter that Zolecki learned of a similar interview with Halladay. Without access to those interviews, this book would not be the same. It’s honestly what makes the difference between a good book and a great book.

Reading this book offers incredible insight and analysis into what drove Halladay the player. His training regimen is the thing of legend. When Brandy Halladay picked up Harvey Dorfman’s book, The Mental ABC’s of Pitching: A Handbook for Performance Enhancement, it would change Doc’s life as he knew it. Dorfman would become a mentor to him. They would share phone calls and emails until Dorfman’s passing. It came at an important time for Halladay. Following his 2000 season, where he finished with a 10.64 ERA, the Blue Jays sent him down to the minor leagues to rediscover his mechanics. The Halladay that came back was a changed pitcher. One that would have stayed a Blue Jay for his career if not for the club not playing in the postseason. He was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies during December 2009. They traded away Cliff Lee to the Seattle Mariners but Lee returned the following December, signing as a free agent. And thus formed THE ROTATION of Halladay, Lee, Cole Hamels, and Roy Oswalt.

There are a few Halladay performances that people will remember: his perfect game and no-hitters. One of those no-hitters just happened to come against the Cincinnati Reds in the NLDS—the second post-season no-hitter, joining Don Larsen’s perfect game in 1956. What made his performance even more historic is that it made Doc the first pitcher to throw both a no-hitter and perfect game during the same calendar year. The next postseason would see Doc facing former Blue Jays teammate and then-St. Louis Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter during Game 5 of the NLDS. While the game would become an instant classic for their pitching duel, neither pitcher would ever be the same. In any event, it’s included as a bonus feature with the official 2011 World Series film.

This is the type of book that readers just cannot put down. I know that I couldn’t, reading a few chapters per day outside of my Shabbos reading. I had the privilege of getting to attend one of his starts back in 2006. It just so happened that he faced New York Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina—both players would be elected to Cooperstown on the same day. It’s just unfortunate that Halladay wasn’t alive for the moment. The tears I had back in November 2017 returned as I was in the final chapters of finishing Zolecki’s book on Thursday night. Again, that speaks to the legacy of Halladay the ballplayer. He was the pitcher that you loved to admire but at the same time, you didn’t want him facing your favorite team because you knew the most likely outcome would be a loss.

Halladay finished his career with a 203-105 record, 3.38 ERA, and 2117 strikeouts. His 65.4 WAR for pitchers is 45th all-time as writing. He led all pitchers in WAR in four different seasons. Had writers been paying attention to that stat at the time, Halladay could have won two more Cy Young Awards in addition to his awards for 2003 and 2010.

Doc: The Life of Roy Halladay is a celebration of a fan-favorite pitcher and an essential book that belongs in everyone’s baseball book collection.