Cliff Lee responds to passing of former teammate Roy Halladay

By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor

Outpouring from around the baseball coomunity continues to pour in after Roy Halladay's tragic passing Tuesday in a plane crash. 

The latest comes from his former Philadelphia Phillies teammate Cliff Lee. Lee, through his agent Derek Braunecker, said this to SportsTalkPhilly.com of Halladay's death: 

"So terribly shocked and sad to hear the news. It was always a fun time with Roy messing with planes, drones or anything that had to do with aviation. You left us doing what you loved. You were a great teammate. Much love and prayers go out to Brandy, Ryan and Braden." 

Halladay and Lee's careers will forever be intertwined. The two were among the best pitchers of their era, and were involved in a series of trades in December of 2009. The Phillies, rather shockingly, sent Lee to the Seattle Mariners just over a month after he had become a playoff hero for the team. At the same time, then general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. acquired Halladay, who would win the National League Cy Young Award in his first season with the team. 

In one of the more magical turns of events in the history of Philadelphia sports, Lee returned to the Phillies after the 2010 season. He took a discounted five-year/$120 million contract to return to a rotation that now included Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. 

Though the two were unable to win a World Series in Philadelphia, 2011 may be the most memorable season in the franchise's history. Halladay and Lee were both All-Stars that year, and finished second-and-third in the National League Cy Young Award race. After the two headlined a Sports Illustrated cover in Spring Training, the Phillies went on to win a franchise-record 102 games. 

Halladay and Lee, who formed one of the more dominant one-two punches in the history of the sport, were teammates for three seasons. Those three years with Halladay left a mark on Lee, like they did for many connected to the Phillies.