Roy Halladay Inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame

By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor

The late great Roy Halladay was posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday in Cooperstown, New York.

As Roy's widow, Brandy, approached the podium, dozens of Hall of Famers that were gathered on the stage and the onlooking crowd gave her a standing ovation. Brandy then wiped tears from her eyes, before starting her speech on Roy's behalf. “This is not my speech to give," she said. "I am going to do my best to give the speech that Roy would have given if he was here."

Brandy thanked both the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies, the only organizations Roy played for over the course of his 16-season career, 1998-2009 and 2010-2013, respectively.

"To both of the teams that we were blessed to be a part of, the Blue Jays and the Phillies, thank you for allowing us to grow up, to fail over and over, and finally learn how to succeed within your organizations," she said. "There were some really amazing years, but there were some really tough ones, too, and you never gave up on him."

When Halladay's election to the Hall was announced in January, Brandy announced that Roy would enter the hall with no logo on his plaque. He and fellow 2019 inductee Mike Mussina joins only Tony LaRussa, Greg Maddux and Catfish Hunter as Hall of Famers with no logos.

Brandy said that when she and her two sons decided that Roy would be inducted with no logo on his plaque's hat, both the Blue Jays and Phillies "quickly reached out" to them and told them "how proud they were of that decision, validating a choice" they knew in their hearts was "right [and] was in fact the correct one."

"We know, without a doubt, that had Roy been with us today, this is the decision that he would have made, and, more than anything, would want both organizations to know that they hold a huge place in our heart and always will," Brandy said. "Evidence of their love for us and our love for them as well was shown all week, as they came together as one to celebrate Roy, and that means the world to me. To both organizations, I can't thank you enough."

The late Halladay passed away in November 2017 due to a tragic plane crash. Brandy then said that despite the right-hander's seemingly "perfect" playing career, Roy "would want everyone to know" that people, in fact, "are not perfect."

"We are all imperfect and flawed in one way or another. We all struggle, but with hard work, humility and dedication, imperfect people can still have perfect moments," she said. "Roy was blessed in his life and in his career to have some perfect moments, but I believe that they were only possible because of the man he strived to be, the teammate that he was, and the people he was so blessed to be on the field with."

Roy Halladay's Career Accomplishments:

• Eight-time All-Star
• First pitcher to throw perfect game (May 29, 2010) and no-hitter (October 6, 2010) during the same season
• Threw no-hitter in postseason debut
• Threw just the second no-hitter in postseason history
• One of six pitchers to win the Cy Young Award in both the American and National leagues
• Toronto Blue Jays No. 32 retired

Brandy concluded the speech with that she is "so humble to say 'congratulations' to this year's Hall of Fame inductees [and] to say 'thank you' to all of you on Roy's behalf."

"Thank you so much for all of your support [and] your continued dedication to the game of baseball. It means more to all of us than I think anyone could possibly know."