Former MLB pitcher Roy Halladay died Tuesday in a small plane crash in the Gulf of Mexico, law enforcement confirmed. He was 40 years old.
The right-handed pitcher began his 16-year career with the Toronto Blue Jays and ended it with the Philadelphia Phillies. He won the Cy Young Award twice and was named to the All-Star team eight times. Halladay pitched a perfect game in 2010 and threw a no-hitter during the postseason that same year.
“We are numb over the very tragic news about Roy Halladay’s untimely death,” the Phillies said in a statement. “There are no words to describe the sadness that the entire Phillies family is feeling over the loss of one of the most respected human beings to ever play the game.”
According to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, Halladay was the sole passenger aboard an ICON A5 aircraft, a single-engine plane, when it went down over the Gulf near Holiday, Florida, shortly after 12 p.m. Eastern. The plane was upside down in shallow water when police arrived at the scene.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
Halladay tweeted about purchasing the plane just last month:
Halladay grew up outside Denver. After graduating high school in 1995, he was drafted by the Blue Jays. He made his major league debut in 1998 at age 21. He won his first Cy Young Award, granted annually to the best pitcher in each league, in 2003.
After 12 seasons in Toronto, the club traded Halladay to the Phillies in exchange for three minor league prospects. Halladay spent the last four seasons of his career with the team, winning the Cy Young again in 2010.
Over the course of his career, Halladay logged 203 wins and pitched 2,117 strikeouts, earning a career ERA of 3.38.
Halladay retired from professional baseball after the 2013 season. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Related
Before You Go
