Editing Roy Halladay (section)

====1998–2001====
In his second career start, against the [[1998 Detroit Tigers season|Detroit Tigers]] on September 27, [[1998 Toronto Blue Jays season|1998]], Halladay had what would have been the third [[no-hitter]] ever pitched on the final day of a regular season broken up with two outs in the ninth. The feat would have joined the combined no-hitter by four [[1984 Oakland Athletics season|Oakland Athletics]] pitchers ([[Vida Blue]], [[Glenn Abbott]], [[Paul Lindblad]], and [[Rollie Fingers]]) in [[1975 Oakland Athletics season|1975]] and [[Mike Witt]]'s [[Perfect game (baseball)|perfect game]] in [[1984 California Angels season|1984]]. The bid was broken up by pinch hitter [[Bobby Higginson]]'s solo home run, the only hit allowed in a {{nowrap|2–1}} Toronto victory, as Halladay recorded his first major {{nowrap|league win.<ref name=roofhs>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RYxXAAAAIBAJ&pg=5482%2C6005299 |work=[[Spokesman-Review]] |location=(Spokane, Washington)|agency=[[Associated Press]] |title=Rookie one out from history |date=September 28, 1998 |page=C2}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last= Hall |first= Jordan |date= November 8, 2017 |url=https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/sports/csn/phillies/The_moments_Chase_Utley_realized_Roy_Halladay_s_eminence-456273983.html |title=The Moments Chase Utley Realized Roy Halladay's Eminence |access-date=December 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208122610/https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/sports/csn/phillies/The_moments_Chase_Utley_realized_Roy_Halladay_s_eminence-456273983.html |archive-date=December 8, 2017 |url-status=dead |website=[[NBC Philadelphia]]  }}</ref>}}   Prior to the home run, the sole base runner had reached on an infield error in the fifth inning, as Halladay struck out eight and {{nowrap|walked none.<ref name=roofhs/>}}

[[File:TOR2001R32HALLADAY.jpg|thumb|left|2001 Toronto Blue Jays #32 Roy Halladay road jersey (after 9/11)]]During the [[2000 Toronto Blue Jays season|2000 season]], Halladay posted a 10.64 [[earned run average]] (ERA) in 19 games, 13 of which he started,<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=Roy Halladay Stats|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hallaro01.shtml|access-date=December 7, 2021|website=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|language=en}}</ref> making his 2000 season the worst in history for any pitcher with at least 50 [[innings pitched]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Sheehan|first=Joe|date=May 30, 2010|title=Roy Halladay was perfect, but he has pitched better games|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/joe_sheehan/05/30/roy.halladay/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602222135/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/joe_sheehan/05/30/roy.halladay/index.html|archive-date=June 2, 2010|access-date=October 1, 2010|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]|publisher=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Zolecki|first=Todd|date=September 6, 2013|title=Sent to 'pen, Martin gets encouragement from Doc|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130906&content_id=59732246&notebook_id=59756582&vkey=notebook_phi&c_id=phi|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023030339/http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130906&content_id=59732246&notebook_id=59756582&vkey=notebook_phi&c_id=phi|archive-date=October 23, 2013|access-date=September 7, 2013|work=[[Philadelphia Phillies]]|publisher=[[MLB.com]]}}</ref> At the beginning of the [[2001 Toronto Blue Jays season|2001 season]], Halladay was optioned to Class-A [[Dunedin Blue Jays|Dunedin]] to rebuild his delivery. Halladay's fastball was clocked as high as {{convert|95|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}, but it had little movement, and his pitches were up in the strike zone, which was ultimately the reason why his 2000 season was so unsuccessful. He considered quitting baseball.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://thewalrus.ca/roy-halladay-gave-toronto-everything-even-when-we-didnt-deserve-it/ | title=Roy Halladay Gave Toronto Everything—Even when We Didn't Deserve It &#124; the Walrus | date=November 8, 2017 }}</ref> Instead, he worked in the minors with former Blue Jays pitching coach [[Mel Queen, Jr.|Mel Queen]]. The problem, Queen realized, was Halladay's total reliance on his strength: his attempt to overpower batters with straight-ahead pitches. Within two weeks, Halladay had altered his arm angle for a more deceptive delivery, and added pitches that sank and careened.<ref name="USAToday1">{{cite web|last=White|first=Paul|date=May 8, 2008|title=Innings-eater Halladay gives Jays bullpen holiday|url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/al/bluejays/2008-05-08-jayshalladay_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip|access-date=November 8, 2017|website=[[USA Today]]}}</ref> Instead of throwing over the top, he chose to use a three-quarters delivery (the middle point between throwing overhand and sidearm). Originally a fastball pitcher, he became reliant on keeping his pitches low across the plate, regardless of the type of pitch thrown. The adjustments proved successful. After a month and a half, he was promoted to Double-A [[Tennessee Smokies|Tennessee]], and a month later, to Triple-A [[Syracuse Chiefs|Syracuse]]. By mid-season, he was back in the Blue Jays' rotation. He posted a 5–3 [[Win–loss record (pitching)|win–loss record]] with a 3.19 ERA for the Blue Jays in 16 starts in 2001.<ref name=":0" />