The Major League Baseball offseason can take some funny twists and turns. You never know what is around the corner. Whether a trade or free agent signing, big moves can materialize out of nowhere. On this date 15 years ago, the Philadelphia Phillies made a trade to bring in one of the best starting pitchers in the league.
On Dec. 16, 2009, then Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. finalized a trade for Roy "Doc" Halladay from the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays' 1995 first-round pick came to Philadelphia with cash for Travis d'Arnaud, Kyle Drabek and Michael Taylor.
Phillies' trade for Roy Halladay in 2009 meant dealing Cliff Lee
Unfortunately, the move required Cliff Lee to be traded to the Seattle Mariners for a handful of prospects: Phillippe Aumont, J. C. Ramírez and Tyson Gillies. According to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki, Phillies president David Montgomery told Amaro that he needed to trade somebody to replenish the farm system. Luckily, the Phillies brought Lee back the following winter.
Halladay was at the height of his otherworldly powers at the time. He won a Cy Young Award in 2003, had already made six All-Star Games and finished in the top five of Cy Young voting for four consecutive seasons when the Phillies acquired the right-hander.
The Phillies were trying to get back to the World Series after winning in 2008 and then losing in 2009 to the New York Yankees. Halladay had never appeared in the postseason with Toronto, but a starting pitcher with his prowess seemed to put the Phillies back on the road to the Fall Classic.
That 2010 season was spectacular. Halladay led the majors with 8.5 bWAR, 21 wins, nine complete games, four shutouts, 250 2/3 innings pitched. He finished the year with a 2.44 ERA and 1.04 WHIP before winning the NL Cy Young Award and coming sixth in NL MVP voting.
Phillies fans got an early taste of his greatness when he threw a perfect game on May 29 against the Florida Marlins. It was his fifth complete game in just 11 starts as a Phillie at the time. He followed that up with another spectacular start later in the year in his first foray into the postseason.
In Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Cincinnati Reds, Halladay made history by throwing a no-hitter. It was only the second time a no-hitter had been thrown, the first dating back to Don Larson in 1956.
The Phillies cruised to a 3-0 series win and looked on track to return to the World Series as many had predicted. Unfortunately, Halladay's magical season came to an end when the Phils lost in the National League Championship Series to the San Francisco Giants.
Sadly, Halladay never got to the World Series, as the Phillies were eliminated in the NLDS in 2011 by the St. Louis Cardinals. He finished as a runner-up in the NL Cy Young that season and earned his eighth and final All-Star nod. In his four seasons in Philadelphia, Halladay had a 55-29 record with a 3.25 ERA and 18 of his 67 career complete games.
Adding Halladay never resulted in the Phillies getting back and winning it all, but seeing him pitch at Citizens Bank Park was a treat for Phillies fans and all baseball fans. He passed away in a tragic accident in 2017 and was posthumously elected to the Hall of Fame in 2019.