Read Online The Rotation by Jim Salisbury - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jim Salisbury
Ads: Link
the game, getting his brains beaten out, to the best pitcher in baseball. I remember catching him in the bullpen when he came back. It was pretty special.â
A new pitcher with a new mind-set, Halladay climbed his way back to the majors in July 2001. Slowly, he established himself as the best in the game. He won 19 games and had a 2.93 ERA in 2002. He won the Cy Young Award a year later.
There are stages to a ballplayerâs career: 1. Establish yourself as a major leaguer; 2. Make a lot of money; 3. Get a ring. Over the years, Halladay reached the first two stages, but by 2009 it was pretty clear to him that he was going to have difficulty reaching the third stage in Toronto. The Jays played in a tough division with the high-powered and deep-pocketed Boston
Red Sox and New York Yankees. At 32 years old, Halladay didnât see how the rebuilding Jays were going to catch those two clubs, at least not while he still had bullets left in his right arm.
Halladay was due to become a free agent at the end of the 2010 season and he had made it clear to Jays officials that he would sign elsewhere, with a contender, when his deal expired. During the first half of the 2009 season, he quietly asked the Jays to consider trading him to a contender. Jays officials were under no obligation to deal Halladay, but they were open to it, provided they could get top value, such as multiple blue-chip prospects, in return. Dealing Halladay with a year and a half left on his contract would fetch the Jays a higher price than hanging on to him for another year, and it would be better than risking just draft-pick compensation if he walked away to free agency after the 2010 season.
In 2009, Ruben Amaro Jr. was in his first year as Phillies general manager. The Phils were coming off a World Series championship in 2008 and had the lineup to get back to the World Series in 2009, but the starting pitching was suspect. Cole Hamels was having trouble duplicating his great work from the previous October and Brett Myers had been injured. The team scouted and eventually signed veteran Pedro Martinez, but he wasnât the guy Amaro really wanted. Amaro had long ago become obsessed with the tall right-handed ace of the Toronto Blue Jays. The Phillies and Jays train just five miles apart in neighboring Florida towns. Amaro had seen enough of Roy Halladay to know if he ever had the chance to get him, he would go for it.
âAs far back as â08, they were eyeing Halladay,â one team insider said of Amaro and his predecessor, Pat Gillick. âThey knew he was going to be a free agent after 2010. For a long time, Roy was Rubenâs white whale.â
J. P. Ricciardi knew this. He was Torontoâs GM from late 2001 to 2009, and a smart, young, wisecracking baseball executive, much like Amaro. Early in the 2009 season, Amaro told Ricciardi, âIf you ever do anything with Doc. . . .â
âIâll let you know,â Ricciardi said.
On July 6, 2009, Ricciardi called Amaro and said he was ready to start taking offers for Halladay.
A day later, Ricciardi told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that Halladay was availableâfor the right price. Rosenthal posted a story on FOXâs Website. He nearly broke the Internet.
Ricciardi was contacted by a Philadelphia writer asking what it would take for the Phillies to get Halladay.
âThe type of talent that makes you stand up and take notice,â Ricciardi said. âAll the clubs that have contacted us understand that.â
Ricciardi added that if no team met his steep price, heâd hang on to the best pitcher in baseball.
âItâs going to take a lot,â he said. âSomeone is going to have to have the stomach for this and Iâm not sure anyone does.â
On the executive level of Citizens Bank Park, Amaro went into action. Advisers Gillick and Dallas Green urged him to go get Halladay.
âRuben has a chance to make history in this town if he gets
A new pitcher with a new mind-set, Halladay climbed his way back to the majors in July 2001. Slowly, he established himself as the best in the game. He won 19 games and had a 2.93 ERA in 2002. He won the Cy Young Award a year later.
There are stages to a ballplayerâs career: 1. Establish yourself as a major leaguer; 2. Make a lot of money; 3. Get a ring. Over the years, Halladay reached the first two stages, but by 2009 it was pretty clear to him that he was going to have difficulty reaching the third stage in Toronto. The Jays played in a tough division with the high-powered and deep-pocketed Boston
Red Sox and New York Yankees. At 32 years old, Halladay didnât see how the rebuilding Jays were going to catch those two clubs, at least not while he still had bullets left in his right arm.
Halladay was due to become a free agent at the end of the 2010 season and he had made it clear to Jays officials that he would sign elsewhere, with a contender, when his deal expired. During the first half of the 2009 season, he quietly asked the Jays to consider trading him to a contender. Jays officials were under no obligation to deal Halladay, but they were open to it, provided they could get top value, such as multiple blue-chip prospects, in return. Dealing Halladay with a year and a half left on his contract would fetch the Jays a higher price than hanging on to him for another year, and it would be better than risking just draft-pick compensation if he walked away to free agency after the 2010 season.
In 2009, Ruben Amaro Jr. was in his first year as Phillies general manager. The Phils were coming off a World Series championship in 2008 and had the lineup to get back to the World Series in 2009, but the starting pitching was suspect. Cole Hamels was having trouble duplicating his great work from the previous October and Brett Myers had been injured. The team scouted and eventually signed veteran Pedro Martinez, but he wasnât the guy Amaro really wanted. Amaro had long ago become obsessed with the tall right-handed ace of the Toronto Blue Jays. The Phillies and Jays train just five miles apart in neighboring Florida towns. Amaro had seen enough of Roy Halladay to know if he ever had the chance to get him, he would go for it.
âAs far back as â08, they were eyeing Halladay,â one team insider said of Amaro and his predecessor, Pat Gillick. âThey knew he was going to be a free agent after 2010. For a long time, Roy was Rubenâs white whale.â
J. P. Ricciardi knew this. He was Torontoâs GM from late 2001 to 2009, and a smart, young, wisecracking baseball executive, much like Amaro. Early in the 2009 season, Amaro told Ricciardi, âIf you ever do anything with Doc. . . .â
âIâll let you know,â Ricciardi said.
On July 6, 2009, Ricciardi called Amaro and said he was ready to start taking offers for Halladay.
A day later, Ricciardi told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that Halladay was availableâfor the right price. Rosenthal posted a story on FOXâs Website. He nearly broke the Internet.
Ricciardi was contacted by a Philadelphia writer asking what it would take for the Phillies to get Halladay.
âThe type of talent that makes you stand up and take notice,â Ricciardi said. âAll the clubs that have contacted us understand that.â
Ricciardi added that if no team met his steep price, heâd hang on to the best pitcher in baseball.
âItâs going to take a lot,â he said. âSomeone is going to have to have the stomach for this and Iâm not sure anyone does.â
On the executive level of Citizens Bank Park, Amaro went into action. Advisers Gillick and Dallas Green urged him to go get Halladay.
âRuben has a chance to make history in this town if he gets
Similar Books
