Saturday July 2, 2011
Posted: 3:30 p.m.Updated: 5:46 p.m.
By Jim Salisbury
CSNPhilly.com
BOXSCORE
TORONTOWhen it was over, Roy Halladay could finally tell himself the truth.
This was not just another game.
Halladay tried to dismiss it as that a week ago when the subject of his long-awaited return to Toronto came up. Over a year had passed since he was traded from the Blue Jays to the Phillies, enough time, he said, that there wouldnt be any significant emotion when he took the mound in the stadium he called home for more than a decade.
Halladays return to Toronto came and went in a 5-3 Phillies victory on Saturday and only when the righthanders sixth complete game and 11th win were over could he admit that, yes, this day was different, and yes, it was special.
MLB
I was definitely anxious warming up, Halladay admitted. Walking onto the field was definitely different.
Halladay called the day a cool experience for me. He went the distance on eight hits and a tidy 110 pitches. He got a little boost from the offense when Chase Utley erased a one-run deficit with a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh.
You definitely want to go as long as you can and do as well as you can, and it meant a lot to me to do it here, Halladay said. I really felt like the Blue Jays battled. They werent going to roll over and hand it to us. I felt like we had to work for it.
The events on the field were only part of what made this all a cool experience for the quiet 34-year-old pitcher.
Halladay won 148 games and an American League Cy Young award during his time in Toronto, but he never made the postseason. With his biological clock ticking, he made it clear it was time to move on two summers ago, and eventually was dealt to Philadelphia. Some players become an enemy of the people when they push to get out of a town and are treated to nothing but boos when they return. But Halladay always showed respect to Toronto, its fans and the Blue Jays when he charted his exit. There were never any hard feelings as he walked out the door. That much was clear Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, Jays management asked the Phillies to have Halladay deliver the lienup card before the game. As he walked to home plate, a video montage tribute played on the scoreboard and the crowd of more than 45,000 saluted him with a standing ovation.
The ovation was even louder and longer when Halladay took the mound for the bottom of the first inning Saturday.
It was almost surreal to see a player get that treatment during a game in a visiting ballpark.
Known for his impenetrable concentration, even Halladay noticed the ovation.
It was great, he said. The organization and fans have been great to me here. To come back the first time and have them recognize you, even after taking the lineup card yesterday, feels great. Its something Ill never forget. I definitely appreciate it.
The ovation in the first inning was so remarkable that one had to wonder whether Halladay would tip his cap. He did not.
I predetermined that I wouldnt do that, he said. I obviously appreciated it, but I didnt want to go out there on someone elses home field and feel like I was the center of attention. I wanted to be as respectful as I could to their team and the Blue Jays organization. I didnt want to make a huge production.
While Halladays return to Toronto was the main storyline of the day, there were other subplots. Jose Bautista hit his majors-leading 26th homer, a cannon shot off Halladay in the fourth. Phils manager Charlie Manuel said it was the hardest-hit ball hed seen all season. Utleys two-run homer in the seventh atoned for an error he had made earlier in the game that eventually led to the Phillies losing a lead.
And then there was the wild top of the ninth inning when Blue Jays reliever Jon Rauch had his jersey ripped off as his manager, John Farrell, tried to prevent him from getting at home plate umpire Alfonso Marquez during an argument. Rauch and Farrell were both ejected. Their beef: Halladay was getting Marquez big strike zone while Rauch wasnt.
Manuel wanted to have a word with third-base umpire Brian ONora when he rang up Ryan Howard on a checked swing to end the top of the fifth with the bases loaded, but Manuel figured hed sit still.
When you go there its an automatic ejection, Manuel said. I didnt want to have to come in here and sit by myself in the clubhouse. Not today, at least. I wanted to watch Halladay pitch.
It was a good show. Halladay struck out eight. He is 11-3 with a 2.44 ERA and will be named to the NL All-Star team on Sunday.
On the surface, Halladay is serious and stoic. He tries to keep emotion out of his game. But during this trip to Toronto, we learned that Halladay, deep down inside his core, is a sentimental dude. Saturday was the 10-year anniversary of his return the majors after a well-publicized trip to the minors in which he reworked his delivery and turned his career around.
Halladay did not realize that until he was told Saturday, but the day before he found himself standing in the outfield in the stadium where he began his big-league career. As he stood there, he reflected on his career, so much of it spent in Toronto.
I was thinking about those first few years, he said. Until you get back here and think about where it all began, you dont realize how long its been and sometimes how hard it was, so this was a good reminder.
I think youre always trying to move forward and look down the road, but it is kind of nice to step back and remember what it was like when I first came up, those first few years.
Just another start?
Not quite.
E-mail Jim Salisbury at jsalisbury@comcastsportsnet.com.Follow him on Twitter @JSalisburyCSN.
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