Doc: The Life of Roy Halladay

Roy Halladay was the best pitcher I ever saw pitch live. Unfortunately, when I saw him pitch, he lost 1-0 against the Cardinals in the playoffs, knocking the Phillies out of the playoffs. For high school freshman me, it was heartbreaking. This book, a biography, is also heartbreaking at times, but definitely not for the same reason.

Doc is a biography of Roy Halladay, a Hall of Fame pitcher who won the Cy Young Award for both the Blue Jays and the Phillies. He is one of 24 pitchers to throw a perfect game (we respect Armando Galarraga here), one of only two to throw a no-hitter in the play-offs, and the only person to throw them both in the same season. Basically, he’s real good.

This book is about his whole life including his time as a teenager pitching in his dad’s basement and in high school, but spends a majority of it’s time on his big-league career, which makes sense. Zolecki does a great job creating the timeline of Halladay’s career, explaining exactly why he was successful, and talking with players, coaches, executives, and family members about what made Roy, Roy.

There’s really not much to say other than it faithfully records Roy’s life, up until the end. I think his wife ends up being the star of the 2nd half of the book, and Harvey Dorfman is the star of the first. Dorfman wrote “The Mental ABC’s of Pitching,” a book about the mentality it takes to be a pitcher. Both Halladay and Chris Carpenter, who came up through the minors with Roy, studied the book and spread it’s gospel. Eventually Roy started to do the same thing as Dorfman, working with the Phillies pitchers on their mental health.

I would recommend this book to anyone, even non-baseball fans, just so they can see the work it takes to become a pitcher in the Major Leagues. If you are a baseball fan, then definitely read this. It’s a deep dive into one of the best pitchers of the new millennium.