Countdown to Spring Training - 22 Days
The 6'6'' right-hander, born and raised in Colorado, entered 2003 on the heels of a breakout 2002 campaign that saw him finish 19-7 and get selected to his first All-Star team. That 2002 campaign came just two years after a disastrous 2000 season (Halladay finished 4-7 with a 10.67 ERA in 2000), and it sent him into the 2003 season with high expectations.
Those expectations were not initially met, however, as Halladay struggled out of the gate, finishing the month of April 0-2 with a 4.89 ERA through six starts. He finally got in the win column on May 1, following a seven inning, four run outing against the Texas Rangers, and he didn't slow down from there.
Doc went on an incredible run, rattling off wins in 11 consecutive starts between May 1 and June 22, lowering his ERA to 3.57 in the process. He allowed two or fewer earned runs in eight of those 11 starts, and struck out 67 batters while walking just eight in that same time frame. The streak ended on June 27, in a game that the Blue Jays still won by a final score of 6-5 against the Montreal Expos at the SkyDome.
Doc wasted no time getting back in the win column , as he take care of business against the Detroit Tigers on July 2 to the tune of an 8-2 win. That began a July that Roy finished 4-0 with two complete games to improve his record to 15-2 after 24 starts.
Keep in mind, he started the year 0-2 through his first six starts.
After stumbling through August with a 2-4 record, Halladay entered September looking to prove he had saved his best for last, and he didn't disappoint.
He began the season's final month by pitching four straight complete games, allowing 0 earned runs in three of the four, and just one in the other. In other words, he began the month of September by allowing one earned run in 37 innings over four starts, including a 10 inning complete game 1-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers on September 6 in Toronto.
His final game of the season came on September 27 against the Cleveland Indians, and he rewarded the Toronto faithful for their support by tossing his ninth and final complete game of the year. In that 36th start of the season Halladay won his 22nd game to break Jack Morris's franchise record of 21 wins in a season that had stood since Morris had gone 21-6 in 1992.
Halladay capped off the 2003 season by winning his first Cy Young award.
For those of you that would rather not think about Roy Halladay, feel free to celebrate the fact that there are just 22 days to go until the first Spring Training game by remembering Shea Hillenbrand's record setting 2005 season in which he was hit by a pitch 22 times. Those 22 HBPs are a Toronto single season franchise record.
=========================================