It’s devastating: A very loyal Philadelphia Phillies player has announced his unexpected retirement, expressing his deep sadness to the team and their supporters in a stirring statement.
On August 8, the Phillies were able to finally retire Roy Halladay’s No. 34.
Before the team’s game on August 8 against the Mets, fellow Hall of Famer Steve Carlton and Halladay’s former teammates Carlos Ruiz and Raul Ibanez will participate in a ceremony.
Roy Halladay, the starting pitcher for the Phillies, throws to the Rockies in the first inning.
Next month, the Phillies will retire Roy Halladay’s number, over a year after they had originally planned to do so in memory of the late Hall of Fame pitcher.
Before the team’s game on August 8 against the Mets, fellow Hall of Famer Steve Carlton and Halladay’s former teammates Carlos Ruiz and Raul Ibanez will participate in a ceremony.
In May of last year, the Phillies had planned to retire Halladay’s No. 34 in honor of the tenth anniversary of his flawless game, which Ruiz had caught. The coronavirus pandemic, however, caused the season to be postponed, so the Phillies decided to honor Halladay this summer.
In July 2019, less than two years after his death in 2017 from an airplane crash into the Gulf of Mexico, Halladay was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2018, the Phillies inducted him into their Wall of Fame.
His final four seasons as a player were spent with the Phillies, where he was a member of two National League All-Star teams, won a Cy Young Award, and pitched a perfect game and a no-hitter in the postseason. During those four years, Halladay led all pitchers in complete games (18), going 55-29 with a 3.25 ERA.
He’ll be the tenth player from the Phillies to receive recognition above Ashburn Alley.
On August 6, the Phillies will pay tribute to former team president David Montgomery, who was posthumously awarded the Baseball Hall of Fame’s Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award. The 1980 World Champions’ second baseman Manny Trillo will be inducted into the Wall of Fame on August 7.
