When the trade went down back in December, Phillies fans were left with two questions. The first was why would they trade away Cliff Lee? There was never a clear answer other than they wouldn’t be able to sign him and it was a move to restock the farm system. The second question was how well will Roy Halladay do this year as a Phillie? Well Halladay answered that question pretty clear.
In fact, Halladay’s statement was so profound and so clear that he should be a top choice for the NL Cy Young. Halladay has won the award before in 2003 with his former team, the Toronto Blue Jays. Halladay’s numbers this year are set to blow that season away.
Halladay’s spectacular season may get overlooked though with it being the year of the pitchers. Guys like Josh Johnson, Tim Lincecum, Ubaldo Jimenez, Adam Wainwright, Tim Hudson, and Halladay are all enjoying very nice seasons this year.
Through August 15, here are their stats:
Halladay (PHI): 25 starts, 15-8, 2.24 ERA, 193.0 IP, 8 CG, 3 SHO, 173 H, 175 K, 22 BB.
Johnson (FLA): 24 starts, 10-5, 2.27 ERA, 158.2 IP, 1 CG, 131 H, 158 K, 38 BB.
Lincecum (SFG): 24 starts, 11-7, 3.62 ERA, 151.9 IP, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 152 H, 169 K, 62 BB.
Jimenez (COL): 24 starts, 17-3, 2.59 ERA, 163.1 IP, 3 CG, 2 SHO, 118 H, 153 K, 65 BB.
Wainwright (STL): 25 starts, 17-7, 1.99 ERA, 176.1 IP, 5 CG, 2 SHO, 129 H, 158 K, 42 BB.
Hudson (ATL): 24 starts, 14-5, 2.13 ERA, 164.2 IP, 1 CG, 123 H, 89 K, 54 BB.
Among these six pitchers who are all leading in a few key pitching stats and are in the top three in almost every other stat, Halladay’s numbers jump out at me. Wainwright seems to have similarly as impressive numbers as Doc but Halladay has thrown significantly more innings than the rest. Halladay is averaging 7.72 IP/G, an incredible number. The next highest in the NL is Wainwright at 7.05 IP/G.
Halladay is leading the NL in complete games, innings pitched, strike outs, and has the fewest walks. He’s second in wins, third in ERA, and has had the second highest amount of starts (Chris Carpenter has made 26 starts).
Can we also not forget that Halladay threw the 20th perfect game in MLB history back in May? Only Jimenez on the list shown tossed a no-hitter this season but he walked six batters in it. Jimenez’s 65 walks is the highest of the six pitchers listed, showing his control is terrible and he relies on power to get through batters.
All of these pitchers deserve the honor of being named the NL Cy Young. All have enjoyed fantastic seasons filled with memorable performances. Doc and Wainwright stand out well above the rest this season though. With the statistical edge going to Halladay, he should be the next Cy Young winner.
TTB 