Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Roy Halladay completely dominated the Cincinnati Reds on his way to the second no-hitter ever thrown in postseason history, and one thought came to mind: He simply made it look easy.
The last 25 years of postseason baseball have brought many thrilling plays, and while many of them could be best-of-all-time contenders, none of them compares to the performance that Roy Halladay delivered today.
By its very definition, a postseason no-hitter ranks among the best events in overall baseball history itself, particularly when you consider that it had previously been achieved one time.
In October 1956, Don Larsen threw a perfect game against the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series, becoming the only pitcher to achieve the feat.
Fifty-four years have passed since that historic event, and dozens of no-hitters and even a few perfect games have been achieved since then. However, none of them were thrown in postseason play.
Halladay also becomes the first pitcher in 37 years to throw two no-hitters in the same season, matching the mark set by Hall-of-Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan.
There is also the game itself, and his accomplishments during the game made it indeed special to watch.
Halladay threw 104 pitches, 79 for strikes, a whopping 76 percent strike to ball ratio. That in itself is masterful.
Halladay went 0-2 to 11 batters, literally freezing Reds hitters with an array of fastballs, sinkers, and devastating curveballs.
The most incredible statistic of the night was that he threw 23 of 27 first-pitch strikes. Not only was he showing that his command was on target, it also showed confidence in his defense behind him.
The only hard-struck ball hit off Halladay all game was in the third inning when Reds pitcher Travis Wood lined out to Jayson Werth in short right field.
This was a masterpiece of epic proportions. Halladay, who had won 169 career games before making his debut in the postseason, was almost stoic in his responses after the game.
“It’s surreal, it really is,” Halladay said. “I just wanted to pitch here, to pitch in the postseason. To go out and have a game like that, it’s a dream come true.”
And, in usual Halladay fashion, he preferred to give the credit to his catcher, Carlos Ruiz.
“I felt like we got in a groove early,” Halladay said. “Carlos has been great all year, he helps me get into a rhythm early, throwing strikes.”
Throw strikes he did, and we were witness to an event that has only happened twice in 107 years of postseason play. That in itself truly makes this the single greatest achievement in the last 25 years of postseason play.
Doug is a featured columnist for Examiner.com and Green Celebrity Network.
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