What’s up, Doc? That’s what the American League has been wondering since Roy Halladay emerged as a dominant hurler in 2002 with the Blue Jays. One of baseball’s premiere competitors, he became Cy Young material when he learned how to turn off the noise in his own head, and get inside the brains of enemy hitters. For most of his career in Toronto, Roy has been the difference between mediocrity and respectability. As the Jays take their next step, he is likely to be the man who makes them a true contender. This is his story…

GROWING UP

Harry Leroy Halladay III was born on May 14, 1977, in Denver, Colorado. (Click here for today's sports birthdays.) His parents, Linda and Harry Jr., had two other children, Merinda and Heather. Roy, who went by his shortened middle name, was the middle child.

The Halladays lived in the town of Arvada, a Denver suburb. Roy and his dad—a professional pilot who had played the outfield in sandlot ball—began playing catch with a hardball when he was three. He was on a T-ball team at five.

A natural athlete, Roy was tall, graceful and coordinated, showing early promise in baseball and basketball. What truly separated him from the other boys in town was the intensity he exuded in game situations. When Roy was able to harness it, great things happened. Often, however, it got the better of him.

Roy’s parents supported his sports ambitions, and became angry with those who felt it was necessary to point out that being a pro ballplayer was a million-to-one shot. They also threw batting practice to Roy in the park down the street, with his sisters shagging flies.

Roy had the mind and body of a pitcher, and as he progressed from schoolyard games to Little League and up through American Legion ball, he learned how to dominate enemy batters. When the Colorado weather kept him indoors, he lifted weights and worked out in the family’s basement, where his dad had built a batting cage and pitching mound. Roy read up on his craft whenever he could, and considered Tom House’s book on pitching his Bible.

The Halladays’ only concern about Roy’s pursuit of baseball was how hard he took losses, and how much pressure he placed on himself to succeed. Often, a throwing or hitting session was followed by a family activity, such as swimming or kite-flying. These fun excurions helped chill Roy out.

In 1991, Roy entered Arvada West High School, where he would make the varsity basketball and baseball teams. A couple of years earlier, Roy had started working with an area scout named Bus Campbell. Campbell was something of a guru when it came to pitching mechanics, and he tinkered with Roy’s delivery and shortened his stride. Campbell’s most important piece of advice to Roy was convincing him to join Arvada West’s cross-country team, which helped him build his stamina and stay in shape during the fall. He took to the sport quickly, and also attracted the attention of the school’s football coach, who asked him to try out for the varsity. Campbell advised against it.

In the spring of Roy’s sophomore year at Arvada West, the Colorado Rockies played their first season. Roy and his friends got their first up-close look at major leaguers. They rooted for hitters Andres Galarraga, Dante Bichette and Eric Young, and winced when the Colorado pitchers got lit up, which was early and often.

Roy soon became a pretty famous Denver-area ballplayer in his own right. He pitched in 48 games for coach Jim Capra’s Wildcats between 1992 and 1995, going 25-2 with a 0.55 ERA. In his senior season, he allowed just 24 hits and only five earned runs in 63 innings, while striking out 105. He was named All-Conference and All-State for three years, and League and State MVP twice.

Coach Capra’s most vivid memory of Roy, however, came off the field. He and his players were on the team bus waiting for their ace to join them on the trip to the state semifinals. When Roy showed up, he was hobbling with a cast on his leg. Capra almost lost it. Roy grinned and pulled off the cast—a fake made by the team’s trainer.

By 1995, Roy had reached his full height of 6-6, and had a funky curve to go with a fastball that was consistently in the 90s. Campbell, who scouted for the Blue Jays, implored the team to draft Roy. Fellow scout Chris Bourios concurred and the Toronto made him the 17th pick overall in the '95 draft.

ON THE RISE

The road to Toronto started well enough. Just weeks after signing with the Blue Jays for a $895,000 bonus, he was sent to Dunedin, Florida, home the franchise's Rookie League team. He became the staff ace, starting eight games during the second half of the season. Roy struck out nine batters twice, and combined for a shutout in his final start of the season to earn Gulf Coast Pitcher of the Week honors.

In 1996, Roy was assigned to Toronto’s High Class A team in Dunedin, where he began to rub elbows with some of the Jays’ better prospects, including Ryan Freel and Kelvim Escobar, who would go on to star for other major league teams. Roy led all Blue Jays minor leaguers in wins with 15, captured Dunedin's R. Howard Webster Award (MVP) and was the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year. He made his mark with five straight victories early in the season and went eight starts without allowing more than two runs. In July, he was honored as the organization’s Pitcher of the Month and was named to the Florida State League All Star team. Roy capped the season off being named Toronto's top prospect by Baseball America. While in Dunedin, Roy also started toying with a changeup, which would become one of his bread-and-butter pitches. His fastball, meanwhile, regularly touched 95 mph.

Roy spent 1997 on the next two rungs of the organizational ladder, opening the season in Double A Knoxville, and then quickly earning a promotion to Triple A Syracuse. He struggled in Knoxville, but the Blue Jay brass thought enough to send him to the top level of the minors, where having just turned 20 he was the youngest player in the International League. After starting off 0-5, Roy pushed his record to 10-7. He picked it up in late June and threw his first complete game shutout, then followed with another in early August. By the end of the season, he was ranked the fifth best prospect in the International League, and was rated as having the best fastball in the minor leagues.

After a brief look from the Blue Jays in spring training, Roy was sent back to Syracuse for 1998. He struck out 71 in 116 innings and posted an ERA of 3.79, good for sixth in the International League. He gained the attention of the big club at year's end, and made his major league debut on September 20, earning a no-decision at Tampa Bay. He pitched five innings and allowed two earned runs, while striking out the first batter he faced, Devil Rays all-star Randy Winn.

At 21, Roy was the third-youngest pitcher to ever start a game for the Blue Jays. Two weeks later, he almost made baseball history in his second start. Going against the Detroit Tigers, he took a no-hitter into the ninth inning. With two outs, he allowed a home run to Bobby Higginson, but finished the game surrendering just the one hit, striking out eight and walking none. He threw a first-pitch strike to 21 of 29 batters, and closed out the season with a sure trip to Toronto to open 1999.

Roy spent his first full year in the big leagues in '99, pitching in 36 games (and starting 18 of them). He was a steady 8-7 with a 3.92 ERA and got his first save in his first game as a relief pitcher against the Minnesota Twins in April. A month lafter, he continued his mastery over the Tigers with a complete game shutout. Except for a rocky August, Roy was a solid member of the starting rotation.

Just when things seemed to be coming together for Roy, they began to fall apart. The 2000 season was so disheartening that he actually contemplated retirement. After 19 games and 13 starts, he had a 4-7 record with a 10.64 ERA. With opponents hitting a robust .350 off him, he was handed a ticket back to Syracuse. The problems started when the Blue Jays convinced Roy to abandon the knuckle-curve he had developed. He stuck with the plan at Triple-A and continued to get hammered. Eventually, he was demoted all the way to Single-A Dunedin, where he opened the 2001 season.

Devastated by the turn his career had taken, Roy felt he had no choice but to trust Toronto’s brass. The team was concerned that he wasn't using his natural energy and intensity to his advantage. Instead, Roy would get so keyed up during games that he tended to overthrow. He also had to make mechanical changes. Roy consulted with a sports psychologist to start the arduous journey back to the big leagues—a journey that began with the long bus rides and cheap motel rooms of Class A ball.

Roy had plenty of time to ponder his predicament. In time, he came to see that pitching wasn’t about blowing the ball past hitters. Much of the game took place between the ears, and that is where he did most of his work that spring.

Satisfied that he was headed in the right direction, the team promoted Roy to Knoxville. There it all began to come together. Roy mastered the split-finger fastball that would complement his two-seamer and four-seamer, and after five starts and three complete games, he found himself back in Toronto.

Roy was delighted to discover that he could get major league hitters out again, and that he had the full confidence of Toronto’s manager, Buck Martinez. He started 16 games and went 5-3. In his first game back, Roy struck out 10 Montreal Expos in six innings. He won his first three decisions of August, and then pitched a complete game two-hit shutout against the Cleveland Indians on the final day of the season. Roy was back and the Blue Jays had big plans for what they considered the future ace of the staff.

MAKING HIS MARK

The 2002 Blue Jays finished under .500, and Carlos Tosca replaced Martinez at mid-season. He told Roy that he was his top gun, and Roy responded with a great year. He went 19-7 with a 2.93 ERA and 168 strikeouts. After a slew of no-decisions in April and May, Roy reeled off 13 wins in his next 16 decisions. He finished the year with the fifth-best ERA in the A.L and the league’s sixth-best strikeout total.

There were high hopes for the 2003 Blue Jays, with the New York Yankees coming off a poor playoff showing and the Boston Red Sox pitching staff aging. Roy did his part, setting a franchise record with 22 wins. He won the Cy Young Award, and Carlos Delgado was the league’s most productive hitter. But the Jays ended the year nine games out of the Wild Card race at 86-76.

Roy made a career-high 36 starts, led the A.L. in innings pitched and shutouts, and was tied for the league lead with nine complete games. He won 15 straight decisions from May through July, singlehandedly keeping Toronto in the playoff hunt. In July, when it appeared the Jays had to decide whether they were buyers or sellers, the club chose to do nothing, and the Yankees and Red Sox pulled away. Toronto did make one smart roster move after the season, signing Roy to a $42 million contract extension.

Roy, however, was unable to reproduce his marvelous '03 campaign in 2004, as shoulder tendonitis sent him to the DL twice during the summer. The Blue Jays were relieved when no tear was found, but disappointed with Roy’s 8-8 record. Compensating for his sore wing, he lost the arm angle on his cut fastball and the break on his killer curve. Without their ace, the Jays fell to a dismal 67-94 record. John Gibbons replaced Tosca at mid-season.

The Jays climbed back toward respectability in 2005, with Roy leading the way. He regained command of his repertoire, and improved his change-up. By the All-Star break, he looked good for his second Cy Young, but a line drive off the bat of the Texas Rangers’ Kevin Mench broke his left tibia and just like that he was done for the year. Roy finished 12-4 with a 2.41 ERA in little over half a season. The team pulled together in the second half and finished 80-82.

The 2006 Blue Jays once again believed the Yankees and Red Sox were prime for the taking. They were right about Boston, but dead wrong about New York. As these two perennial division leaders battled during the summer, the Jays quietly slipped past the Sox and into second place. But there would be no catching the Yankees, nor any of the Wild Card. Still, Toronto made a good showing with an 87-75 record.

Roy once again was among the top starting pitchers in the league, posting a 16-5 record with a 3.18 ERA in 32 starts. Again, he was among the Cy Young candidates, but a strained forearm convinced the Jays to shut him down for his final two starts. He had tweaked the same spot at the beginning of the year, so with 220 innings already under his belt and no shot at the playoffs, everyone thought the early exit was a good idea.

With a solid bullpen featuring B.J. Ryan, and a balanced lineup featuring Alex Rios, Lyle Overbay, Troy Glaus and Reed Johnson, the Blue Jays have the makings of a contender. Keeping Vernon Wells will be a major priority. Indeed, losing their All-Star center fielder, who's set to become a free agent after the 2007 campaign, would be a crushing blow. The team also needs fill in behind Roy. If the guy they call "Doc" can dodge the injury bug, Toronto's record will look a lot healthier too.

ROY THE PITCHER

Roy has the fastball, curve and change to retire any big league batter, but it is his confidence and competitive nature that make him the pitcher he is. He often gets great hitters out by surprising them with “their” pitch.

Where Roy used to count on adrenaline and pure physical power for big outs, he now has the patience to work a batter into hitting harmless grounders. He knows how to get inside an opponent’s head, and in many cases, he has won baseball's can-and-mouse battles before a single ball has been thrown.

Roy has three different fastballs, depending on every one of his heavy, sinking pitches to produce outs. When his curve is working, he can start it at a righthander’s head and nip the outside corner. His control is excellent, although he normally racks up high pitch counts. Thanks to his height and agility, he is a good fielder. But his frame works against him with runners on base, as he is slow to first and to the plate.

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