Roy Halladay is headed to Cooperstown.The late former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher was selected by voters to gain item to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot.Halladay was part of a four-player class that included reliever Mariano Rivera, the first player to be named on every ballot, designated hitter Edgar Martinez and starting pitcher Mike Mussina. Reliever Lee Smith and DH Harold Baines were elected earlier by a veterans’ committee.Halladay and Martinez received 85.4 per cent of the votes each, and Mussina received 76.7 per cent of the votes. A player must appear on 75 per cent of the more than 400 ballots submitted by eligible Baseball Writers Association of America Members to be inducted, and on five per cent to remain on the ballot another year.Halladay, who died in a plane crash in November 2017 at the age of 40, will be the sixth player elected posthumously through the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s process and the first since Rabbit Maranville in 1954.The native of Denver was selected by the Jays in the first round of the 1995 draft. He made his big-league debut as a September call-up in 1998 and went on to become one of the most dominant pitchers of his ERA.“Of the countless players that have worn the Blue Jays uniform, few have done so with the determination and elegance of Roy Halladay,” said Jays president Mark Shapiro said in a statement. “Today is a bittersweet day for our community and organization, as we remember a beloved pitcher, teammate, and family man, but we can take comfort in the boundless impact Roy had on Canadian fans nationwide and the game of baseball.” The two-time Cy Young Award winner went 203-104 with a 3.38 ERA in 12 seasons with Toronto and four with Philadelphia. He was known for his consistency and durability over the course of his career. The six-time all-star threw 67 complete games in 390 s ...
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