Westlake Word

 

On November 7, 2017, the world, including many baseball fans, lost a former pitcher named Roy Halladay.  He was only 40 when he died in a plane crash off the coast of Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico.

 

Des Bieler of The Washington Post states that the National Transportation Safety Board could not provide a specific reason for the fatal incident, but they used data from the plane that Roy crashed in.

 

The two-seat ICON A5 plane only housed Halladay and was found upside down in approximately 4.5 feet of water; his last recorded altitude was about 200 feet, Bieler reported.

 

There were witnesses when the incident happened, and one claimed he saw the plane reach somewhere between 300-500 feet before it turned and dove into the water at a 45° angle.

 

Although Halladay logged in about 700 hours of flight time after he retired from the MLB in 2013, he still experienced misfortune. Bieler adds that of those 700 hours, 51 hours were in A5 planes and 14 hours were in the plane that was crashed.

 

According to Bieler, the National Transportation Safety Board still does not know how much of the crash was caused by maneuvers, or if the crash happened because of technical or structural malfunctions.

 

The loss of Roy Halladay stunned many baseball fans, especially Phillies and Blue Jays fans, as Halladay pitched for both of those teams.

 

Roy Halladay had an amazing career between 1998 and 2013. He was an eight-time All-Star and he pitched a perfect game and a no-hitter in a playoff game. According to the Associated Press, as a pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays from 1998-2009 and one for the Philadelphia Phillies from 2009-2013, he retired with 203 wins, 105 losses, two Cy Young awards and an ERA of 3.38. Because Halladay was a phenomenal pitcher and overall amazing person, he was very popular in the baseball world, which is why his tragic death hurt and affected so many people.

 

The article, “Life of Roy Halladay,” documents that a 91-minute celebration was held, named, “Celebration of Life for Roy Halladay,” according to the Associated Press.  It also included that over 1,000 people went to Spectrum Field, home to the Phillies for the spring training season, to attend this celebration. The memorial started with a video tribute and ended with Brandy Halladay, wife of the late Roy Halladay, and sons, Braden and Ryan Halladay, standing on the pitcher's mound to release butterflies from a container as a final goodbye to their beloved husband and father.

 

When Brandy went on to talk about her husband, she was surrounded by his pictures and flowers bearing the numbers 34 and 32, the numbers of his jerseys. Her tribute lasted 17 minutes, and she was crying the whole time. She went on to say how “fortunate” she was to have gotten used to having the feeling of all eyes on her, as she has been standing next to a man for 21 years who people could not take their eyes off of.

 

According to the Associated Press, Brandy Halladay also said, "He was awe-striking. He was beautiful inside and out. Without saying a word, he seemed to always have just the right thing to say. When he did speak, people listened.”

 

The other speakers commemorating Halladay and his achievements included: Roy’s father; three former teammates; former Blue Jay General Manager; ex-Phillies manager; and the trainer of the Blue Jays. According to the Associated Press, only positive things were noted in their tributes to Roy, like how he made everything better, how tremendous of a person he was, and how he was an amazing athlete. Aside from fans, many players and managers of the Phillies and Blue Jays attended this memorial to remember Roy Halladay.

 

The celebration that was held in memory of Roy Halladay makes it very evident that he was loved by all and how much he will be missed. Overall, Roy Halladay was an extraordinary person whose spirit will live on forever.

 

Rest in Peace, Roy Halladay.

 

Works Cited

Associated Press. “More than 1,000 on hand to celebrate life of late Roy Halladay.” ESPN, 14 Nov. 2017, www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/21415285/life-roy-halladay-celebrated-florida. Accessed 26 Nov. 2017.

 

Bieler, Des. “NTSB report details dangerous maneuvers by Roy Halladay before deadly crash.” The Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/11/21/ntsb-report-details-dangerous-maneuvers-by-roy-halladay-before-deadly-crash/?utm_term=.4b66e04fffb4. Accessed 26 Nov. 2017.