These are Halladay's best Blue Jays moments

TORONTO -- The late Roy Halladay, a Blue Jays legend and Hall of Fame pitcher, would have turned 43 today.

Here is a look back at his greatest moments with Toronto and the legacy of excellence that he has left:

1. Flirting with a no-no
Sept. 27, 1998 vs. Tigers

Halladay entered the 1998 season as Baseball America’s No. 38 prospect, and he backed up his billing as a future ace with a strong season in Triple-A. That earned him a promotion late in the year, and in his second of those two starts, Halladay, still looking like a kid, turned in one of the best performances in Blue Jays history.

In the final game of the season against the Tigers, Halladay almost carried a no-hitter to the finish line, but he couldn’t cover those final inches. With just one baserunner allowed through 8 2/3 innings on an error, Bobby Higginson launched a solo home run to left field to end Doc’s first run at history. After his first lesson in the “School of Dave Stieb,” a young Halladay was already looking ahead.

“I’m going to feel that there’s a lot of extra pressure next year, probably some more expectations,” Halladay told the Toronto Star in ‘98. “I’m just going to go home, go to winter ball, work as hard as I can and try to come back and do it next year.”

2. If this is goodbye …
Sept. 25, 2009 vs. Mariners

Great athletes -- the truly great ones -- make us believe, even for just a moment, that wishes can be willed into reality. Halladay had that quality, the ability to create the illusion that he had already written the script, and that the rest of us were just along for the ride.

His final start at Rogers Centre is just one example of Halladay rising to the moment in the most expected of ways. It was suspected that Halladay would be moved that coming offseason, making Sept. 25, 2009, his unofficial farewell at home. And Doc delivered, throwing -- what else? -- a shutout.

When Halladay emerged from the dugout for the ninth inning, Blue Jays fans gave him a standing ovation, and stayed on their feet throughout the frame.

“Regardless of what happens this winter, it means a lot to me,” Halladay said following the start. “To have that many people that supportive and chanting, I think it’d mean a lot to anybody. Especially walking off, I can’t remember many times going out for the ninth where people are cheering and standing up before the inning starts. Maybe I was more aware of it, but definitely you feel the excitement and show your appreciation.”

3. 22 in 2003
Sept. 27, 2003 vs. Indians

After winning his 20th game for the first time in his career on Sept. 11 of that season, Halladay had three starts remaining to make one last push for the American League Cy Young Award. That’s exactly what he did, with two more complete-game wins down the stretch to give him 22.

The headline in the next day’s Toronto Star read, “Gutsy Halladay ends Cy debate,” and he had. Halladay beat out Esteban Loaiza and Pedro Martinez to win his first Cy Young Award that season, and it wasn’t particularly close.

The catcher that day? Current Rays manager Kevin Cash, but he wasn’t taking any credit.

“My grandma could go out there and catch Doc Halladay,” Cash said. “He’s an unbelievable pitcher. All you have to do is sit and put your glove up there. He tells you what he wants to do, and he does it. I’m happy for him, but [it has] nothing to do with me.”

4. He’s back
Oct. 5, 2001 vs. Indians

Can a 24-year-old really be “back”? Well, after posting a 10.64 ERA over 67 2/3 innings the year prior, suddenly becoming baseball’s most puzzling pitcher and getting sent all the way back to Class A Advanced, yes, it’s possible.

That demotion was hard on Halladay. Looking back later, he called it a nightmare, one he didn't initially believe was true.

“Off the field, you feel like your whole life is baseball, and then all of a sudden, you’re a failure,” he said while reflecting on it in 2003. “And then you feel like it makes your whole life a failure.”

Halladay returned with improved mechanics and made 16 starts in 2001, posting a 3.16 ERA, but his two-hit shutout in his final start of the season was the perfect way to close one chapter and open another.

5. Turn it up to 10
Sept. 6, 2003 vs. Tigers

Few of Halladay’s starts better encapsulate what he meant to the Blue Jays than his 10-inning shutout against the Tigers in 2003. The kicker? He did it on 99 pitches and the game took just two hours and three minutes.

“He probably could have pitched until tomorrow,” said Cash.