ORLANDO, FLA.—Countless young children from Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children and their families have been emotionally lifted by Roy Halladay’s generosity and humanity through the years, as guests in Doc’s box at the Rogers Centre or visited by Roy and his wife Brandy in their time of need. Two weeks ago, Halladay approached the Blue Jays to sign a one-day contract so fans will be able to forever remember him as a Jay.

“Baseball has been so great to me,” Halladay said with a quavering voice during a 30-minute conference Monday. “My goal is to try and leave baseball better than what I found it, and I’ve tried to do that in my career. I’ve tried to be respectful to the game and do things the right way. I’ve tried to do that to the best of my ability, and moving forward, I’d like to do the same.”

On a stage at baseball’s winter meetings, Halladay signed a contract so he could retire with the organization that signed him as a shy 18-year-old back in 1995. Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos suggested that there will always be a place for him in the organization when he wants to coach, suggesting, as a start, a spring training role similar to the one Pat Hentgen used to perform. It somehow seems important that he will be a Blue Jay forever.

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Halladay is remembered for many reasons. He was the first June draft pick ever for Gord Ash as Blue Jays general manager back in 1995, a tall, gangly kid out of high school in Colorado with so much talent that, even when he struggled, the Jays took the time to turn him around.

“There’s a quality that he possessed — and I’m not sure that I can still define it,” Ash said. “He was not somebody that we were prepared to give up on at the time. I can remember sitting in meeting rooms and being told that we needed to trade him. One of the best things that I learned from Pat (Gillick) is that you have to find ways to make things work.”

Fast-forward 14 years. Staying with the theme of GMs and their firsts, Halladay became the first player the young Anthopoulos traded as GM, in December 2009. In between, Halladay posted a starry career that could arguably leave him as the greatest pitcher in Jays history.

Halladay’s borderline Hall of Fame career spanned 12 seasons with the Jays and Phillies, and included the 2003 and 2010 Cy Young awards, a perfect game and eight all-star selections. He has been forced into retirement at age 36 by a deteriorating back that he said has led to shoulder issues, finishing with a record of 203-105 and a 3.38 ERA. He won 148 games in a Jays uniform from 1998 to 2009.

For a man who seemed to have trouble expressing his emotions and feelings towards the city and its fans, Halladay continued to show a deep and heartfelt love for Toronto even after he was traded to the Phillies on Dec. 16, 2009.

It’s not always that way. Right, Vince Carter? Right, Roger Clemens? Of all the star athletes who have abandoned the Toronto sports scene in their prime, Halladay remains one of the very few to remain loved and respected. In talks with him since, he always seemed touched by the loyalty.

“Obviously Toronto is a big hockey town, but wherever I went the people were very gracious, they were respectful, they were nice,” Halladay said. “That meant a lot to me that fans were coming up and acknowledging what you were doing on the field and what you were doing off the field, so I’ve always tried to do the best I could to accomplish that. I’ll never forget that.”

From virtually opening day of the 2009 season through the winter meeting that led to the trade, Halladay became the subject of daily speculation. In fact, it was the only thing he was asked about at the 2009 All-Star Game as the trade deadline loomed, yet he continued to patiently answer questions, continued to take the ball for the Jays every five days and continued to give his best to the fans of Toronto, right to the end. In that ’09 season, he went 17-10, with a 2.79 ERA and nine complete games.

Fans seemed to understand the situation. Most of their animosity was directed towards then-GM J.P. Ricciardi. Halladay had signed his previous contract at a home team discount so the Jays could ostensibly build a contender and remain financially responsible. That was the explanation.

One of the best pitchers of the first decade of the 21st century, Doc inked a new five-year extension from 2005-09, with the understanding that Ricciardi would provide a winner by the time the deal expired. Unfortunately, by the time his final season began, Ricciardi and the Jays had started to dismantle the dream, rebuilding the club with youth with a view to the future.

The Jays had consulted with Halladay about the organization’s change in direction and he had agreed that he needed to be traded before the window of opportunity to win a World Series closed.

“As much as I loved it there, (we) made a decision to give myself a chance to get to the playoffs,” Halladay said. “Thankfully the fans understood that. People were very supportive. Hopefully those fans get a chance to experience that, also. It’s a tremendous feeling.”

When Anthopoulos took over from Ricciardi at the end of the 2009 season, the young GM was faced with a daunting task. Trade your best player and get something good back. The problem is that Halladay had earned the right to choose where he wanted to land in a trade. The criterion was that it had to be someplace close to his spring training home in the Tampa Bay area. That meant either the Phillies in Clearwater or the Yankees in Tampa.

Anthopoulos made the best deal he could, to the Phillies for right-hander Kyle Drabek, catcher Travis D’Arnaud and outfielder Michael Taylor. Halladay never was able to win his coveted World Series ring, advancing as far as the National League championship series in 2010, where the Phils lost to the Giants. In 2011, he lost a 1-0 classic in Game 5 of the NLDS to his good friend Chris Carpenter. Little did he know at the time that it would be his last shot at a crown.

“I’m very fortunate I had the chance to get to the playoffs, to experience that atmosphere,” Halladay said. “I’ve always wanted to win a World Series. It’s something I definitely wanted, but I think having the chance to be in the playoffs to experience the atmosphere, I am more comfortable knowing I came up a little bit short than having never gotten that shot.”

My own lasting memory of Halladay, one that made me smile, came in the moments after he had stunningly thrown the second no-hitter in post-season history in Game 1 of the 2010 NLCS against the Reds. A throng of media was waiting in the clubhouse as he emerged from the training room.

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Before he addressed the writers to explain his historic accomplishment, he turned to his two young sons in front of his locker, moved in close and reminded them that they were going out the next night to celebrate Ryan’s birthday at the aquarium. He even turned down a chance to read the Top 10 list on The Late Show with David Letterman to stay with his sons for the birthday. The man has priorities.

For Roy Halladay, from day one it has always been family first. Now, with his retiring as a Blue Jay, all of Canada can become family again. It’s a classy move by the Jays to cap the career of a classy athlete. The Level of Excellence and induction into the Canadian Baseball Hall in St. Marys, Ont., will not be far behind.

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