May 8, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay (34) talks to the media before the game against the San Francisco Giants at AT

I hope the people that booed Roy Halladay at his last two starts in Philadelphia feel about two inches tall right now. Because they should.

Shortly before Friday night’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Roy Halladay did something he did not need to do and should never have felt the need to do.

He apologized to the fans of Philadelphia for being hurt.

“I just felt like I should address the fans,” Halladay said. “I just want to thank them for their support. My heart goes out to all the people that spend all their money to go to the games and don’t see what they want to see. I know I’m not the whole team and it’s a fun team to watch, but I feel bad that I’m missing the time that I am.”

Halladay over and over again touched on the fans that he knew were mad at him because of his recent struggles, and the responsibility he felt to try and make sure each and every fan was getting their money’s worth.

“Really, that was a lot of the reason I tried to keep going… I just wanted to reach out to the fans, thank them for their support, and apologize to the ones who pay the money and show up in the second inning and it’s 9-0. I apologize to the fans that I won’t be out there for three months.”

Halladay also said he knew there were people out there that “didn’t like him” because of his inability to stay healthy or pitch effectively.

“It’s hard to explain how much you appreciate them because there are places where you don’t have fans like that,” he said. “I think it’s important to recognize them. I understand some people are upset — that’s part of it. I’m not trying to sway their opinion. If they don’t like me, they don’t like me. We appreciate what they do no matter what. Sometimes that gets overlooked in sports. They are a big part of a team’s success.”

OK, first of all, if you don’t like Roy Halladay, you’re a stupid human being and I don’t like you. It’s really that simple.

Roy Halladay won a Cy Young Award. He was a 20-game winner for the Phils. He pitched a perfect game and a no-hitter IN THE FREAKING PLAYOFFS. He’s averaged about 425 innings (or some number kinda like that) a season since he came here, and has provided one incredible performance after another.

He’s 36 years old, has logged a ton of innings, and performs a task that is unnatural for human beings to perform, especially as often as Halladay has performed it throughout his career.

I don’t care what kind of money you’re spending to go to baseball games. Roy Halladay doesn’t owe anyone a darn thing.

You can boo effort. You can boo out of frustration. I get that. But you can’t boo Roy Halladay. And you certainly have no right to be angry with him, even if he’s put the Phils in a seven-run hole by the third inning.

Halladay sounded like he needed a hug today. And it’s incredibly admirable that he felt the need to apologize to the fans, as unnecessary as it was. It also made me want to cry a little bit for him.

He just sounded so darn sad.

To know that somewhere in Halladay’s heart and mind he thinks there are Phillies fans that hate him and think he hasn’t done enough for them is a real shame.

Hopefully Roy will come back this year, healthier, more effective, and pitch for the Phils. Maybe then the fans will have a chance to redeem themselves a bit.

Because this is not the postscript anybody wanted for Halladay’s career in Philadelphia.