Roy Halladay did not play for this moment.



Of course, he would have felt proud, and humble too, had he lived to take the call from Cooperstown.



But for 16 seasons, he lived in five-day cycles. That was his life.



The struggle was his oxygen. In the weight room, he shamed teammates with his gruelling workouts. Over and over, he read the same tattered sports-psychology book. He memorized scouting reports. Then, he pitched.



And when he pitched, he was a modern-day superhero: steely-eyed and surgical, daunting and dominant.



That he enjoyed all of that so much was not always evident, for stoicism was one of his hallmarks. But in December 2013, on the day of his official retirement, he left no doubt about it.



“It’s so much fun to play the game and go out and compete,” he said. ”I looked forward to that fifth day more than anything.”



So did his teammates, although many of them also came to appreciate...