In 2003, Roy Halladay captured his first Cy Young award in a Toronto Blue Jays uniform. Then came 2010, his first season with the Philadelphia Phillies, and with that, his second Cy Young award. The two awards, one from the American League and the most recent from the National League, makes Halladay just the fifth pitcher to win the Cy Young in both leagues, along with Roger Clemons, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and Gaylord Perry.
Halladay was also the first unanimous Cy Young award winner since Jake Peavy in 2007.
So now the question remains, can Roy Halladay defend his Cy Young trophy another season?
Surrounded by two other aces in the rotation, Halladay remains the top dog among his decorated peers. Roy Oswalt, acquired last offseason from the Houston Astros, has been a three-time All-Star and was the 2005 NLCS MVP. Waiting behind Oswalt in the rotation is Cole Hamels, the 2008 World Series MVP and 2007 All-Star selection.
If you consider that the Phillies have three of the best pitchers in the National League, and that Halladay remains the ace ahead of Oswalt and Hamels, the likelihood of Halladay repeating in 2011 isn’t as far-fetched as imagined.
However, if you look at the stats from 2004, the season after he won the Cy Young, Halladay put up mediocre numbers compared to his standards. He finished the season 8-8 in 21 starts, posting a ERA of 4.20 and earning just one complete game. But than again, Halladay had very little run support from the weak Toronto Blue Jays offense, which ranked 22nd in the MLB and 12th in the AL in terms of runs scored.
With eight out of nine positional players returning in 2011 – with Domonic Brown appearing to be the front-runner to replace Jayson Werth – the Phillies will remain one of the NL’s top offenses and will continue to provide Halladay, along with their other pitchers, quality run support, which ranked 2nd in the NL behind the Cincinatti Reds.
Halladay’s chances to repeat, in my opinion, are very good. Despite the fact that the NL has very good pitchers, between Adam Wainwright, Tim Lincecum, and Ubaldo Jimenez, Halladay continues to amaze not only the fans, but the baseball writer’s of America, who ultimately determine the winner of the Cy Young.
The last repeat NL Cy Young winner occurred when Lincecum was named the winner of both the 2008 and 2009 Cy Young. Prior to that, the last occurrence was when Arizona Diamondback’s pitcher Randy Johnson won the award in four straight seasons between 1999 and 2002.
But don’t forget, Halladay may not only be the only Cy Young contender on the Phils’ staff. In fact, Philadelphia is blessed to have three possible Cy Young contenders. Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels all have legitimate chances at making a run for the Cy Young in 2011, which gives the Phillies a big advantage when an unfortunate opponent is scheduled to face the Big Three in a three-game series.
Halladay? Oswalt? Hamels? Who has the best chance at winning the Cy Young in 2011?
