After just 16 pitches, Rich Dubee ran to the mound to check on Roy Halladay. There was nothing to be said. Halladay’s night, and possibly his career, was through.
Ryne Sandberg joined Dubee and after a few words spoken between the men on the mound, Halladay walked to the dugout with his head down, his face red, dripping with sweat. The Phillies are calling it right arm fatigue.
From the moment he took the mound, Halladay had little to give. His maximum effort was an 83 mph fastball.
And is there something more to it? Halladay has looked noticeably frail over the past few seasons, starting with his outing in Chicago a few seasons ago when he left with heat exhaustion.
The question becomes, what now? If this is the final time we’ve seen Halladay take the mound, it’s certainly not how he – or Phillies fans for that matter – envisioned the end. But it is a sad reality. Halladay’s arm, with over 40,000 regular season pitches on it, has seem better days. Are there any more pitches left to be thrown?
Pat GallenPat joined Phillies Nation in July 2009, coming over from Examiner.com. As a previous employee of both Comcast SportsNet and the National Basketball Association, Pat prides himself on being a well-rounded individual when it comes to sports. However, the Phillies are first on the list. You’ll usually find Pat chiming in on the Phillies Nation Facebook or Twitter account, weekdays on 97.3 ESPN radio or hosting Phillies Nation TV. He’s also a Senior Writer for the site, and in his free time is a music enthusiast and Will Ferrell movie-follower. His favorite beer: Philly’s own Yards. In 2015, Pat moved on from Phillies Nation as a sports anchor and reporter for CBS-3 in Philadelphia.
