Roy Halladay would text Ruben Amaro Jr. apologizing profusely after bad starts

Over the course of his first two seasons in Philadelphia, future Hall of Famer Roy Halladay put up staggering production, going 40-16 with a 2.40 ERA, 2.62 ERA and a 14.9 fWAR.

However, after 14 seasons in the major leagues, the two-time Cy Young Award winner hit a wall physically in 2012 and 2013, with back and shoulder problems submarining his velocity and production over what turned out to be his final two major league seasons.

Even after he had already established himself as an icon in Philadelphia and cemented his place in Cooperstown, former Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. says that Halladay would text him and apologize after rough outings over his final two seasons.

“Probably the most poignant thing about Roy is he was the most accountable person that I’ve ever been around,” Amaro said on Friday’s edition of Locked On Phillies. “There would be times towards the end of his career with us, where he was struggling physically, that he honestly felt like he should give back the money he was making because he felt like he wasn’t holding up his end of the bargain. He would text me after games if he didn’t go seven or eight innings…or have the lead in the game….or having given us a quality start…he would literally text me after the game and say things like ‘I’m sorry that I’m not living up to my end of the bargain. I should be pitching better for you and you’ve given me this opportunity and I’m not helping the team.'”

Amaro would respond in a way similar to how just about any person who watched the first 14 years of Halladay’s career would.

“I would send a text to him saying ‘Roy, if there’s anybody in the entire planet who’s more accountable or should never have to write a text like this, it’s certainly you.'”

Halladay was so dominant over his first two seasons in Philadelphia that the Phillies had planned to retire his No. 34 Friday evening, on the 10-year anniversary of his perfect game. That, of course, will be delayed, but eventually he’ll become just the 13th player in MLB history to have his number retired by two different franchises, as the Toronto Blue Jays have already retired the No. 32 that he wore for his 12 seasons there.

Though we’ll have to wait on Halladay’s number retirement ceremony, there will be content pertaining to the eight-time All-Star Friday night, as ESPN will debut their documentary “Imperfect: The Roy Halladay Story,” tonight at 7 p.m. ET.

MORE FROM PHILLIES NATION

1. 5 Things We Learned From Bryce Harper’s Incredibly Honest Interview
2. MVP Voting Was Ridiculously Unkind To Chase Utley
3. Power-Hitting Prospect Darick Hall Will Look To Continue His Approach When Baseball Returns
4. Roy Halladay Pitched Through ‘Pop In Back’ During Game 5 of 2011 NLDS
5. A Look Back At Some Phillies’ High School Careers In Other Sports
6. Ruben Amaro Jr. Says He Never Wanted To Trade Cliff Lee
7. Bryce Harper Says MLB Players Should Play In Olympics To Grow Sport
8. Do You Remember Who The Phillies Drafted Over Roy Halladay?
9. Bryce Harper: ‘Blackouts Are Killing The Game’
10. These 10 Players Have Made The Most Money As Phillies