Hard to imagine Cole has many regrets about his time in Philly. He was unreal in the 08 World Series title run. Started 5 games, went 4-0 with 1 no decision, a 1.80 ERA and a .190 OBA. That’s insane. And then the last game he pitched for the Phillies in Chicago, he tosses a no-no. Home grown talent that helped deliver the goods. What could he possibly regret? Was it not winning more titles? I’m sure that is something that he wishes that team would have done but not for himself. He regrets not getting to the World Series for someone else.
Phillies Nation: “And then it became something – we wanted to get Roy Halladay to the World Series, because we knew that this guy deserved it and wanted it. And he wanted to share it with all of us. That was something that was even more special was he didn’t like to take credit for what he was doing, even though he deserved it. Even though he helped get us where we were, he didn’t want to take credit for it. He’s like ‘Oh no, you guys did the work.’ No, no Roy, you did this. You helped us.
“And so, to not be able to go to the World Series with him, that was so tough. I mean, that last game he pitched when we got eliminated in Game 5 of the Cardinals series…of course he’s going up against one of his best friends in [Chris] Carp[enter]…jeez, you couldn’t have a better game to watch. And Cliff [Lee] and I are in the bullpen going ‘What are we doing out here, we’re not gonna pitch. Can we just go back to the dugout and watch this game?’ Cliff and I are like ‘This is ridiculous.’
Have to say I feel the exact same way. When Roy Halladay made his way to Philly I thought the second World Series title was virtually a lock. And that was before Roy even threw a pitch in a Phillies uni. Once that season got underway I doubled down on that thought because Roy Halladay in 2010 was basically a cheat code.
21-10, 9 complete games, 4 shutouts, 2.44 ERA, 219 Ks over 250.2 innings. Also my favorite stat, 33 games started, 30 walks given up. Every pitch he had in his bag had movement, it looked like a man amongst boys. I was beyond lucky to be a Phillies fan at this time. I was fresh out of college, working a handful of part time jobs, no real responsibilities. I got the opportunity to watch basically all 162 that year. And every time Roy Halladay stepped out on the mound, it felt like he was going to throw a no hitter.
And we got to see two of them in one year from the guy.
That Phillies run from 2007-2011 was amazing and some of the most fun I’ve ever had as a sports fan. There isn’t much to regret but I agree with Cole. Roy not having the opportunity to pitch in a World Series is a loss. Not just for Phillies fans but baseball fans in general. He was a hall of famer that when at his peak, you could consider him one of the best to ever do it. A workhorse that from 2001-2011 pitched 2300 innings, majority of those in the AL East, which at the time was a monster division. And in that time posted an ERA of 2.98 and went 175-78. BANANAS.
He was a machine and from all reports/stories an amazing guy as well. Him never playing in the fall classic feels like an all time miss for the sport.