There has been a lot of talk in baseball about the reclamation project that could win the AL Cy Young Award, Royals ace Zach Greinke. Greinke was nearly out of baseball less than two years ago while battling anxiety issues.

In today's Daily Times, I decided to tell a story that hasn't been as widely distributed about the most talked about player in baseball right now -- Roy Halladay. The Toronto ace, who could be headed out of town - and possibly to Philly - before the July 31st trade deadline, came an out away from a no-hitter in his second major league start in 1998.... only to sink to the lowest of lows, breaking a major league record (not a good one) and being sent all the way down to Single-A before rounding into All-Star form.

Click here to read that story, which includes talk from some of the Phillies who knew Halladay during his early years: Jayson Werth was in Single-A Dunedin was Halladay was demoted, Scott Eyre was in Triple-A when a resurgent Halladay passed through and Paul Bako, who had a chance to break up that no-hitter in the ninth.

The story was edited down some (I tend to write long, and newspapers are also cutting back on space), so here are a couple of nuggets that didn't make the final cut:

Halladay, Toronto’s first round pick (17th overall) in the 1995 draft, made his major league debut on Sept. 20, 1998. Seven days later, he took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Detroit Tigers.

After Halladay move two outs away, Detroit rookie Paul Bako pinch hit for shortstop Deivi Cruz. Bako grounded out to second, meaning all that stood between Halladay an a no-hitter in his second big league game was Philly native and Temple product Bobby Higginson.

Higginson homered on an 0-2 pitch.

“It was the same stuff he has today – fastball, sinker, curve ball – they were all equally devastating,” Bako recalled of that afternoon, the last day of regular season play in 1998.


There's also this, which puts into context just how good Halladay has been, despite going under the radar, at least among casual baseball fans, while playing Toronto:

Halladay is 128-55 with a 3.16 ERA since returning to the big leagues in 2001. His winning percentage since his minor league demotion is .699.

Overall, Halladay is 141-69 in 12 seasons, which computers to a .671 winning percentage. Although he hasn’t reached the 200-win plateau yet, it’s worth mentioning that Halladay may be in line to finish among the game’s greats.

Among pitchers who have amassed 200 wins since 1900, Whitey Ford (236-106) is the leader with a .690 winning percentage. New Phillies Pedro Martinez (214-99, .684) ranks second, just ahead of Hall of Famers Lefty Grove (300-141, .680) and Christy Mathewson (373-188, .665).