Roy Halladay, 40, the ace pitcher with a mythical work ethic who authored a Phillies perfect game and postseason no-hitter and could manipulate a baseball like few in his generation, was killed Tuesday when his small plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.
The Pasco County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office confirmed Halladay’s death and said in a news conference that the specifics of the accident were still under investigation. Authorities said Halladay’s plane, an ICON A5 single-engine, amphibious aircraft, crashed about 1 p.m. about 10 miles west of St. Petersburg, Fla. Halladay was the only one aboard.
“We are numb over the very tragic news about Roy Halladay’s untimely death,” the Phillies said in a statement. “There are no words to describe the sadness that the entire Phillies family is feeling over the loss of one of the most respected human beings to ever play the game.”
The father of two teenage boys who played baseball, Halladay had filled his retirement with family and flying — while the game he loved always tugged at him. He had worked this season as a part-time employee for the Phillies in Florida with a focus on the mental side of the game. He pursued a degree in psychology.
But he was an avid flyer who often tweeted about his time in the air. His father flew planes when Halladay was younger. Halladay said in an interview last March that he had accrued about 800 hours in the air since he threw his last pitch in 2013. He had received his instrument rating and multi-engine rating. He was working toward a commercial rating.
“I’m trying to progress through it,” Halladay said in March. “I’d like to be able to instruct so I can teach my boys. I’d like to try to finish that up.”
Authorities said there were no distress calls to air-traffic control Tuesday in the moments before Halladay’s plane crashed.
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