Roy Halladay was one of Major League Baseball’s best pitchers and now we know how he learned to throw one of his pitches.
While at the 2008 All-Star Game, Halladay and Mariano Rivera got to chatting. The legendary Yankees closer talked to MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince about their interaction and why he upset his New York teammates.
“When you have All-Star Games, you always chit-chat with the guys,” Rivera said. “So I was talking to Halladay, and he asked me how I throw a cutter and would I teach him?
“He did good. And my guys (on the Yankees) got mad at me.”
Halladay at the time was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, a division rival of the Yankees. The righty’s usage of his cutter was more noticeable after his conversation with Rivera.
“It’s part of me,” Rivera said. “I always wanted people to do good and have success.”
Halladay, who tragically died in November 2017, finished the 2008 season with a 20-11 record and 2.78 ERA. Both he and Rivera will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday.
“I wish he could be here,” Rivera said. “He earned it, and he deserved it, and he gave us a lot of great memories. He’s a guy that was always giving his best.”
The ceremony begins at 1:30 p.m. ET.
