PHILADELPHIA — Roy Halladay was his same old self a day after throwing the second no-hitter in postseason history in his first career playoff start.
With his peers marveling at his amazing stuff and the Hall of Fame snapping up gear from his historic start, Halladay arrived at the ballpark early as usual and went about his normal routine Thursday with one notable difference. He actually had a smile on his face.
“I said, ‘Hello, Roy.’ He said, ‘Hello, Charlie,’ and grinned and went on about his business,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “By the grin he showed me that he’s happy.”
Halladay’s teammates didn’t notice any change in his demeanor, either. Halladay, a graduate of Arvada West High, wasn’t available to speak to reporters.
“I wasn’t here nearly as early as he was, but I would just say business as usual,” Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth said. “Just another (day), which is pretty standard. I wouldn’t expect anything else.”
Former Rockies coach Don Zimmer was on the Brooklyn Dodgers bench when Don Larsen tossed the only other postseason no-hitter, a perfect game for the Yankees in the 1956 World Series.
Zimmer, who didn’t play in the ’56 Series after being sidelined with a fractured cheekbone caused by a pitched ball, said Thursday he thought Larsen’s gem would be it for postseason no-hitters.
“He’s a doctor,” Zimmer said of Halladay. “He just knows how to operate on hitters.”
Halladay recorded his second no-hitter of the season in a 4-0 victory over the Reds in Game 1 of the NLDS.
Rays manager Joe Maddon said he wasn’t surprised by it.
“The fact that it was his first playoff game, I can understand him being more psyched, possibly, and it showed,” Maddon said. “The guy is really that good.”
The Hall of Fame was impressed, adding Halladay’s jersey from the postseason no-hitter to the cap he donated from his perfect game May 29 against the Marlins. The Phillies also donated a game-used ball.
