Free Republic

<p>Former all-star MLB pitcher and flight enthusiast Roy Halladay died tragically on Tuesday when his light-sport aircraft crashed into the Gulf of Mexico, authorities said.The Cy Young award-winner, 40, was in an ICON aircraft that crash-landed into the Gulf about 10 miles west of St. Petersburg at about 1 p.m., according to local news reportsHalladay retired in 2013 after playing with the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies. His sterling career included 8 all-star appearances and more than 2,000 strikeouts. In 2010, Halladay pitched a perfect game against the Florida Marlins. Later that year, he threw the second post-season no-hitter in MLB history. The former all-star posted images of his aircraft on social media in the past — and spoke about his love of flight in a magazine article. “I’ve been dreaming about flying since I was a boy but was only able to become a pilot once I retired from baseball,” Halladay said in the article published in October.</p>

A plane registered to two-time Cy Young winner Roy Halladay crashed into the Gulf of Mexico Tuesday, according to a report from WTSP in Tampa. One person was killed in the crash, but it is not immediately known if Halladay was piloting - or aboard - the plane, per the report.

It only took a mere 54 years to stand between the first and the newest hitless, runless postseason pitching performance---by a pitcher who had already pitched a perfect game early in the regular season. OK, so Roy Halladay Wednesday afternoon walked Jay Bruce---whose walkoff, leadoff bomb got the Cincinnati Reds here in the first place---on a full count with two out in the fifth. He didn't have to be reminded that nobody's perfect, if you didn't count that fine day in May when he cleaned, scaled, and stuffed the Florida Marlins on eleven strikeouts and no Fish getting to within...

It isn't just a trade. It's a foray into the history books. How often in life do you ever see a trade like this -- two Cy Youngs in their prime changing teams in, essentially, the same deal? When you get right down to it, it's Roy Halladay for Cliff Lee, with a supporting cast that looks like the roster for the Futures Game. You just don't see trades like this one, ladies and gentlemen. It isn't exactly Wes Littleton for Beau Vaughan, now is it? "I can remember a lot of blockbuster trades, and this is definitely a blockbuster,"...