On Monday night at Citizens Bank Park, Braden Halladay, son of the late Roy Halladay, threw a ceremonial first pitch before Game 2 of the Phillies’ National League Division Series against the Dodgers. He was joined on the field by his brother, Ryan Halladay. The catcher for the event was Carlos Ruiz, who famously caught Roy Halladay’s postseason no-hitter in 2010.
Braden expressed what it meant to participate in this ceremony: “The opportunity to be back here and to relive everything my dad did and to get to kind of experience it — it almost feels like I’m back here with him,” he said. “Any opportunity to get to do that is obviously incredible.”
Roy Halladay’s no-hitter occurred on October 6, 2010, during Game 1 of the NLDS against the Reds. It remains one of only two postseason no-hitters in Major League Baseball history. Ruiz reflected on that moment: “It’s crazy how time flies,” he said through an interpreter. “Obviously, those moments are in your mind, they’re in your heart. It was such a great honor to be part of his moment, and obviously, being here today and being able to catch for his son is a great honor, as well.”
Braden recalled his own memory from that historic night: “I remember I got on the Jumbotron in the fourth inning and that made my night,” he said. “In like the sixth or seventh inning, I started to kind of realize what was going on, and I was more nervous than I was today for the rest of the night. Pretty incredible.”
Ryan Halladay described his perspective as a child during his father’s achievement: “For me, see, I love baseball, but it was always my dad’s work,” Ryan said. “I’m not sure exactly how to word it, but I just knew it was my dad’s work and I was tired, it was late at night, I knew my birthday was the next day — and I was restless. So, I was actually just sitting in the kids room.” He added about learning what had happened after the game: “I didn’t know what happened until after the game,” Ryan said. “All I knew was we were going to the aquarium that night for my birthday, and that’s all I could think about. I didn’t care much about anything else.”
The idea for Braden’s first pitch came together quickly after contact from Phillies officials; neither Braden nor Ryan knew Ruiz would be catching until earlier that day.
“We couldn’t have had anyone better to do it,” Ryan said. “If you could have asked for anyone, we would have picked Chooch 10 out of 10 times. So, it was perfect.”
Braden added humor regarding his throw: “I’m glad it was him so he could go up and get the pitch,” he joked.
Since Roy Halladay’s death in 2017, Braden has remained involved with baseball through playing at Penn State University and being drafted by Toronto Blue Jays—one of his father’s former teams—in 2019’s MLB Draft (32nd round). More recently he worked with Clearwater Threshers—the Phillies’ Single-A affiliate—and completed an internship as a data apprentice with Texas Rangers.
Ruiz shared what being part of this event meant personally: “Being here with Roy’s sons and getting to see his wife as well, I hold that near to my heart,” Ruiz said. “I just want them to know they’re always going to have a special place in my heart as well.”
