Former Blue Jays players, staff share memories of Roy Halladay

Roy Halladay certainly left his mark.

The baseball world continues to mourn one of the greatest players to ever take the mound following Halladay's tragic death Tuesday afternoon in Florida.

Halladay was a two-time Cy Young winner, an eight-time All-Star, and one of the most dominant pitchers of his generation, but when speaking with his former Toronto Blue Jays teammates and staff, you get a sense of the many layers that made the right-hander one of the most well-respected people in the game.

Here's what some of those former mates told theScore about the man affectionately known as "Doc":

The Professional

"His humility (made him so well liked). He was 6-foot-6, 240-pounds and had an unbelievable arm, but he was a very humble person. He was not brash, he went about it the right way. He was the type of guy that you pulled for. You wanted to see him succeed. His way was beautiful, and he did it the way you should. Doc was the real deal. He was all show, and no blow." - Darrin Fletcher, former Blue Jays catcher

The Prankster

"In spring training one year he played a prank on (former Jays players) Aaron Hill and Russ Adams. I think Adams and Hill kind of messed with Roy one time and he said, 'You know what, I'm going to get them back.' He set up this whole wedding (between Hill and Adams). He must have spent thousands and thousands of dollars. We were in spring training stretching, and sure enough there was this airplane that flew overhead and had a sign trailing behind it (reading: 'Aaron will you marry me? I love you, Russ'). We had this whole big ceremony, he brought in a whole wedding planning company to do this thing. It was really funny. As intense of a competitor that he was, he could be lighthearted and have fun with the guys. He loved pulling pranks on the guys. That helped make Roy, Roy." - Frank Catalanotto, former Blue Jays outfielder

The Workaholic

"He was one of the first guys we had to get a card made up to get in the doors because he would show up at noon. He was one of the first guys who started that. Most guys were coming in at 2:00-2:30, Doc would be there at noon. The day before he pitched, Doc would spend hours and hours in the video room. He would have binders with him of the opposing team, making notes on all the hitters. He also took notes and learned the umpires." - Kevin Malloy, Blue Jays clubhouse manager during Halladay's tenure

The Card Shark

"Playing cards, I'll always remember we would sit in the same spot for the card game on the team charters. I used to tease him. When he wasn't pitching very well, it seemed like I was always winning a few bucks from him. His cards were sh---y when his stuff (on the mound) wasn't very good, but then when he came back and started slicing and dicing, getting a bunch of people out, then his cards changed. Next thing you know, he's pulling aces when he's not supposed to. Then I started pulling out my wallet a lot to him." - Fletcher

The Dreamer

"When he threw the no-hitter in the playoffs - his very first playoff start -something that he always wanted was the opportunity to pitch in the playoffs. He dreamt about that moment so many times and worked so hard to be so good. As crazy as it sounds, I had conversations with a couple guys - B.J. Ryan being one of them - and it was almost that we knew that he was going to go out there and throw a no-hitter. You just knew something special was going to happen." - Josh Towers, former Blue Jays pitcher

The Flying Enthusiast

"When you talked to him about flying, he just loved it. Years ago, I would go to the store and buy magazines for the clubhouse and I would always make a point of buying him two different remote-control airplane magazines. I would put them on his chair and he was so appreciative. He would fly his (remote-control) helicopter at Rogers Centre - him and Alex Rios. Then we would go on the plane, and he would have his laptop. Most guys would be watching movies, playing cards, and he would be playing a flight simulator. His face would just light up (talking about flying)." - Malloy

Mr. Serious

"It was a pleasure to go out there whenever he pitched. To watch him do what he did was pretty special. We always knew every fifth day that we had Roy Halladay. If we ever got into a couple-game losing streak we could rely on Roy. We knew he was going to win, or at least give us a bunch of innings and keep him in the game. Playing behind him was awesome, it was almost like having a day off defensively. " - Catalanotto

The Ace

"Smiling (was the only thing Roy wasn't good at). I used to tell him all the time, 'Man put your feet up and relax for five minutes, it's okay.' If he was sitting down to enjoy a coffee or take a break from working out - because he was there so early - as soon as he heard the clubhouse door open the guy would pop up and get busy again, or go to the video room and start studying tapes. He couldn't sit down and relax, even though we'd tell him, 'You've earned this, you're allowed to put your feet up' (laughs)" - Towers

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)