‘One of the best to ever do it’

Roy “Doc” Halladay was beloved by the Toronto Blue Jays and the team’s fans, but perhaps the truest measure of the late, great starting pitcher came from those who faced him at the plate.

The eight- time all- star, two- time Cy Young Award winner and one of the greatest athletes ever to play in Toronto died tragically on Tuesday when the private plane he owns crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.

The death prompted an outpouring of grief and respectful memories, both from those who knew and worked with him in Toronto to some of baseball’s brightest stars.

“Regardless of how good he was as a player, he was just a good guy,” Jays manager John Gibbons told Postmedia from his off-season home in Texas. “You come across a lot of guys in your career, but he just stood out.

“He was a big presence, one of the elites in the game and he was one of the top dogs of his era,” added Gibbons, who was Halladay’s manager from 2004 to 2008.

The platitudes were mixed with grief over the loss of Halladay under such tragic circumstances.

“The Toronto Blue Jays organization is overcome by grief with the tragic loss of one of the franchise’s greatest and most respected players, but even better human being,” the Jays said in a statement. “It is impossible to express what he has meant to this franchise, the city and its fans. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.”

Like many of his former Jays teammates, Vernon Wells reached out on Twitter, saying “one of the best to ever do it. I had a front row seat to watch his greatness. RIP Doc. (prayers to wife) Brandy and the kids.”

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred offered his condolences as well. “All of us in baseball are shocked and deeply saddened by the passing of Roy Halladay,” Manfred said in league statement.

“Shocked and saddened ... gone way too soon,” 2017 World Series champ Justin Verlander wrote on Twitter. “One of the best ever.”

Verlander’s reaction was typical of that shared by bigname players, both past and present, who recognized the challenge of facing an arm like Halladay’s.

“One of the toughest competitors I ever faced,” New York Yankees star Bernie Williams wrote on his Twitter account. “Don’t think his greatness was truly appreciated.”

Though he finished his career with the Phillies, where he was equally beloved, Halladay signed a one- day contract with Toronto in December, 2013, so he could retire as a Jay. He’s prominent in the team’s record book, second all-time in wins (148), shutouts (15), and strikeouts (1,495).

“I felt like everything the organization had done for me, the player they allowed me to become, I felt like it was really important to acknowledge that,” Halladay said at the time. “Had I not had those chances, I would have never been able to play for the Phillies.”