May 07, 2020
An upcoming feature from ESPN titled, "Imperfect: The Roy Halladay Story" will explore the life and career of the former Phillies pitcher who tragically lost his life in a plane crash in late 2017.
From the opening moments of the trailer, it seems clear this is not just going to be an ordinary re-telling of a great player's career. Within the first 30 seconds, we're brought face-to-face with Brandy Halladay, wife of the late Halladay, who is asked what the word perfect means to her.
"Unrealistic expectation. I don't think there's such a thing as perfect," Halladay says.
That appears to set the stage for a documentary that will touch on much more than Halladay's baseball career. Taking fans all the way back to his childhood through his tragic passing, Halladay's quest for perfection as a player had unseen effects on his life away from the sport, some of which came to the forefront when an NTSB report in April concluded that the late Halladay was doing "dangerous stunts" and under the influence of amphetamines, morphine, and anti-depressants at the time of his fatal crash.
Members of the baseball world who were interviewed, including Alex Rodriguez, saw the same dominant pitcher Phillies fans were fortunate enough to watch go to work for the final four seasons of his career. His loved ones, who have pleaded with the public to show compassion and understanding as more information has been revealed about his death, appear ready to share just how much pain he was in.
"His body was dependent on these medications just to function," Brandy Halladay says in the trailer. "A.D.D., depression, anxiety, paranoia — Roy had a lot of demons he was trying to work on all at the same time."
Previous reports have revealed how deep Halladay's reliance on substances was, with physicians noting he had a history of abuse dating back to at least 2013. It's not yet clear how long this feature will be or how deep they're willing to go to help the public understand what Halladay sacrificed for his career, but this looks like a must-watch for baseball fans.
"Imperfect" will air on May 29th. Take a look at the trailer and judge for yourself below.
Millions knew "Doc", few knew Roy.
— E60 (@E60) May 7, 2020
Here’s a first look at Imperfect: The Roy Halladay Story - Coming May 29th pic.twitter.com/GCbisfUJtS
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