Retired Major League Baseball pitcher Roy Halladay was killed Tuesday when his private plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico near St. Petersburg, Florida.

Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said Halladay, a former All-Star, was flying a light sport plane called an ICON A5. There was nobody else on board. The cause of the crash was under investigation.

Halladay, 40, pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies over a remarkable 16-year career. He twice won the Cy Young Award for being the top pitcher in his league.

Halladay’s achievements included a perfect game — an extremely rare feat, in which a pitcher or pitchers win a game that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches base — and a no-hitter for the Phillies in the 2010 playoffs. He also played on eight All-Star teams.

Halladay retired in 2013 because of a back injury.

A statement from the Blue Jays said the organization was “overcome by grief” at the loss of “one of the franchise’s greatest and most respected players” and an “even better human being.”

The Phillies issued a statement saying the team was “numb.”

“There are no words to describe the sadness that the entire Phillies family is feeling over the loss of one of the most respected human beings ever to play the game,” it said.
…