Cy Young winner Roy Halladay killed in plane crash

HOLIDAY, Florida -- Former Major League Baseball ace Roy Halladay was killed when the small aircraft he was in crashed into shallow waters in the Gulf of Mexico near Holiday, Florida. He was 40.

Halladay worked tirelessly to become a dominant pitcher, winning a Cy Young Award in each league and tossing a perfect game and a postseason no-hitter in the same year for the Philadelphia Phillies. When he couldn't pitch at a high level anymore, Halladay walked away from the game and immersed himself in another craft.

The son of a corporate pilot, Halladay quickly got his license to fly - despite his wife's misgivings. The eight-time All-Star fulfilled his dream when he purchased his own plane last month.

Halladay died Tuesday when that private plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. He was 40.

Former teammate and current Texas Rangers ace Cole Hamels joined Phillies chairman David Montgomery at Philadelphia's ballpark to remember Halladay.

"Knowing his father was a pilot, you look up to your dad always," Hamels said. "He had that bug that he wanted to fly. That was his passion. You have to respect that. He prepared for everything. He took this serious."

Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said during a news conference in Holiday, Florida, that Halladay's ICON A5 went down around noon off the coast. The sheriff's office marine unit responded and discovered Halladay's body in shallow water near some mangroves. No survivors were found.

Police said they couldn't confirm if there were additional passengers on the plane or say where it was headed. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

Halladay, who retired after the 2013 season, tweeted frequently about his love for flying.

In one video, Halladay said the terms of his baseball contract prevented him from having a pilot's license while playing, and that his wife was originally against the idea of him getting the aircraft.

"She's fought me the whole way," Halladay said.

"Hard. I fought hard. I was very against it," Brandy Halladay said in the same video, before explaining why she eventually understood and approved of her husband's desire to have the plane. The couple has two sons, Ryan and Braden.

Harry Leroy Halladay III, affectionately known as "Doc," was one of just six pitchers to win the Cy Young Award in both leagues.

Halladay pitched a perfect game on May 29, 2010, beating the Florida Marlins 1-0. In his first-ever postseason start later that season, Halladay threw the second no-hitter in MLB postseason history against the Cincinnati Reds in Game 1 of the NLDS.

Halladay spent 12 seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays followed by four seasons with the Phillies. He was 203-105 with a 3.38 ERA.

"Words cannot describe what it feels like to lose a friend like Roy," said former teammate Chase Utley, who was Halladay's favorite player. "He was the ultimate teammate with a passion for being the best. I'm honored to have had the chance to compete with you, Roy. My heart goes out to Brandy and his boys. RIP Doc, but knowing you, rest is not in your vocabulary."

Other baseball players to die in plane crashes include Pittsburgh Pirates star Roberto Clemente in a relief mission from Puerto Rico traveling to earthquake victims in Nicaragua on New Year's Eve in 1972; New York Yankees catcher Thurman Munson piloting his own plane near his home in Canton, Ohio, in 1979; and Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle piloting a private plane in New York City in 2006.