It's weird because I was just thinking about him the other day. I forget why, but I remember being struck at the time by how real and down-to-earth he came across while he was playing. Guy was a big deal, though. I remember eight or nine years ago constantly refreshing every news source I could find in order to figure out where he was going to be traded. For a while it appeared he may never leave Toronto (that was back when the Jays were bad, too - crazy to think that for as good as he was he only pitched in five playoff games, his first being a no-hitter). That was back when baseball mattered more to me, and as things broke, the peak of his powers coincided with the height of my fanhood. As a Yankee fan he was like the boogeyman - whether real or perceived he seemed to be inhuman against us.
It's interesting how my first reaction when a player dies is to re-assess their sports reference page, and with regards to Doc, it was staggering to see how much the game has changed reflected in his statistics. He was one of the best pitchers of his generation who struck out less than seven hitters per nine innings over his career. Really goes to show how great the uptick in strikeout rate has been, and also how much I long for players like Doc - guys who took the ball and threw it, worked deep into games, and guaranteed the game didn't surpass 2.5 hours - over the current guys who will step off, walk around the mound, kick some dirt, and then hold the ball for another ten seconds.
Man, can't believe he's gone. It's always eerie when the scenery of your childhood crosses the path of mortality. R.I.P. Doc.
