Phillies' Halladay: Still no championship ring, but no regrets

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Perhaps greatness is just a figment of our imagination, a projection of our deepest fear, a manifestation of our latent doubt. Yes, we watch sports because of Jordan with 5.2 seconds left, and Brady with the score tied, and Elway with 98 yards of grass and mud staring him in the face. But maybe what we really seek is justification for our most desperate belief: that somewhere beneath an atmosphere of incalculable circumstance and random fate lies a world that really is within our control.

It is funny, then, to listen to a guy like Roy Halladay speak. He has spent most of the last 15 years building a Hall of Fame career with bricks and mortar made of focus and control. His preparation is legendary, from the binder filled with his copious notes to the offseason workout that begins before dawn. But yesterday, as he sat in front of a few rows of media at the Phillies' spring-training complex, Halladay allowed himself a moment to consider the unknown.

"I realize that I'm not getting younger," the 34-year-old righthander said as he reflected on the Phillies' bitter defeat in Game 5 of the National League Division Series. "I'm probably going to play less going forward than I've played already, so I understand that. But you know, the greatest thing that's ever happened to me was coming here. I've given myself two chances to be in the playoffs and try to be in the World Series that I wouldn't have had in a lot of other places, let alone where I already was. So to this point, I have no regrets. If I go the rest of my career and never get another shot, I'll have no regrets."

Think about it long enough and the illusion will shatter. The world bestows greatness based on championships won, titles accumulated, and moments defined. To be human is to have the potential locked inside of us. To be great is to discover the key. Yet there he sat, one of the greatest pitchers of our generation, admitting that a career can be fulfilled even without a ring.

"That doesn't mean it means less to me to try to do that," Halladay continued. "But I wanted that chance and I enjoyed that chance and I'm looking forward to that chance again. The window is getting closer and it would be nice when you do go away to go away as a world champion. I think any player would want that. And I definitely do."