Article: 34 for 34: Kevin Gausman Leads the Blue Jays Into the ALCS

[Leo Morgenstern]

When Roy Halladay passed away in 2017, a 26-year-old Kevin Gausman expressed regret that he never got to know the pitcher he grew up idolizing. 

“One of my biggest regrets looking back is I didn't reach out to him and get his number,” Gausman told MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli.

But Gausman did get Halladay’s number, albeit in a different way. After wearing numbers 37 and 39 on the back of his jersey through his first five seasons with the Baltimore Orioles, he made the switch to 34 in 2018. 

Blue Jays fans will always remember Halladay as number 32. That's the only retired number on the Rogers Centre’s Level of Excellence. But Halladay switched to 34 when he came to Philadelphia, where 32 was already retired in honor of Steve Carlton. Now, of course, the Phillies have retired number 34 as well.

In hindsight, the Gausman-Halladay connection is clear as day.

The Blue Jays have had some terrific individual pitching seasons since Halladay left in 2010. There was Alek Manoah in 2022. Robbie Ray in 2021. Hyun Jin Ryu in 2020. Three years, three different Blue Jays finishing top three for the AL Cy Young.

Yet, according to FanGraphs' version of Wins Above Replacement, no pitcher has had a better season for the Blue Jays since the days of Halladay than Kevin Gausman. His 5.5 fWAR in 2022 ranks first. His 5.3 fWAR in 2023 ranks second. His 4.1 fWAR in 2025 ranks third.  

But none of that has anything to do with Gausman taking Halladay's number. Gausman changed his number long before he could have known he'd one day become the Blue Jays' best pitcher since Halladay. It was four years before he signed his nine-figure deal with Toronto. His journey still had to take him through another half-season with the Orioles and brief stints with the Braves, Reds, and Giants before the Blue Jays came calling.

To find Gausman’s first connection to Halladay, you'd have to drive about 2,500 kilometers southwest from the GTA. It didn't have anything to do with where either of them made their names. It was about where they each got their start: Colorado. 

“Guys from Colorado have to go through a lot just to get to professional baseball, let alone the major leagues,” Gausman told Ghiroli. “He grew up 30 minutes from where I grew up and [was] one of the best pitchers, not just from Colorado or his team, but in our generation…He really put us on the map.”

According to Baseball Reference, 108 MLB players have been born in Colorado. Only 66 of them debuted before Halladay in 1998. 

It should be no surprise that Halladay is the most accomplished major leaguer from the Centennial State. Aside from Halladay, however, no Colorado native has faced more batters (slash taken more trips to the plate) than Gausman. And aside from Halladay, no Colorado native has compiled more FanGraphs WAR.

I like to think Gausman has had the kind of career his fellow Coloradan would admire. 

Dating back to his first proper season in 2014, only two pitchers have started more games than Gausman. Only one has thrown more innings. None has him beat in both categories. 

The definition of "durable" today isn't the same as it was at Halladay's peak. Yet, if there were a picture next to the "durability" entry in the mid-2000s baseball dictionary, it would have been Halladay's headshot. Two decades later, it would be Gausman's bearded mug.

Halladay's age-34 season, with number 34 on his back, was arguably the best of his career. Gausman can't say the same. But he did make the best start of his career in September, a dominant shutout evoking memories of the many such starts Halladay made from the very same mound.

It has also been the most prolific season of Gausman's big league tenure, and in that way, the most Halladay-esque. He set a new career-high in innings pitched on the final day of the regular season. Tonight, he'll almost certainly set a new career-high in postseason innings, too.  

And 34 isn't just Gausman's age and Gausman's number. It's also the highest number of starts he's made in a single year. He started 34 regular season games for the Orioles in 2017. He started 33 in the regular season and one in the playoffs for the Giants in 2021. 

Tonight will mark his 34th start of 2025. If he leads the Blue Jays to victory, he can all but guarantee he'll get to make a 35th as well. 

It's remarkably impressive. We're already talking about the most durable pitcher of the past decade, and, three months away from his 35th birthday, he looks more indestructible than ever.

Of course, Halladay, too, looked indestructible until he didn't. Gausman's durability is cause for celebration. But all that wear and tear is also cause for concern.

Yet, aside from his age – which, I'll remind you, is still within Statistics Canada's "young adult" range – Gausman has given us absolutely no reason to worry.  So, I'm hoping that here is where the Halladay parallels end. Halladay was 34 when he suffered a heartbreaking postseason loss. It was the beginning of the end of his career.

Gausman, however, still has a chance to do what his Colorado idol never could: hoist a World Series trophy. And the way he pitches tonight in start number 34 will go a long way toward helping him reach that goal. 

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[Mike LeSage]

Beautifully written! If they go all the way this year I wonder if Gausman has an outside shot at making the Level of Excellence. My head says no, but my heart says get him up there.

[Leo Morgenstern]

6 hours ago, Mike LeSage said:

Beautifully written! If they go all the way this year I wonder if Gausman has an outside shot at making the Level of Excellence. My head says no, but my heart says get him up there.

Thank you! I guess unfortunately, it's a lot harder for a starting pitcher to have a Joe Carter-type moment. But if they win it all and Gausman is the MVP, he's definitely got a shot at it someday!