ST. LOUIS -- Former Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter, like many in the Major League Baseball community, extended his condolences to the family of Roy Halladay, who died in a plane crash off the coast of Florida on Tuesday. Halladay, an eight-time All-Star during his 16-year MLB career, was 40 years old.
"I love him and Brandy, and I am so sad for her and the kids," Carpenter said in a statement he released through the Cardinals. "We grew up together [and] went through good and bad times together. He was an amazing pitcher, competitor, teammate and friend. I have so many memories with him and his family. I will miss him."
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Forever linked because of their epic duel in Game 5 of the 2011 National League Division Series, Carpenter and Halladay shared a friendship that had blossomed years earlier when they were young pitchers in Toronto's organization. They were both first-round Draft picks -- Carpenter in 1993, Halladay in '95 -- and made their Major League debuts within a year of one another.

Carpenter pitched in Toronto through the 2002 season; Halladay remained there through '09. Both were Cy Young Award winners.
:: Roy Halladay, 1977-2017 ::
Even as their careers took Carpenter and Halladay separate ways, the two remained close. They would spend time together in the offseason, including a fishing trip into the Amazon rainforest in South America after the 2011 season. That excursion came just weeks after Halladay and Carpenter met on the mound in a win-or-go-home NLDS game between the Phillies and Cards that remains one of the classic postseason pitchers' duels in recent memory.
Halladay allowed a first-inning run in his eight-inning effort, but Carpenter bettered him by pitching a shutout to secure a 1-0 victory that helped the Cardinals advance. The Cards finished their postseason run that October by capturing the franchise's 11th championship.