Roy Halladay no-hitter could mean big bucks for MLB

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

First came the history ... followed shortly thereafter by the effort to cash in.

Less than 24 hours after the Phillies’ Roy Halladay pitched the second no-hitter in Major League Baseball postseason history, MLB Properties and its licensees announced they have created ‘an assortment of special T-shirts and other items that will be available’ before Friday’s second National League Division Series game in Philadelphia.

Among those are ‘DOC-tober No-No’ T-shirts, which play off Halladay’s nickname, Doc, as well as pennants, towels, key chains and other items. Many of those items will be available at mlb.com.

Meanwhile, the jersey Halladay wore Wednesday is on its way to the Hall of Fame. And MLB authenticators marked several other items, certifying that they were used in the historic game against the Cincinnati Reds. Among the items authenticated were multiple game-used baseballs, home plate, the pitching rubber, the lineup card from the Phillies dugout, all three sets of bases used in the game, buckets of dirt removed from the mound and the uniform used by plate umpire John Hirshbeck.

And as cheesy as it sounds, MLB isn’t the first organization to try to cash in on Halladay’s brilliance this season. After the Phillies’ right-hander pitched a perfect game in Miami in May, the Marlins sold unused tickets from that game as souvenirs. And the Marlins charged face value -- ranging from $12 to more than $300 -- for the tickets, which were for a game that HAD ALREADY BEEN PLAYED.

What’s more, the Marlins said they will count all tickets sold for that game -- including ones purchased months later -- in the official attendance figure.

-- Kevin Baxter, reporting from Philadelphia