Roy Halladay's wife pushed him to quit baseball, but 'he couldn't stop playing'

Hall of Fame pitcher Roy Halladay's life was full of fantastic moments, but his difficult life behind closed doors is something that continues to be unfurled through various interviews with his widow, Brandy.

The eight-time All-Star was one of the best pitchers in all of baseball, but his pain and suffering ultimately led to a drug and painkiller addiction that got the best of him in the end.

Brandy revealed in an interview with ESPN's John Barr, Mike Farrell and Brian Rivera that she first began to see Halladay's "personality of dependence" before the two married in 1998. That dependence came by way of chewing tobacco, Brandy said, and also included a drinking problem.

Halladay revealed to his wife that he began taking prescription opioids during 2012 spring training to mask the pain he was experiencing so he could continue to pitch. The two-time Cy Young winner tended to do that a lot, and his pain became something Brandy couldn't continue to watch him suffer through, so she tried to convince him to retire from baseball in 2011 as he became more limited physically.

"He couldn't stop playing. In his mind, he had to keep playing no matter what he was doing to himself physically," Brandy told ESPN. "I just wanted my husband. I wanted him healthy."

Halladay didn't retire until after the 2013 season, and still dealt with immense pain and battled his inner demons even after his baseball career ended.

The Toronto Blue Jays legend died in an aviation accident when his ICON A5 amphibious plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida in 2017. He reportedly had a dangerous mix of amphetamine, morphine and other prescription drugs in his system and was doing acrobatics before the time of his death, according to the New York Times' Michael Levenson.

Halladay's difficulties will continue to be revealed in a soon-to-be-released book titled "Doc: The Life of Roy Halladay," by Todd Zolecki and in an ESPN special airing on May 29 titled "Imperfect: The Roy Halladay Story."