Only one other time in their history, have the Phillies entered the final weekend of the season with a record of 89 - 70 and needing two wins to win their division, as they did this year. Both times, including today, the Phillies won the first two games of their final regular season series to clinch their division with a record of 91 - 70 and one game remaining.
That previous occasion occurred in that glorious year of 1980 when the Phils went on to win the World Series and Ronald Reagan was elected in a landslide one month later. Let's hope that history repeats itself, both in sports and in politics.
As for now, we are in a party mode. The Phils are celebrating wildly. Many of the fans remained after the game and the players stayed out on the field , spraying champagne and jumping around. Some players were even giving champagne bottles to the fans. It's such a great feeling to be a Philly sports fan at a time like this. Now its on to the playoffs and hopefully the World Series. P - H -I - L - L -I - E - S, Phillies!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
Wonderful memories! Are they playing Star Wars music at the inning breaks on televised games as they did in 1980? I can still see Mike Schmidt driving Stan Bahnsen's pitch about 100 feet beyond the left field wall at Montreal's Olympic Stadium (Stade Olympique in the French, with helpful distance markers on the wall in feet and meters - Schmidt cleared the wall by about 30 meters!).
If the comparison holds up, then get the Maalox ready, as the playoff win over Houston was gut-wrenching. Down 5-2 to Nolan Ryan entering the 8th, up 7-5 (Manny Trillo clearing the bases with a triple), tied 7-7, up 8-7, and Dick Ruthven finally nailing it down on a line drive to center hauled in by Gary Maddox. That was after an extra inning game 4 in which Pete Rose used his forearm to clear away the catcher (Luis Pujols, I believe) to score from first on a 10th inning Greg Luzinski double, the go-ahead run in a 5-3 win. Four of the five games went to extra innings, and the final two were heart pounders.
I could handle all that at age 16; I hope I can deal with it at 44!
I remember Doc Paul and I at the final game of the World Series 1980! When Tug McGraw threw that final strike, it was pandemonium...great times, for sure! :)
Post a Comment