Blog Stroll 10/27/09

I figured I haven't done one of these in a long time so I might as well post some of the funnier things I read the past couple of days:

The Fightins did a hilarious post titled "The Bandwagoners Guide to the 2009 Yankees." In it they talk about some of the current and recently former players of the Yankees to just give those who are hopping back on thier bandwagon for the first time in about five years a heads up of who to watch and who to fear.

Phillies Nation did a post comparing the attractions, food, and traffic of New York and Philadelphia. They then capped it off with showing why it's easy to root for a team with 26 rings but difficult to be as passionate, if not more passionate than the Yankees fans with only seeing two rings, 10,000 losses, and Joe Carter and 1964.

Red Pinstripes Are Cooler re-bashed the New York Post for their crappy attempt at humor in depicting the "Frillies" fans and thier city as second rate and used a poorly photo-shopped picture of Shane Victorino in a skirt on thier cover. I guess desperated times call for desperate measures for the Post.

Macho Row did a nice little flash back to the 1950 World Series featuring the Whiz Kids. The Yankees swept the Phillies 4-0.

And also, don't forget to join the World Series discussion on Liberty Bell Sports, a forum for all you Philly fans.

The Dream Match Up

This is when the blog gets personal. It's when I put aside being objective and let you look through the eyes of a Phillies fan.

Ever since I was a kid playing "Bases Loaded" for NES, "Roger Clemens Baseball" for Super NES, "All Star Baseball" for Game Boy, "Griffey Slugfest" for N64, and all the way up to "MLB 2K7" for X-Box 360, I would always play the Phillies versus the Yankees. Why you ask? Because to me, that would be the dream World Series for me.

Living in the shadow of New York sports my entire life as a Phillies fan, I always wondered, up until last year, what greatness tasted like. Now I get to watch my Phillies not only defend their championship in the World Series this year but to do it against the Evil Empire. I get to see the Phillies go up against the greatest franchise in not only baseball but in all of sports. It's David versus Golliath. Team USA versus Team Russia. Buster Douglas versus Mike Tyson.

This is cheese steaks versus cheese cakes. The City of Brotherly Love versus the City that Never Sleeps. It's "New York, New York" versus "High Hopes." The Liberty Bell versus the Statue of Liberty. Comcast versus YES. Rocky versus Vito Corleone.

The Phillies have the loveable players like Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Jimmy Rollins. The Yankees have their beloved captain in Derek Jeter, evil Alex Rodriguez, and the new kid in town, Mark Texiera. It's Joe Girardi and Charlie, two managers that have been under fire from their fans all year but still made it to the big show. Neither park welcomes opposing fans and neither city really likes eachother. This will be the best World Series since 2001.

I have longed for nothing more than beating the Yankees in the World Series. It's like beating the Patriots in the Super Bowl, the Lakers in the NBA Finals, and the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals. Those are three things Philly has failed to do during my life time.

I say the fourth time's a charm! Avenge the Whiz Kids of 1950! Let's go Phillies! Win this one for Harry!

FIM Recap

I'm still up for absolutely no reason whatsoever so I decided to recap moment 15-2 of the Famous/Infamous Moment series. Tomorrow morning I will post #1 which is pretty obvious as to what it is. Here is the list:

#15 - Steve Cartlon (1994), Mike Schmidt and Richie Ashburn (1995), and Jim Bunning (1996) get inducted into the Hall of Fame.

#14 - The 2007 run when the Phillies helped the Mets create the biggest choke in baseball.

#13 - The birth of our beloved Phillie Phanatic.

#12 - The Phillies record career loss #10,000 versus the Cardinals in 2006.

#11 - Veterans Stadium is imploded.

#10 - Ryan Howard wins the Rookie of the Year and MVP in back-to-back seasons.

#9 - The departure of Harry Kalas and Whitey Asburn.

#8 - The Phillies trade Larry Bowa and Ryne Sandberg for Ivan DeJesus.

#7 - The collapse in 1964.

#6 - Schmidt hits his 500th homer.

#5 - The Whiz Kids win the 1950 pennant.

#4 - Jim Bunning goes perfect in 1964.

#3 - The Phillies win their first world championship in 1980.

#2 - Joe Carter breaks our hearts.

I wonder what #1 will be.....

FIM #5: The Whiz Kids

Almost 60 years ago, we remember one of the most exciting and memorable teams in Philadelphia history: the Whiz Kids. Known for their youth and energetic play, the Whiz Kids took the Phillies all the way to the World Series, only to lose to the New York Yankees.

The Whiz Kids were comprised of a bunch of young players who were trained through their farm system. The Phillies haven't made the World Series in 35 years and had to get through the defending champions to win their first title. Unfortunately, they were swept in four games, losing the first three by a run and game 4 by a score of 5-2.

Their youth was really evadable. Their oldest starer in the field was Eddie Waitkus at 30 and the second oldest starting pitcher was Russ Meyer, 26 (the oldest was 34).

The Whiz Kids featured two future Hall of Famers in center fielder Richie Asburn and pitcher Robin Roberts. Ashburn batted .303 that year with an OBP of .372, great numbers for a lead off hitter. Roberts was their ace pitcher, going 20-11 with a 3.02 ERA. He threw 21 complete games, five of which were shut outs.

Del Ennis led the team in batting, homers, and RBI's (.311/31/126). Other power numbers came from Dick Sisler (.297/13/83), Andy Seminick (.288/24/68), and Willie Jones (.267/25/88). Granny Hamner also drove in 82 runs.

The pitching was also phenomenal. Roberts was supported by Curt Simmons (17-8; 3.40), Bob Miller (11-6; 3.57) and their closer Jim Konstanty (16-7; 2.66; 22 saves). The closer role was different back then as Konstanty racked up a ton of wins. He would actually get the start in game 1 of the World Series, going 8 innings and allowed a run on four hits. The Phils were shut out 1-0.

This team would have been exciting to watch. I love baseball like this. Guys who hit, run well, get dirty, and play the game the right way. Today you see pimped out home runs, guys coming up short on fly balls, and guys who don't run out ground balls. Baseball turned from an art form to a joke. There was no steroids and there was no media hype. It was just baseball and the fans, just winning and losing.

FIM #15: Three Straight Years of HOFers

It was in the wake of a World Series run that ended in heart break. But fans were soon reminded of the great players that have worn the Phillies jersey in years past. 1994 was the first of three consecutive years a Phillie would get inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

In 1994, Steve Carlton was inducted. He is considered one of the greatest pitchers to ever play the game. Carlton came over to Philadelphia in the “greatest trade in Phillies history” for Rick Wise in 1972. He continued to be the dominatne pitcher he was in St. Louis, helping the Phillies win their first World Series in 1980. Carlton won 329 games in his career with 254 complete games, 55 of those were shut outs.

In 1995, the Phillies were treated with 2 HOFers: Mike Schmidt and the late Richie Ashburn. Schmidt is considered the greatest third basemen ever. He was a Phillie his whole career and was a 9-time Gold Glover, 12-time All Star, 6-time Silver Slugger, and 1-time world champion.

Ashburn was a member of the 1950 pennant winning team nicknamed the “Whiz Kids” and became one half of the famous Harry and Whitey broadcasting team. He could hit, get on base and steal then would steal them. He is 3rd in Phillies history in runs scored. He is also a 5-time All Star. He passed away on September 9, 1997.

Lastly, in 1996, Jim Bunning was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Bunning was famous for throwing the only perfect game in Phillies history in 1964, the same year they had their monumental collapse. Bunning was excellent his whole career, winning 224 games and striking out 2855 batters.

All four players have had their numbers retired by the Phillies. Surely it was a wonderful consolation prize after losing the heart breaker in 1993.