As you guys may know, Dan has been recapping the top 10 best moments of 2009. As you have noticed, we do not mention winning the division, going to the playoffs, or the World Series as moments because they are way too obvious. So instead we looked at some of the individual moments that have highlighted the season. Here is a look at moments 10 through 2 and a listing at the bottom of some honorable mentions we found tough to leave out:
#9 – Phillies All Star OF trio
#8 – Bruntlett’s Unassisted Triple Play
#3 – Phillies acquire Cliff Lee
Here are some of my honorable mentions from 2009:
Chase Utley’s stand-up inside the parker: Utley crushed a ball to just left of the 409-foot marker in center field in the third inning. The ball took an awkward bounce off the wall and shot past Reds’ CF Willy Taveras into no-man’s land. Utley circled the bases and crossed home standing-up.
22 runs versus Cincy: Utley, Shane Victorino and Greg Dobbs homered, Cole Hamels ripped a two-run double and Jimmy Rollins scored twice… in the first inning alone. The Phillies scored 10 runs in the first and scored 12 more in the next seven to win 22-1.
Happ shuts-out the Rockies: Happ struck out 10 batters and allowed only four hits top pitch his second complete-game shut of the season out versus Colorado. The rookie lefty was vying for a rotation spot heading into the late-season stretch and earned his spot with the stellar performance.
Howard’s PH homer with the flu: Howard was released from the hospital early in the day after recording a temperature of 103. With the Phillies trailing 3-2 in the seventh, Howard came up with two runners on and two outs. He connected against reliever Danys Baez for a drive into Philadelphia’s bullpen to give the Phillies a 5-3 lead. It was his fifth career pinch-hit homer. Ryan Madson unfortunately blew the game in the ninth.
Pedro’s 130 pitch count vs. NYM: The Mets really missed Martinez that night as they watched him throw 130 pitches, his highest in eight years. This moment was sweet not only because it was versus the Mets but because it mathematically eliminated them. Pedro went eight-scoreless innings, making the Mets miss their daddy (yes I know it was a Yankees saying but it was still appropriate).
Stay tuned for #1…
TTB 