Bryce Harper mobbed by Phillies after walkoff grand slam
I have a confession to make. I'm a lifelong Phillies fan. A partial season ticket holder. I write about the team frequently here at my website.
I was at Thusday night's game in which the team rallied scoring seven times in the final two innings to come from five runs down and win on Bryce Harper's walkoff grand slam.
And I saw none of it. None of the runs. No part of the rally. Not live and in person anyway.
I gave up, and I left early.
To set the stage for you, this was perhaps the eighth game that I had been to this season. After an early season hot streak, things had deteriorated, for me and the ball club.
In each of the previous two games that I had been to, the Phillies had been blown out. Not only that, but they had not even shown up. Both times they were nearly shutout, had few hits, and the games were over by the middle innings.
Thursday night was much the same. The Phillies were down 5-0 when the top of the 8th inning rolled around. They had just four hits. Yu Darvish of the Cubs was dominating, striking out ten batters over seven innings.
So, as the 7th inning rolled around, I turned to my daughter with whom I was attending the game and told her that we would give it one more inning.
Really, I wasn't hoping for much from the Phillies at that point. The club was down 5-0 on the scoreboard and showing no life. This night on the field appeared to be solely for the many Cubs fans in the stands, including one who was seated directly behind us and had been chirping all night long.
No, I was willing to stay through the 7th inning to see, of all things, the Phillie Phanatic. Hey, the big green furry guy puts on a nice show in that frame, dancing on the Phillies dugout roof. He didn't disappoint, doing a nice number with a dance troupe from Temple University.
And so, as the action got underway in the top of the 8th, we left.
There was a good crowd at the ball park on a beautiful night. More than 37,000 showed up. Many left, both before us and as we were leaving. But there were still many who stayed. Those who stayed to the end would be the lucky ones. Well, at least those rooting for the home team.
We headed to the car, down towards I-95, and up onto the highway northbound. At somewhere between Bridge Street and Academy Road, the Phillies scored a run. I told my daughter, who was flipping through her phone in the passenger seat, that we scored a run. "Yay" she said, with sarcastic feigned enthusiasm.
I dropped her off at her house, and continued on to home. On the way, my wife asked me to make a stop at Wawa. As I drew nearer to our neighborhood, the Phillies had put two runners on base with one out in the bottom of the 9th inning, still down 5-1.
I slipped through the dark and quiet streets of our neighborhood, my headlights streaming out and the street lamps helping light the way, and as I pulled into the Wawa parking lot a base hit by Brad Miller scored Cesar Hernandez to make it a 5-2 ball game.
Things were getting a little interesting. Roman Quinn, who has been hot for awhile now, was coming to the plate. He would be followed by Rhys Hoskins and Bryce Harper. Dare we dream?
As Cubs skipper Joe Maddon went to the mound to make a pitching change, I went into the Wawa.
Got myself a coffee, and the night manager, a nice guy who I've seen in there many times, saw my Phillies t-shirt and cap and said "I guess they lost, huh?"
I told him that I had been down there, left when it was 5-0, but now they had a little rally going in the bottom of the 9th, down 5-2. He asked who was up, and I told him that it was Quinn. He kind of nodded with an "oh well" look on his face.
As I walked through the store to find an item for my wife, a notice came over my phone that Quinn had delivered an RBI single to make it a 5-3 game. I rushed back to Mr. Wawa Manager to let him know, and he said "guess I better find a place to listen." I hope he did.
I got my items, paid, and left the store. Back in my car, I heard that Rhys Hoskins had somehow reached base - I just assumed a walk at that point - and that Bryce Harper was now up with the bases loaded.
Harper battled reliever Derek Holland during my four block drive home. I had just pulled in front of my house and was parking my car when...
You know the rest. Scott Franzke's typically fantastic voice raised with the call "Swung on...hit high and deep...right field...and that...ball...is......goooooone!"
Needless to say, finishing my parking job got a little bit tougher with that adrenalin jolt.
I got out of the car and hurried into my house. My wife, knowing that I was on my way and knowing her husband, had the game on, watched that ending, and had rewound it so that I could watch the end.
Watching it on TV was just as dramatic, even knowing how it ended. I rewound a little further so that I could enjoy the entire rally. When that TV coverage got to the home run, chills again thanks to John Kruk's now legendary "Oh my God!!" as soon as the ball left the bat.
So, I was there on Thursday night. I was at Citizens Bank Park for the game in which the Phillies rallied from down 5-0 in the 8th inning and 5-1 in the 9th to win on a walkoff grand slam by Bryce Harper.
I had a nice evening. My daughter and I ate and had a couple of beers before the game at Pass & Stow. We enjoyed each other's company and chatted as we watched the game.
But we were not there at the end. We didn't get to enjoy "the moment."
You tell yourself a lot of things when you leave early, as I have done many times over the years. Gotta beat the crowd, the traffic being the main thing. I don't believe that what happened last night has ever happened in a game that I left early before.
So, the question is - will I ever leave early again? Of course I will. Probably the very next game that I attend. And if the Phillies are losing, even losing big, I'll hope and pray that I get to listen on the radio and/or watch on TV as they rally again.
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