Tuesday was the 25th anniversary of one of the best Phillies games I have ever attended - and I've attended A LOT. My brain is filled with useless Philly sports info, but amid the clutter this game is one I'll never forget. It was a Friday night game against San Francisco, the last weekend of the summer before school started, and I went with my friend Brad and his dad - who always found a way to leave early. Luckily for us, he decided to stay as the Phils trailed the Giants 3-1 heading to the bottom of the 9th-inning.
Up till this point the Phils had struggled, with only Joe Morgan's lead-off home run the only run the Phils could muster for John Denny that night. In the top of 9th the Giants added the third run for insurance on a Jeffrey (Hackman) Leonard double, and things looked bleak.
In the bottom of the ninth, a single by Garry Maddox and two Giant errors loaded the bases with one out. After Tony Perez struck out, Ozzie Virgil was announced as the pinch hitter for Morgan and the crowd booed the Phillies catcher. "Why are they pinch hitting for the only guy who did anything tonight? Why aren't they using Joe Lefebrve?" These are some of the comments I remember from the crowd around mea€¦.Wouldn't you know, Virgil hits a walk-off grand slam and the Phils remain tied with Pittsburgh for the NL East lead.
As we cruised home through Center City that evening, we had our heads stuck out of the sun roof as Harry's call of the home run was blasting from the postgame show. What a game, what a memory. 25 years ago, wow.
Original Story:
http://www.firedforwinning.com/?p=287.
Up till this point the Phils had struggled, with only Joe Morgan's lead-off home run the only run the Phils could muster for John Denny that night. In the top of 9th the Giants added the third run for insurance on a Jeffrey (Hackman) Leonard double, and things looked bleak.
In the bottom of the ninth, a single by Garry Maddox and two Giant errors loaded the bases with one out. After Tony Perez struck out, Ozzie Virgil was announced as the pinch hitter for Morgan and the crowd booed the Phillies catcher. "Why are they pinch hitting for the only guy who did anything tonight? Why aren't they using Joe Lefebrve?" These are some of the comments I remember from the crowd around mea€¦.Wouldn't you know, Virgil hits a walk-off grand slam and the Phils remain tied with Pittsburgh for the NL East lead.
As we cruised home through Center City that evening, we had our heads stuck out of the sun roof as Harry's call of the home run was blasting from the postgame show. What a game, what a memory. 25 years ago, wow.
Original Story:
http://www.firedforwinning.com/?p=287.
