Phils' playoff hero determined to return and help defend title
Published Friday October 31st, 2008
Stairs | Fond memories of hitting game-winning homer against L.A.
Matt Stairs plans to play out the remaining year on his major league baseball contract next season.
Though the 40-year-old Frederictonian has played for 11 teams over his 16-year big league career, he will forever be a Philadelphia Phillie.
Stairs, still basking in the glow of the Phillies' World Series win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night, said he wants to come back next season to accept his ring at the home opener and enjoy the team's reign atop major league baseball.
"I told my family on the way home that if I didn't have a contract for next year, there was a pretty good chance that I was going to retire," said Stairs. "But I feel good health wise. I feel like I can still hit. Besides, I want to come back and get that ring and I want to defend that championship. I want to go through a year of hearing "We're playing (against) the defending 2008 World Series champions."
The Phillies achieved that status for the first time since 1980 and only the second time in the 126-year-history of the franchise with a 4-3 victory over the Rays in the rain-delayed fifth game of the Series in Philadelphia Wednesday. They won the best-of-seven series 4-1.
"I'm into a rolenow of part-time playing and pinch-hitting that I really enjoy," said Stairs, who will be 41 when spring training convenes in Clearwater, Fla. next February. "There's no reason why I wouldn't play next year. And then, hell, who knows?"
What might be the signature moment of Stairs' major league career happened a couple of weeks ago in Los Angeles. Fourth game of the National League championship series. Eighth inning. Game tied at 5-5 after a Shane Victorino homer. Surely you remember...
Stairs - and Phillie Phanatics - will never forget it.
"They told me I was pinch hitting," said Stairs, telling a story he will no doubt dine on as an-after dinner speaker for the rest of his days. "They said 'Well, go on up' and I said "No, I'm not going on deck.' Because every time I've gone on deck we've either won a game or the person in front of me has gone out and I've never got a chance to hit. So I stayed in the dugout and Ruiz got the hit to left field.
"So I walked up. I wasn't nervous. I had a lot of energy, but I think it was a lot easier when Victorino hit the home run to tie it. And when they made the pitching change, I zoned out. I never heard my name being announced. I never heard boos or cheers or whatever. I was on deck taking practice swings, and the only thing I could hear was the bat whipping through the zone when I was taking swings on deck. Which sounds weird, but as a hitter, you want to hear the ffff going through the zone. When I walked to the batter's box, I was so comfortable. I felt like I belonged right there. This was the right spot."
Jonathan Broxton threw the first pitch, a fast ball. Stairs gauged it at 92 miles per hour.
"I looked at the speed gun and it was 97. Everything was in slow motion. The next pitch was a slider down and in and I had a good take. When I hit the 3-1 pitch, I knew it was gone."
It propelled the Phillies to a 7-5 victory and a 3-1 lead over the Dodgers in the NLCS - and Stairs to a place reserved for Philadelphia's sporting heroes.
"That's when you really feel like a Phillie," he said. "You want that one big hit. Jenks (outfielder Geoff Jenkins) and I were talking about that (Wednesday). You want to have that one big hit to really feel like part of the team in the playoffs. I felt like a Phillie and they've treated me unbelievably here. But when you get that one big hit and they say it's one of the biggest home runs in Phillies' history...that's where it kicks in. It's been two, three weeks since I hit it and it's still the talk of the town. Man, what great timing."
The timing - and ultimately the destination - were pretty good for Stairs on August 30, too. That's when he was designated for assignment by the Toronto Blue Jays and ultimately traded to Philadelphia and his date with destiny.
"It worked out fine for both teams because they had an opportunity to bring up (Travis) Snyder," he said. "I was fortunate to have a really good year in Toronto last year and I felt bad because I didn't have the year I had the year before. On the other hand, when I got traded to Philadelphia I was excited.
"I knew I was coming to a place where I love to hit and I knew how strong they were. World Series bound? I think every team is. I think you have to play consistent the whole year. And we locked it in the last 25 games. There was no way we were losing two games in a row and there was no way we were losing at home. But I thank Toronto for giving me the opportunity to go to a contender."
Disabled
Search Articles
More CE Network Sites & Partners:
