WDEL Blog: Talkin' Baseball
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Phillies Yanks, Who Ya Got?
Game 1 of the 2009 World Series kicks off Wednesday night. This is the second time the two franchises have met in the Fall Classic. The year was 1950 and the Yankees swept the Phillies.
Players have come and gone, ownership has changed and the sport has evolved into a money driven form of entertainment. The Phillies have been riding the bats of Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez. The Yankees look to Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Texeira.
The Yankees only had two players with 30 homeruns or more this season (Rodriguez 30, Texeira 39.) The Phillies had four (Werth 36, Ibanez 34, Utley 31, Howard 45.) However, the Yankees had a team total of 244 homeruns and the Phils jacked 224.
Both teams have come into the World Series, swinging hot bats. Howard was the NLCS MVP after putting up some impressive numbers and had CC Sabathia not pitched incredibly well, Alex Rodriguez may have been the ALCS MVP.
But what the two teams have is close but not nearly the cities. Philadelphia has REAL sports fans, fans that yes, throw snowballs, boo their own team and give other fans grief about opposing teams but that is what they HAVE.
New York has the Met, the most people in a small area, the monicker that their city "doesn't sleep," and Times Square. Philly has the Art Museum which was made popular by "Rocky." People look down on people in Philadelphia for being "overweight" and "unattractive" but my feeling is that people are honest and genuine. From north of Baltimore to central PA to northeast PA, you'll find Phillies fans.
Sure the Yankees fans are nationwide but like Southern California, it's tough to find anyone that is FROM NYC. Most people are from the outlying areas.
So in turn, the Phillies have the emotional aspect of this postseason with the passing of Harry Kalas. Kalas is a legend in baseball and broadcasting. So the sound of "High Hopes" will ring loud in Philadelphia and you can be sure that somewhere a Yankees fan will be writing a blog that suggests the Phillies have no place in this series and that the fight for Kalas is pathetic.
Look, if the defending champs need a reason other than protecting what they have then Harry Kalas is a good enough reason. The Phillies belong in the World Series more than the Yankees, the Yankees are trying to get the crown.
Sit back and relax because you are in for some good baseball. This series has the makings of going the distance.
Posted at 8:14pm on October 27, 2009 by Spencer Graves
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Comments on this post:
| Matt |
Thu, Oct 29, 2009 10:57am |
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| Never saw a defending champ get less national respect than the Phils are getting this year. All about that 'Yankee mystique.' But last I checked, Babe Ruth isn't playing in this series. But Ryan Howard, Utley and the rest are, and I just don't think the Yankee pitchers can fool this line up long enough to win the series. Phils in 6, although I'd love to see them win it at home for the fans. |
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