October 10, 2022
A magical day is coming on Friday: the Phillies' first home playoff game in 4,025 days. 11 years is a long time between the pure joy of going down to Citizens Bank Park for true October baseball, but it's almost here.
I can't stop thinking about the vibes of this South Philly homecoming and it's left me wondering the following question: who's going to throw out the first pitch on Friday? With 43,000 screaming Phils fans at CBP, the organization needs to keep the positive energy going with a grand slam choice of a first pitch thrower.
I have some ideas...
This is the really obvious choice and it's what should happen. There was a clear "core four" of that era: Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels. One of those guys needs to do it. Any of them. Maybe all of them at once! Go wild!
Rollins was the team leader. Utley was elite. Howard hit bombs. Hamels has that World Series MVP trophy on his mantle. Any of them could send CBP into a frenzy.
Guys like Shane Victorino and Carlos Ruiz, high-level role players and fan favorites on that 2008 World Series team, would work too.
How about South Philly's own Rob McElhenney? The dude's love for Utley knows no bounds. He's a Philly sports fanatic. If they're not dipping into the '08 pool, I'd love Mac as a choice.
It would be a real home run!
This was a perfect weekend of sports. Thank you @Wrexham_AFC @Phillies @Eagles @WrexhamAFCWomen ⚽️ 🏈 ⚾️ ❤️
— Rob McElhenney (@RMcElhenney) October 9, 2022
If the Phillies want to turn back the clocks even further than 2008, they could go for the best Phillie of all time: Michael Jack Schmidt.
Mike Schmidt is the greatest third baseman ever. What else needs to be said?
He's a huge Philly sports fan and no longer coaching at Villanova, so I assume Jay Wright has some free time on his hands. That guy has two rings. That's the championship pedigree these Phillies need to capture for themselves.
Remember when the Phillies let a Mets fan throw out the first pitch for a game against the Mets in the middle of a playoff race this season? While I thought that was embarrassing on a multitude of levels, the Phils have gotten the last laugh. The Mets were eliminated from the postseason on Sunday. A 101-win season right down the drain!
How about going full troll mode and getting that jabroni to do it?
We should have that Mets fan throw out the first pitch again on Friday. It would be very funny, for both teams
— Mike (@mhc_76) October 10, 2022
Follow Shamus & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @shamus_clancy | @thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
Add Shamus' RSS feed to your feed reader
