MCTThe Philadelphia Phillies, as of Sept. 12, were seven games behind the New York Mets in the National League East with 17 games remaining. Chances looked dim, so Philly fans looked to play catch-up with the San Diego Padres for the Wild Card instead. Who would of thought that neither the Mets nor the Padres would make the playoffs and the Phillies would hang another banner in Citizen’s Bank Park?
Sept. 30 was a day that Mets and Phil’s’ fans would remember for the rest of their lives; a day that would go down in Major League history for the best comeback in amount of games left in the season.
Citizen’s Bank Park and Shea Stadium in New York were ready to host one of the biggest games of the season. With a loss from one team and a win on the other end, it would seal the fate for that winning team to run with the NL East title.
As the fans filled the seats, nervousness overcame them because it came down to this single, solitary game. All bets were off.
Inside the Phil’s ballpark, momentum was on their side due to the recent losing streak of the Mets and it simply got better when the Florida Marlins and Mets score appeared on the scoreboard showing 7-0 in favor of the Marlins.
As the waving rally towels cast a flood of white in the stands, veteran Jamie Moyer, a Philadelphia native, walked to the mound to start the game. Moyer, 13-12, couldn’t believe he was on the mound for this game. He could remember skipping school and going to Philadelphia City Hall to cheer on his Phils in 1980. Now it was time for the fans to return the cheers in his favor according to SI.com.
As the game progressed and the Phils showing why they deserved to win the championship, word came in that the unthinkable happened and the Mets went 5-12 in their last 17 games and lost to another division team. It all came down to the Phils to pull out the win.
With an all-around strong game from the All-Stars, the win looked to be within reach. In the top of the 9th, pitcher Brett Myers was the chosen one to be in the limelight to register a win for Moyer. With a strike-three curveball thrown past the watching Wily Mo Pena, the awaited 13-year long celebration began. It brought the squad running to the mound with champagne and beer to douse one another with and a celebration that lasted well into Monday, Oct. 1 where the team was warmly welcomed by the fans at City Hall in Philadelphia.
The Phils will now have home field advantage against the Colorado Rockies in the National League Divisional Series on Wednesday, Oct. 3 and truly prove that they can be called the “Phitan Phils.”
