RSS Feeds
Never too cold for hot-stove history
There’s nothing that takes away the sting of cold weather more than witnessing a little bit of baseball history in January.
On a day full of football in which it was decided that the Green Bay Packers would meet the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV, the only two men in the history of baseball to have thrown no-hitters in the postseason met face-to-face — possibly for the first time — Sunday at a Valley Forge hotel in front of a handful of fans lucky enough to realize what they were witnessing.
Phillies ace Roy Halladay and Yankees legend Don Larsen were part of an autograph-signing show that also included Phils’ skipper Charlie Manuel, players Cliff Lee, Placido Polanco and Domonic Brown, as well as Phillies Hall-of-Fame pitcher Jim Bunning.
For once, I was in the right place at the right time. Larsen had finished his signing session and was exiting the room full of fans just as Halladay was coming in for his session. The two pitchers greeted each other, then posed for pictures for alert fans who recognized the significance of the encounter.
Luckily, I had my video camera at the ready. You can hear the reaction of those standing near me on what they just witnessed.
The buzz in the room was that it was the first time the two had ever met face-to-face. In my brief time with Halladay at the autograph table, I asked if that was the case.
“Had you ever met Mr. Larsen?” I said.
“I’ve spoken to him,” said Halladay.
There wasn’t time for elaboration as the next autograph seeker was up and I was headed out of the line. I took Halladay to mean that he and Larsen had spoken on the phone, most likely after Halladay had tossed his gem in the 2010 playoffs.
Larsen’s no-hitter — in Game 5 of the World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers on Oct. 8, 1956 — was a perfect game (he faced the minimum of 27 batters and recorded every out), the only time that’s ever been done in baseball history.
Halladay’s no-hitter was in Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Cincinnati Reds on Oct. 6, 2010. That one wasn’t a perfect game, but as all Phillies fans know, Halladay had pitched a perfect game against the Florida Marlins earlier in the 2010 season.
Check out the video that accompanies this item. It’s a nice little piece of baseball history that happened right here in our own back yard.
On a day full of football in which it was decided that the Green Bay Packers would meet the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV, the only two men in the history of baseball to have thrown no-hitters in the postseason met face-to-face — possibly for the first time — Sunday at a Valley Forge hotel in front of a handful of fans lucky enough to realize what they were witnessing.
Phillies ace Roy Halladay and Yankees legend Don Larsen were part of an autograph-signing show that also included Phils’ skipper Charlie Manuel, players Cliff Lee, Placido Polanco and Domonic Brown, as well as Phillies Hall-of-Fame pitcher Jim Bunning.
For once, I was in the right place at the right time. Larsen had finished his signing session and was exiting the room full of fans just as Halladay was coming in for his session. The two pitchers greeted each other, then posed for pictures for alert fans who recognized the significance of the encounter.
Luckily, I had my video camera at the ready. You can hear the reaction of those standing near me on what they just witnessed.
The buzz in the room was that it was the first time the two had ever met face-to-face. In my brief time with Halladay at the autograph table, I asked if that was the case.
“Had you ever met Mr. Larsen?” I said.
“I’ve spoken to him,” said Halladay.
There wasn’t time for elaboration as the next autograph seeker was up and I was headed out of the line. I took Halladay to mean that he and Larsen had spoken on the phone, most likely after Halladay had tossed his gem in the 2010 playoffs.
Larsen’s no-hitter — in Game 5 of the World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers on Oct. 8, 1956 — was a perfect game (he faced the minimum of 27 batters and recorded every out), the only time that’s ever been done in baseball history.
Halladay’s no-hitter was in Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Cincinnati Reds on Oct. 6, 2010. That one wasn’t a perfect game, but as all Phillies fans know, Halladay had pitched a perfect game against the Florida Marlins earlier in the 2010 season.
Check out the video that accompanies this item. It’s a nice little piece of baseball history that happened right here in our own back yard.
Labels: Mike Morsch, Montgomery Newspapers, Outta Leftfield, Phillies
posted by Mike Morsch at
2:07 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home