Analysis. History. Perspective.

Sports Then and Now



2009 Baseball Playoff Preview: Phillies vs. Rockies 3

Posted on October 05, 2009 by Richard Marsh
Todd Helton and the Rockies are looking to regain their magic from 2007.

Todd Helton and the Rockies are looking to regain their magic from 2007.

Flashback to only two years ago, 2007 and these same two teams were to meet in the NL Division Series. The Philadelphia Phillies had overcome a seven game deficit with 17 games to play. Trying to erase some ghosts of their own, particularly the “Big Choke” of 1964 when the Phillies blew a six game lead with 10 games to go against the St. Louis Cardinals, this team came charging down the stretch led by their big three Ryan Howard, Chase, Utley and NL MVP winner Jimmy Rollins.

However, the vast majority of the 2007 team weren’t even born in 1964, except for Jaime Moyer, when that Phillies team gave away that pennant in 1964. This team had a terrific September and beat the highly favored New York Mets to win the crown on the last day of the season.

Their opponent then as now was the Colorado Rockies who stormed through September that year like Sherman marching through Georgia to win the wild card. They lost one game in their last 50,(only kidding)but it certainly felt that way. They had a momentum going for them that eventually swept through not only the Phillies in three straight, but then swept the Diamondbacks in four straight to head into a classic match up with the now powerful and World Series experienced Boston Red Sox.

Read the rest of this entry →

  • Vintage Athlete of the Month

    • Rusty Staub: A Man For All Ages
      April 8, 2024 | 1:26 pm
      Rusty Staub

      The Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Month is a former major league baseball player who came into the game as a teenager and stayed until he was in his 40s. In between, Rusty Staub put up a solid career that was primarily spent on expansion or rebuilding teams.

      Originally signed by the Colt .45s at age 17, he made his major league debut as a 19-year old rookie and became only the second player in the modern era to play in more than 150 games as a teenager.

      Though he hit only .224 splitting time between first base and rightfield, Staub did start building a foundation that would turn him into an All-Star by 1967 when he finished fifth in the league with a .333 batting average.

      Read more »

    • RSSArchive for Vintage Athlete of the Month »
  • Follow Us Online

  • Current Poll

    Who Will Win the 2024 World Series?

    View Results

    Loading ... Loading ...
  • Post Categories



↑ Top