As the year comes to a close it’s time to look back at some of the top moments from the Philadelphia Phillies 2010 season. While the team came short of their ultimate goal of winning a World Series championship, there were still several great memories from the past year. It’s time to look back on the top moments of 2010 leading up to the number one memory which will be unveiled on New Years Eve.
#22 Chooch Walks it Off as Tasing Fiasco Ends – May 4th
There were many questions about former World Series MVP Cole Hamels coming into the 2010 season. After a disappointing 2009 campaign in which Hamels posted a 10-11 record with a 4.32 ERA, he got off to a slow start in 2010 with a 5.28 ERA over the first month of the year.
Cole Hamels returned to his dominant form over 8+ innings of work
Though the results weren’t there, Hamels looked better on the mound. His demeanor and attitude had greatly improved from last season. Additionally, his curveball and newly developed cutter were both improving. Lastly, Hamels fastball had much more life than in 2009 and was topping out at 95mph.
“I think two years ago,” said Carlos Ruiz about the last time he saw Hamels fastball that good. “He was 95, 94mph. You can see the difference when he throws the changeup. Between those two pitches it’s a real difference.”
“Last year they were looking fastball and changeup,” continued Ruiz. “That’s it. But this year he has other pitches. It’s big. Today you saw it.”
It all came together for Hamels in his 6th start of the season against the St. Louis Cardinals. Going up against Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright, Hamels was brilliant on the mound. After pitching 8 scoreless innings and 111 pitches, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel showed confidence in Hamels and sent him out to start the top of the 9th and go for the complete game shutout.
“You go out there and try to battle as long as you can,” said Hamels. “I still feel good and I still feel strong. First and foremost is being able to repeat it over and over throughout the season.”
Carlos Ruiz solo homer in the 10th wins it for the Phillies
One night after a teenager ran onto the field and was tasered by Philadelphia police, another fan felt they had to get involved with the action at Citizens Bank Park. As Hamels got set to begin the top half of the 9th, an unidentified fan walked out onto the field through the outfield.
While police were able to apprehend the culprit without using excessive force, the distraction clearly had an effect on Hamels. He allowed back to back doubles to David Freese and Yadier Molina and the Cardinals were able to tie the game 1-1. Brad Lidge came on for a scoreless inning of work to send the game into extra innings.
“That was tired, that was bad,” said Adam Wainwright who allowed 1 run over 8 innings of work. “You know what, the Phillies fans should be mad at that guy because he might’ve gotten in the way of Cole’s mojo he had going. That’s terrible timing. And if you don’t want to get tased, don’t go on the field. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with getting tased if you’re on the field.”
“I had a bad feeling right there because everything went quickly for Cole,” added Ruiz. “He had 111 pitches at the moment. Why did he do that, you know?”
Ruiz receives a shaving cream pie after the win
After Jose Contreras pitched a scoreless top of the 10th, Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz stepped to the plate. Going up against righty Blake Hawksworth, Ruiz crushed the first pitch he saw just foul to deep left field.
Three pitches later, Ruiz didn’t miss. He ripped a 2-1 pitch deep to left center field for his first homer of the season to give the Phillies a 2-1 victory. It was his first walk off home run since May 15th, 2007 against the Milwaukee Brewers and moved the Phillies to 15-11 on the season.
Ruiz sent the fans at Citizens Bank Park home happy and the taser storyline was finally over. But the ultimate story to come out of this game was the return to dominance by Cole Hamels as he finally regained his form and began to exceed his performance from the 2008 season.
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