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. Here is a look back on the top 25 moments of 2010 Philadelphia Phillies season.
#5 Hollywood’s Sequel – October 10th
Cole Hamels was officially back.
The 2008 World Series MVP was on top of the world after the Phillies won it all. The young lefty had proven himself on the biggest stage in his sport. The endorsement contracts piled in. Hollywood was well on his way to becoming one of the top stars in baseball.
But the funny thing about baseball is that every once in a while it will knock you down. After a disastrous 2009 season in which Hamels faced adversity for the first time, his career was suddenly at a crossroads.
Cole Hamels celebrates after his shutout win sends the Phillies to the NLCS
Hamels entered 2010 with a chip on his shoulder. Unlike the previous offseason, he disappeared from the spotlight and worked diligently to hone his craft. He came to Spring Training in better shape with improved velocity on his fastball, a refined curveball, and a newly developed cutter.
The difference was night and day. While the stats show that Hamels finished the season with 12-11 with a 3.06 ERA, the 26-year old lefty had returned to form. He posted a 2.07 ERA after the All Star Break and was once again one of the most dominant lefties in the game.
There was only one thing left to do.
Deliver once again on the postseason stage.
Hamels was absolutely brilliant in Game Three of the NLDS becoming just the third pitcher in the last 20 years to throw a complete game shutout victory on the road in a postseason clinching game joining Josh Beckett (2003 World Series) and John Smoltz (1991 NLCS). His 119 pitch effort was arguably the best start of his postseason career. The Phillies big game pitcher was back and better than ever.
“When you throw a shutout like he did, that’s big. He was sharp and I mean, he was good the whole nine innings,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said.
The New Red Machine swept Cincinnati
“I think he came back with a little chip on his shoulder,” added Ryan Howard. “He had a little something to prove. He got back to his old self. He got back out there and executed.”
“Once the season started, he is a guy that grew on me a lot,” Roy Halladay said. “Just watching him all year, I expected to see a lot from him. He has outdone my expectations, that’s for sure. His demeanor, the way he carries himself, he is a humble guy, but you could see the confidence. Throughout this whole year — good or bad — he is the same guy every day. That is very hard to do. He is very good at it.”
“It was the same guy,” Carlos Ruiz said. “It was Cole Hamels.”
Hamels closed the door on the Reds season as Philadelphia’s trio of aces shut down the top offense in the National League. The Phillies set a Division Series record by allowing just 11 hits, two less than the previous low of 13 hits allowed by the New York Yankees against the Texas Rangers in the 1998 ALDS.
But just how good was the Phillies pitching staff?
“Been a long time, probably so far back as the Baltimore Orioles, maybe, when they had [Jim] Palmer, [Dave] McNally, [Mike] Cuellar,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “I mean, they really pitched. [The Phillies] are a very good team. We kept ’em in the ballpark, so to speak, kept the runs down. We just didn’t push across enough runs.”
Chase Utley's 5th inning homer was more than enough for the Phillies offense
While the Reds were able to keep the Phillies in the ballpark, postseason inexperience and shaky defense led to their ultimate downfall. The Phillies took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first as Placido Polanco scored on an Orlando Cabrera throwing error to 1st base. Chase Utley added an insurance run on a solo homer in the 5th.
“I knew I hit it OK,” Utley said. “I hit a ball in the first inning I thought I hit better than that one, but lucky for us, the weather is still warm and it’s a good hitter’s ballpark.”
Two runs were more than enough for Hamels. After cruising through the first eight innings, the lefty allowed a leadoff single to Brandon Phillips to start the bottom of the 9th. That brought 2010 National League MVP Joey Votto to the plate representing the tying run.
The 2009 version of Cole Hamels would have faltered under the pressure of the situation. Fortunately for the Phillies, it was 2010 and Hamels was back.
He got Votto to ground into a 4-6-3 double play and then appropriately struck out former Phillie Scott Rolen on a 95 mph fastball to send the Phillies to their third straight National League Championship Series.
Hamels strikes out Rolen to clinch the NLDS
“When you are able to finish a game, it’s something special, especially moving on to the next round,” Hamels said. “Being able to go out there, make my pitches, take your win, you can’t take that away from us. It’s special, but there are a lot more moments out there and I think that’s winning a World Series. We don’t want to get too carried away. We’re just going to move on and play the best baseball we can.”
“We know what we’re trying to do here,” right fielder Jayson Werth said. “We’ve got two more celebrations. We’re a veteran group of guys. We weren’t always that way. As much time as we spend together and the type of guys we have on this team, I would say that’s what you can expect from us, you know?”
“To be honest, it feels like we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing,” closer Brad Lidge said. “This is an incredible run we’re on, but we feel like this is what we need to be doing. This is what we should be doing.”
The Phillies were two steps away from reaching their ultimate goal of winning another World Series. With Cole Hamels back and better than ever, Philadelphia seemed destined for a sequel to 2008.
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