The 2008 Phillies have already been featured a few times on this list, and they're going to be seen a few more times as we climb closer to the top. Today's moment comes from one of the wildest World Series games that I can remember watching, as it didn't start until 10:06 PM, and ended just before two in the morning on the shortest walk-off hit in World Series history.
Moment #8: Carlos Ruiz hits a 45 foot walk-off single-October 25, 2008
The Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays had split the first two games of the 2008 World Series in Tampa Bay, and were now headed to Philadelphia for the first World Series game in Philly since 1993. The only problem was that the weather didn't want to co-operate. What was supposed to be a start time of 8:25 was pushed back an hour and a half by rains, and Game 3 of the World Series became the latest starting World Series game ever.
Jamie Moyer got the start for the Phillies, and despite his struggles in the playoffs up until Game 3, Charlie Manuel was going to stick by his veteran pitcher. It wouldn't come out until during the game, but Moyer had been up with flu like symptoms most of the night, and was nowhere close to 100% while he pitched this game. After being squeezed by umpires in his first two starts of the playoffs, Moyer's first pitch of the night would show whether or not the control oriented pitcher would get the calls he would need to do well in this game. Akinori Iwamura flew out on the first pitch, and the next pitch was on the outside corner to B.J. Upton for a called strike. Moyer was in business.
Meanwhile, the Phillies did their best to get out to an early lead against ALCS MVP Matt Garza. Jimmy Rollins singled and eventually came around to score on an RBI groundout from Chase Utley. The Rays would tie the score in the top of the second on a sacrifice fly by Gabe Gross, but Carlos Ruiz gave the Phillies the lead again with a home run into left field in the bottom of the second. The score remained 2-1 until the sixth inning, when Chase Utley and Ryan Howard hit back to back home runs to put the Phils up 4-1. Moyer ran into some trouble in the top of the seventh, and eventually was pulled after allowing two runs and striking out five. It was his best showing of the playoffs, but unfortunately, he would not get the win. The Phillies' bullpen, which had been so reliable during the regular season and the playoffs, came undone in the eighth inning.
Ryan Madson entered the game in the top of the eighth with the Phillies up 4-3. All he had to do was record three outs, and Brad Lidge would come in and do the rest. Of course, with the way that this game had gone, it wasn't easy. He allowed an infield single to B.J. Upton, then struck out Carlos Pena before Upton's speed threw a wrench into the Phillies' plans. Upton stole second on the first pitch to Evan Longoria, then stole third on the next pitch, and came around to score when Carlos Ruiz's throw sailed past Pedro Feliz. The game was tied, and about 46,000 very wet, very tired Phillies fans in Citizens Bank Park began to feel that this was when the other shoe would drop for the Phillies. It had been a great season, but going down 2-1 to the Rays meant more than likely a return trip to Tampa, and very few people saw that ending well.
Madson and J.C. Romero worked out of the rest of the eighth inning, and Jayson Werth walked then stole second to lead off the bottom of the eighth, but Chase Utley and Ryan Howard both struck out, and Werth was picked off of second to end the threat. The heart of the Phillies' lineup had gone down with a whimper in the inning, and Eric Bruntlett, who came into the game as a defensive replacement for Pat Burrell, was due to lead off the bottom of the ninth. It was not a good situation. J.C. Romero did his job in the top of the ninth, sending the game into the bottom of the final inning still tied at four each.
Then, something incredible happened. Eric Bruntlett, who reached base at just a 30% clip in 2008, was hit by a pitch to start off the inning. Bruntlett didn't have much going for him at the plate, but he did have some speed, and he used it when Grant Balfour uncorked a wild pitch to Shane Victorino. Dioner Navarro's throw to second base sailed into center field, and all of a sudden, Bruntlett was standing on third base. The winning run was just 90 feet away, but Tampa manager Joe Maddon had a plan. He intentionally walked Victorino and Pedro Feliz, then called Ben Zobrist in from right field to set up a five man infield. Carlos Ruiz came to the plate, and after the offensive season that he put up in 2008 (.219, 4 HR, 31 RBI), there were only a handful of people that didn't think a double play was in order.
Ruiz took the first pitch from Grant Balfour for a ball, then went down in the count 1-2. With the pitcher's spot up next, Ruiz had to at least keep fighting, and that's what he did. He fouled off the next pitch, then took a ball to even the count. With the crowd fully behind him, Ruiz swung at the next pitch...and dribbled it to the one place in the infield where there wasn't a Tampa Bay Ray standing with a glove. The ball bounced right in front of home plate, and rolled about 45 feet down the third base line. Eric Bruntlett was off with the crack of the bat, forcing Evan Longoria to make a decision. Longoria's choice was to throw the ball about ten feet over Dioner Navarro's head. Bruntlett scored, and the Phillies had won Game 3 of the World Series on the shortest walk-off hit in World Series history. Add in the fact that the game ended at just after 1:45 in the morning, and you have one of the most improbable moments that most fans had ever seen.
You all know how the World Series ended, and I already covered Game 4 a while back on the countdown. Game 5 will be coming up, you just have to wait for that. Carlos' game winning hit only helped propel him along in the World Series. He finished with a .375 batting average and three RBI, not too bad for a guy who only drove in 31 during the regular season.
Where would this moment be without a video of it? Enjoy watching from a fan's perspective.
We're not done with the 2008 Phillies season, not by a long shot. In fact, the next moment on the list takes place just two weeks before this one. Lots of people can look back at a moment when they knew the Phillies would win the World Series last year. Some people knew after Game 4, others say they knew after this moment, and others still went back to the NLCS, when a journeyman from Canada launched a pitch into the California night that still hasn't come down.
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