Phillies legend ‘Pat the Bat’ Burrell to throw out first pitch in NLDS game 4
On Friday, it was announced that the Phillies will be turning to another star from their legendary 2008 World Series Championship squad to throw out the first pitch in Saturday’s game 4 of the NLDS.
None other than 2015 Phillies Wall of Fame inductee Pat ‘The Bat’ Burrell, will toe the rubber ahead of game 4 with the Phillies potentially looking to clinch the series over the Braves.
This is amazing news and a flat out masterclass by the Phillies organization to connect the 2008 team to this underdog 2022 squad. Earlier in the week it was announced that the Flyin’ Hawaiian Shane Victorino will toss the ceremonial first pitch ahead of Friday’s game 3, the first postseason game at Citizens Bank Park since 2011.
While I love Shane Victorino, I cant think of a single former Phils player who can draw a larger applause that Pat Burrell. He may have not been the greatest Phillies of that generation (Chase Utley and Ryan Howard), but Pat Burrell is the perfect representation of the rebirth the Phillies franchise experienced from the end Scott Rolen era of the late 90’s to eventually winning 5 straight NL East titles from 2007-2011.
Just look at the picture attached to this article! Pat Burrell is a god! Who else do you know who can keep their frozen daiquiri upright while descending a sand slide? That’s the guy I want representing the Phils against a white-bread team like the Braves.
From 2001 to 2006 the Phils won 80 or more games every single season, but failed to reach the playoffs. Unfortunately for Burrell he was their highest paid player and took the brunt of the blame. The only question left to answer is when will the disrespect toward Ryan Howard end?!?
In my eyes, Howard is the legitimate National League home run champion (sorry Giancarlo) and his greatness has all but been forgotten amongst younger Phillies fans who apparently don’t have time to Google ‘Ryan Howard 2006 season’.
Im calling it now…Ryan Howard throws out the first pitch of Game 3 of the NLCS against the Dodgers…
In some ways the 2001-2006 Phils teams perfectly mirror the mediocrity the organization has experienced in recent seasons. In 2007 nobody could have predicted the upcoming run of success the franchise was about to experience or that Pat Burrell would play a major role in bringing a World Series title back to Philly.
Burrell saved perhaps his best playoff performance for the 2008 NLDS clinching victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4. In that game Burrell propelled the Phils to victory with 4 RBI’s on two huge home runs including a huge solo shot in the 8th inning to give the his team a 6-1 lead.
RING IT!
Mandatory Image Credit: Pat 'The Bat' Burrell
