Phillies tap NLCS hero from the past to throw out Game 3 first pitch originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
With the NLCS returning to Philadelphia for the first time in 13 years, the Phillies have called on a hero from their postseason past to ring it in.
Former Phillies outfielder Matt Stairs will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 3 of the National League Championship Series tomorrow night at Citizens Bank Park tomorrow night.
Stairs hit one of the most titanic postseason home runs in Phillies history, both by measurables and significance. He was called to pinch hit in the eighth inning of Game 4 of the 2008 NLCS. With a runner on and the game tied at 5-5, he tattooed a Jonathan Broxton fastball about two-thirds of the way to the top of the cheap seats at Dodger Stadium.
That was the margin of victory, as the Phillies won the NLCS, on their way to winning the franchise’s second-ever World Series.
As a matter of fact, Stairs’ home run looks eerily similar to the NLCS Game 1 blast from Kyle Schwarber, when viewed side-by-side.
They even wear the same number!
Stairs, 54, who was acquired at the trade deadline in 2008 for pitcher Fabio Castro, was a journeyman in his big-league career, playing for 12 major league teams, and hit 265 career homers. He holds the MLB record for most career pinch-hit home runs with 23, seven of those in a Phillies uniform.
Stairs was part of NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Phillies broadcast team in 2014 and worked the booth for three seasons before being brought back by the Phillies to be the team’s hitting coach for the 2017 seasons.