In the city of brotherly love, Mr. October emerges
Published Tuesday October 21st, 2008
His trip around the bases felt surreal but also strangely calm.
Fredericton's Matt Stairs had just delivered the biggest hit of his life, a historic blast in a pivotal, game-changing moment for the Philadelphia Phillies, who will meet the Tampa Bay Rays when the World Series gets underway in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Wednesday night.
Stairs is expected to see action as a designated hitter against right-handers. His clutch performance in Game 4 of the National League championship series certainly didn't hurt his chances.
The home run, which silenced a capacity crowd at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles last week and broke a 5-5 tie in the eighth inning, has been described as everything from majestic and heroic to 'the no-doubter' or 'the shot,' in news reports and sports bar chatter from Fredericton to Philadelphia.
It was the defining moment of the series, which the Phillies won 4-1.
"I kind of floated around the bases," said Stairs, the newest hero in a city notoriously tough on its sports stars, and just about everyone else. (Fans at an Eagles game once booed an appearance by Santa Claus, later saying he had it coming.)
The home run ranks not only as one of the greatest sporting moments in New Brunswick's history, but also in Philadelphia's rich sports lore. It led to a 7-5 victory and a 3-1 series lead.
Even more notably, Stairs becomes just the third New Brunswicker to play in the Fall Classic.
"You always thought about doing that (hitting a home run in a situation like that) but you never knew if it would come true," he says.
"Deep down inside, yeah, I wanted to do a back flip and show emotions but I didn't because it was a situation where we still needed one more win."
The drama and significance of the moment and the momentum shift that followed played a massive role in lifting the Phillies to another victory in Game 5 to capture a World Series berth against the young, exciting Rays.
Stairs's baseball resume is a lengthy one. It includes 16 years, 1,662 games, 11 teams and 254 regular season home runs and now, thanks to his keen eyes, savvy experience and powerful arms, his credentials also boast one remarkable playoff homer and a trip to the World Series.
Stairs, because of his veteran abilities at the plate, is known as a professional hitter, a man who approaches every at-bat with calculated intensity. He makes no secret of his desire to blast baseballs over outfield fences but he is hardly an easy out, especially when facing a fastball pitcher.
That was the case in Game 4, when Dodgers manager Joe Torre brought in ace reliever Jonathan Broxton specifically to face Stairs, who had been called on by his manager Charlie Manuel to pinch hit with two out, a runner on first and the game tied.
Broxton had not allowed a home run since May 17, and had not surrendered one at Dodger Stadium since July 24, 2006.
"I liked the match-up," Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth said after the game. "It was power versus power."
As he always is at the plate, Stairs was patient. After the count moved to three balls and one strike, he delivered a dramatic swing, launching a 95 mile-an-hour fastball deep over the right field fence.
"I don't remember it," said Stairs, who said the situation called for a swing for the fences on a pitch in a specific zone.
"You are so focused. You don't hear the crowd. You know there is a pitching change and you know you have a game plan. When I hit the home run, I knew it was gone and saw (the first base coach) put his arm up to give me a high five at first base. Next thing you know, you are getting your helmet pounded by the guys in the dugout. Hitting a no-doubter was definitely nice - better than a little fence-scraper, but they all count."
That no-doubter prompted a flood of calls and text messages that jammed his phone and email.
In Los Angeles, he celebrated with his wife Lisa and his two youngest daughters - Alicia and Chandler - while his oldest daughter Nicole was home in Bangor, Maine, where Stairs is an assistant hockey coach in the off-season.
He phoned his mother Jean, father Wendell and other members of his family and admits it was hard to immediately put the accomplishment into perspective.
"We had time to pop the champagne and drink a couple of beers with the teammates in the locker room, but it was so crazy that it went by so fast," Stairs said of the mood in the visitors' clubhouse after the clinching Game 5 at Dodger Stadium.
Stairs figured the significance would hit the team on the weekend when they realized, "We are going to the World Series."
Many friends and family in New Brunswick have touched base with his parents and players on the high school team he coaches in Maine - John Bapst Memorial High School - sent along plenty of messages as well.
"It is crazy," Stairs said. "They (parents) are getting phone calls from people they have not heard from in a long time saying congratulations. It is nice to have all that support."
The adoration is not limited to New Brunswick. Former Blue Jays teammate Gregg Zaun, now a commentator on Sportsnet, told a national audience he jumped in the air in celebration Monday after Stairs's big blast.
Newspapers in Philadelphia proclaimed the big New Brunswick slugger an instant legend.
One columnist ranked the home run as the third most important in the Phillies 123-year existence, behind Mike Schmidt's extra inning homer that clinched the 1980 East Division title at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, and Dick Sisler's extra-inning blast on the final day of the 1950 season that sealed the 1950 National League pennant.
The Philadelphia Inquirer devoted an editorial to Stairs, calling him a throwback to the rags-to-riches Phillies team that lost the 1993 World Series to Toronto, and a "lunch-truck kind of guy who would wear his construction hat to an Eagles game."
The newspaper called the Fredericton High School graduate the city's newest Rocky, saying: "Yo Matt, welcome to Philly." He was referred to as a folk hero by the New York Times, and controversial sportscaster Jim Rome called him a "pro's pro in one of the greatest at-bats seen in some time."
Not too bad for the 40-year-old hockey nut who was raised in Fredericton dreaming of one day skating in the Stanley Cup final with the Montreal Canadiens.
Stairs is the first New Brunswicker to advance to the World Series in almost a century. The last was John 'Big Larry' McLean of Fredericton, who hit .500 for the New York Giants in a loss to the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1913 series.
The first was Saint John native Bill O'Neill, who appeared in one game for the World Champion Chicago White Sox in 1906. Another, Saint John's Tom Daly, was a member of the Chicago Cubs organization that lost to Boston in the 1918 World Series, but Daly did not play in the series after suiting up for one game during the regular season that year.
Stairs has been close himself in the past, in 2006 when the Detroit Tigers advanced to the championship series. He joined the Tigers that year on Sept. 16 and drilled a home run when they clinched the Central Division title about a week later.
However, because he had joined the team past the Sept. 1 playoff roster deadline he was not eligible for the Tigers playoff run. This year, he was acquired by the Phillies from Toronto Aug. 30 in a trade, ensuring his post-season eligibility.
Stairs is also the first New Brunswick athlete to reach the final in one of the big four professional sports since Mike Eagles of Sussex played in the 1998 Stanley Cup final as a member of the Washington Capitals.
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Yo Matt, we're behind you all the way! Go get'em slugger.