Scratching a 98-Year Itch

By B.J. Phillips

History strikes out as the Phillies finally win a Series

"On the whole," W.C. Fields asserted as his epitaph, "I'd rather be in Philadelphia." That was easy for Fields to say; he was not a baseball fan. No team in the majors has had as long or luckless a history as the Philadelphia Phillies. In 98 years, the Quaker City also-rans contrived to reach the World Series just three times. In 1915 the Phillies were whipped by the Boston Red Sox, four games to one. The last Philadelphia entry, the 1950 Whiz Kids, fizzled in four straight games to the New York Yankees. Until this year the Phillies managed to win fewer World Series games (one) than Thoroughbred fillies managed to win Kentucky Derbys (two).

Last week the long wait for a winner finally ended. Having folded, spindled and mutilated their hopes for nearly a century, the Phillies beat the Kansas City Royals, four games to two, to become world champions. If the Phillies have changed, so have the times. In an era when vandalism has replaced simple celebration, Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium looked like a banana republic during the final game. More than 600 policemen --some mounted on horseback, others hauling on the leashes of snarling attack dogs--surrounded the field during the final inning. With 65,838 fans thus held at bay, Relief Pitcher Tug McGraw threw a third-strike pitch past Royals' Outfielder Willie Wilson with the bases loaded for the last out, and the title belonged to Manager Dallas Green's team.

For all the dramatics in Philadelphia, the Series had actually been won two days earlier in Kansas City, when the Phillies staged a ninth-inning rally to win the fifth game, 4-3. Philadelphia Third Baseman Mike Schmidt, who was later chosen the Series Most Valuable Player, smashed a line drive past George Brett, his Royals counterpart. Brett dove for the ball, but it glanced off his glove and the comeback had begun. With the help of Pinch-Hitter Del Unser, who slammed a double beyond the flailing reach of Royals' First Baseman Willie Aikens, the Phillies turned a one-run deficit into a one-run lead. McGraw came on to shut the door on the Royals, striking out Rightfielder Jose Cardenal, again with the bases loaded.

Returning to Philadelphia, Kansas City had to face Phillies Ace Steve Carlton in the sixth game. The left-handed Carlton--odds-on choice for his third Cy Young Award as the National League's top pitcher with a 24-9 regular season record--beat the Royals in the second game, striking out seven batters. Equally important, he kept the Royals' fleet base runners back on their heels with one of the best pick-off throws in the game. Fretted Royals' Manager Jim Frey:

";Any time they call a guy 'Lefty,' you know you got trouble."

The Royals had trouble until the eighth inning, when they finally scored a run off Carlton. But for the second time McGraw managed to eke out a save, aided by an alley-oop catch by First Base man Pete Rose, who speared a pop-up bobbled by Catcher Bob Boone for a crucial ninth-inning out.

The Royals' bull pen, on the other hand, proved incapable of stemming the Phillies' late-innings tide. To add insult to ineffectiveness, Kansas City's bull pen was turned into a menagerie in the final game. Philadelphia's Finest stored police dogs in the Royals' left-field enclosure, and Reliever Marty Pattin had to ease his way past a posse of horses when he came on to pitch in the fifth inning. Said Pattin: "I thought we had a zoo out there. The dogs were excited by the crowd, and they were barking and carrying on. When I started into the game, there were four or five horses standing by the door and I was just hoping I wouldn't get kicked."

As it was, the only damage was to the Royals' pride. Willie Wilson, who this season became only the second player to get 100 hits both left- and righthanded while averaging .326, suffered the cruelest fate. His Series-ending strikeout set a new record for whiffs (twelve). Brett, ey ing Wilson's empty locker after the leftfielder had fled to the showers, sympathized with his teammate: "Willie did things this year no player has ever done before, but this is what people will remember, the strikeouts. It's sad."

MVP Schmidt enjoyed the opposite fate. In the thrill-an-inning playoffs against Houston, he had been the goat, hitting .208 (five hits in 24 at-bats) and striking out twice with the bases loaded in the final game. The Major League home-run leader during the regular sea son with 48, he regained his touch during the World Series, hitting .381, bashing two homers and driving in the winning run in two of the Phillies' four victories. That resurrection led Schmidt to mystical ruminations: ";It was destined for us to win this thing. We overcame too many obstacles, came from behind too many times. We would always find a way to win and that's what makes this team great."

After the game Reliever McGraw, who names his pitches for liquors (the "Cutty Sark fastball," for instance, sails up and away from the batter), was asked what he would drink in celebration. "Everything," he replied. To Philadelphia fans, he deserved no less. More than 1 million fans -- in a city of about 1.5 million -- turned out the next day for a victory parade and rally, jubilantly joining in as McGraw led the long-awaited chant: "We're No. 1 !"

Reported by Peter Ainslie/Philadelphia

With reporting by Peter Ainslie

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