Myers on 2008 Sabathia at-bat: “His ball looked like a beach ball to me”

As the Philadelphia Phillies honor the 10-year anniversary of their 2008 World Series title at alumni weekend the next few nights, one of the moments that’s sure to be replayed is Brett Myers’ famous at-bat in Game 2 of the NLDS against Milwaukee Brewers ace CC Sabathia. Myers had hit just .069 during the regular season, but had walked four times. His fifth walk of the 2008 season came in tremendous fashion.

Facing Sabathia – who had gone 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA and seven complete games after a July trade to the Brewers – Myers worked a nine-pitch walk that electrified Citizens Bank Park:

Myers joined Frank Klose on the latest edition of the Phillies Nation Podcast and said that he entered his at-bat against Sabathia without expectations, but felt locked in as the at-bat progressed.

“I had no expectations going up in that at-bat for what happened. It was kind of like, ‘whatever, this guy’s the best pitcher in baseball right now.’ I think the second-half [of the regular season] he had like an 11-2 record and threw seven complete games and it was on Sportscenter every single night with CC Sabathia dominating. I’m going in thinking, ‘I don’t even think I’ll foul one off, he’s throwing 97 [miles-per-hour] at me.’ I will tell you what the playoffs do to you, they will lock you in. You will get more adrenaline and you’ll become a better player. And that’s how you see some of these guys – these unsung heroes of the playoffs and the World Series. The adrenaline and everything, you elevate your game a little bit. And CC was nasty that night, I would say that I got lucky, CC is one of the best pitchers in baseball still, he’s still going. But that night, his ball looked like a beach ball to me. I just knew everything he was going to throw and it worked out.”

Had Myers not reached base, the inning would have ended with Pedro Feliz stranded at third base. Instead, his walk kept the line moving. Jimmy Rollins followed Myers with a walk as well. And then Shane Victorino came up with bases loaded and promptly unloaded the bases:

Myers joked that throughout his life, he had never pitched well and performed well at the plate at the same time. But he became an offensive weapon during the 2008 National League playoffs, and allowed just two runs in seven innings while squaring off with the sport’s most dominant arm at the time.

“It’s funny, everybody remembers me for that at-bat. I think I batted like .067 that year – I was terrible at the plate. Now, in high school I used to be a pretty dang good hitter. I was a good hitter in high school, but some years I had good hitting, some years I didn’t. See, if I hit good in high school, it means I pitched terribly. Fortunately for us, I actually hit good that game and I actually pitched good, which was kind of strange for me.”

Now a musician, Brett’s new single “Breakup Song” is out now. You can listen on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube or his website.

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