Phillies: Q&A with former Phillies pitcher Brett Myers
By Hunter Doyle
You froze Wily Mo Pena on a curveball to win the 2007 National League East title. How special was that memory since the Phillies hadn’t won the division since 1993?
Brett Myers: Wily Mo Pena was always an athletic freak. I played against him in the minors, and he was an absolute monster. He was so strong. We knew never to throw him a fastball. I knew what I was going to throw him the whole time because he couldn’t hit a breaking ball.
That was a crazy stretch of games because J.C. Romero threw about eight out of ten days, and I threw about seven out of nine. We just wanted the ball every day, and we were ready. We knew the pain would go away when we got to the playoffs. I had to step off of the mound a couple of times because the stadium was so loud, and I didn’t want to overthink and get too amped up.
I got so excited when we clinched that I threw the ball into the third deck and Chris Coste got upset with me [laughs]. Then, I jumped into the stands to celebrate and got mauled but it was worth it.
After playing in ballparks all over the country, does any other fan base compare to Philadelphia at all?
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Brett Myers: Absolutely not. There is no way. Philly fans will boo you to your face and praise you too your face. I respect that about them. What Philly fans didn’t know about me was that I was beating myself up more than they were beating me up. I was more upset than you were when I didn’t get my job done. It was infuriating. Sometimes it doesn’t always work out though. It’s not always just a lack of preparation or skill. Sometimes the other guys are better than you. That’s why people come to baseball games because you never know what will happen.
We love to hear that, athletes like you are perfect for the city of Philadelphia.
It’s just passion. They know what they want. They expect a lot out of their athletes. I loved that about the city. I played with the same passion. It takes a certain personality to play in the city of Philadelphia. You just have to have that passion that they have. I have never seen that in another city. It was unbelievable.
Thank you so much for your time Brett, we enjoyed talking to you. We miss watching you pitch, and we hope you stay safe.
You got it. Thank you.