Phillies Field of Dreams bullpen
Tug McGraw
Who knows when the Phillies would have won their first World Series if not for Tug McGraw, who pitched in relief in all five games of the NLCS, and four of the six World Series games in 1980.
McGraw spent the first nine years of his career with the New York Mets before upgrading to the Phillies for the remaining 10 years of his career. He had a better ERA (3.10) over 463 games in a Phillies uniform than 361 games for the Mets (3.17).
Like Darren Daulton, McGraw was diagnosed with a glioblastoma brain tumor that required surgery. His initial prognosis was good, but his cancer returned and the second time, it was inoperable. McGraw’s final public appearance was at the Phillies’ final game in the aging Veterans Stadium on September 28, 2003. He died months later.
During the 2008 World Series, his son Tim McGraw (yes, that Tim McGraw) spread his ashes on the mound at Citizens Bank Park.
Brad Lidge
Lidge’s first season with the Phillies included him setting a franchise record: he converted his first 19 save opportunities and earned 35 consecutive saves. He ended the regular season as the first closer in franchise history to have a perfect saves record (41), and continued to be perfect through the final game of the 2008 World Series. That season, he was an All-Star, MLB Comeback Player of the Year, and received MVP votes.
Unfortunately, the following years of Lidge’s career in Philadelphia included poor pitching, elbow surgery, DL stints, and he became a free agent in 2011, at the end of the Phillies’ Golden Era.
To see 2008 Lidge emerge from the cornfields would be a welcome sight.