Despite a Game 1 victory over the New York Yankees in the 2009 World Series, the Philadelphia Phillies came up short of a title. The Fightins' fell to the Bronx Bombers in six games, clinched by New York on this day 17 years ago—November 4, 2009 —in a 7-3 loss.
The Phillies were three victories away from a World Series repeat, but Hideki Matsui and the rest of the Yankees' cavalry were too much to handle. In Game 6 at Yankee Stadium, Matsui's second-inning two-run home run off Pedro Martinez set the tone for the rest of the night, and Philadelphia couldn't come back.
Despite Chase Utley's historic World Series, tying the record for most home runs (five) in a Fall Classic, he came up short in Game 6, going 0-for-3 with a walk and a run. At least he showed up in Games 1-5, unlike other Phillies hitters.
Phillies' Ryan Howard had forgettable performance in the 2009 World Series
After earning NLCS MVP honors as part of a red-hot postseason, Ryan Howard's disappearance in the 2009 World Series still haunts Phillies fans. In five NLCS games against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Howard reached base 11 times in 21 plate appearances, including two home runs, one double, and one triple, driving eight RBIs.
But in the World Series, Howard struck out 13 times in 25 plate appearances, including four times in Philadelphia's two victories. He just wasn't there when the Phillies needed him.
Follwing a weak regular season showing, a young Cole Hamels also faltered for most of the 2009 postseason. After a strong 2008 performance, in which he won World Series MVP, Hamels didn't have his best stuff. The Colorado Rockies, Dodgers, and Yankees each hit him hard. Hamels finished the playoffs with a 7.58 ERA in 19 innings. That included a World Series Game 3 loss, where he surrendered five runs in 4.1 innings.
Looking back 17 years, it was pretty clear that the Yankees were the better team. Even if guys like Hamels and Howard showed up, it still may have not been enough to slay New York. It's rare for a franchise to win back-to-back World Series, but the Phillies almost had enough in the tank to make that happen. Almost 20 years later, it's still a fresh wound. And understandably so, it always will be—especially because it began a nearly two-decade championship drought.
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