Skip to content
Phillies
Link copied to clipboard

Jamie Moyer wants to know: Where were you when the Phillies won the World Series?

Share your memories of the 2008 World Series. Answer Jamie Moyer's question: Where were you?

Brad Lidge drops to his knees after throwing the final pitch of the 2008 World Series and striking out Tampa Bay's Eric Hinske.
Brad Lidge drops to his knees after throwing the final pitch of the 2008 World Series and striking out Tampa Bay's Eric Hinske.Read moreSTAFF FILE

Jamie Moyer grew up in Montgomery County as a Phillies-crazed fanatic who skipped school to attend the 1980 World Series parade after his boyhood hero, Steve Carlton, helped end the team's 97-year title drought.

So Moyer knew — perhaps more than any other player in the Phillies dugout 10 years ago — what it meant for the area  when the Phillies won the 2008 World Series. He pitched into the seventh inning in Game 3, then dug up the pitching rubber four nights later, as the Phillies celebrated their first championship since Moyer played hooky.

Moyer said he still gets thanked for what happened that October. And he always responds the same way.

"My big question when someone starts talking about it is, 'Where were you?' Everyone has a story," Moyer said. "That's the coolest thing about it. Whether you were at the game, whether you were watching it at home, whether you were stuck on the subway or away on vacation, whatever it was, everyone has a story that relates to that special time. I really do believe that people are still relishing it and cherishing it. And that's what it's all about."

How did you celebrate it? Whom did you watch with? Whom did you dial for a celebratory phone call? Were you at the game? Good for you. I picked tickets for Game 3 instead of Game 5 before the playoffs began. We all make mistakes.

So share your memories with us. The 10th anniversary of the clincher is Monday. Email me at mbreen@phillynews.com before 11 p.m. Sunday, and I might include your response in a story. Answer Moyer's question: Where were you?

We asked Moyer and some of his 2008 teammates the same thing:

JAMIE MOYER: This is pretty cool. I may tear up. It's a good tear. I had boys at that time who were in high school. They were old enough to understand what was going on. Division Series, Championship Series, and World Series, when we clinched, they would sneak down the concourse and come into the clubhouse. I had uniforms in my locker. They would put them on, and we had a little deal going. You guys come in in the eighth inning, put the stuff on, no scene, just kind of hang out, and Dad will come get you. I would take them down to the video room and hide them in the video room until the eighth inning was over. I would go in and grab them and say, 'I'm going to go back into the dugout, and I want you to follow me. Put your head down, and don't let anybody stop you.' They'd follow me up the steps. We'd go all the way down to the end, and there was usually two medics who sat there. I'd say, 'Sit up there.' It was two boys, they had uniforms and hats on. They're pulling them down. I said, 'If we win — and we were going to — have fun.' I was never so nervous — strike one, strike two, and strike three. At strike two, I'm thinking it's going to happen. What do I do? Do I hug my kids? Do I hug my teammates? Do I run on the field? The third out was made, a quick hug to them, and, boom, I was out on the field. They were out on the field. In my career, that was something I was able to share with my boys. We'll be able to talk about it forever.

>> ORAL HISTORY: 2008 World Series Game 5, and all the rain that delayed the Phillies' reign

PAT BURRELL: We did not want to get on that plane. In San Francisco, I got defensively replaced by Bruce Bochy before the last out [of the 2010 World Series], so I was in the dugout, and I knew we were going to win. But here, you don't think that way. Because if you do lose, and you lose this thing, then you're that team that did it. In this town, it was nothing until the last out. That was it. I didn't do the pile because I had back problems, and I was worried about getting hit. It was going to get too crazy there for me. So I kind of skirted around the side, and that's why I'm never in any pictures. I was over there with [Eric] Bruntlett in the corner.

BRETT MYERS: When Burrell hit the double and [Geoff] Jenkins hit the other double, I was like, 'It's over. We got this.' And I had to pitch the next day, so I was trying to prepare myself. And this right here (Myers points to the side of his championship ring that says Phillies won the Series, 4-1), where it says one, that's my loss. I took that, and I don't like that. But that's the way it is. It still bothers me to this day that I was the only guy to lose a game in the World Series. Everybody else killed it. The last out, I was torn a little bit, because I wanted to redeem myself the next day. But I was happy, because we won it here. We won it here. That's all that matters. It wasn't about me. If we had won it in Tampa, it wouldn't be as big as it is, in my opinion.

CHARLIE MANUEL: Even when [Brad] Lidge got ahead of [Eric] Hinske, I still thought to myself, if Hinske gets a hit, this game's probably going on. So, I was still managing. But I knew that if he would make a good pitch on Hinske that Hinske would chase the ball. That's what I was thinking. When I saw the plane of the ball and where it was at, I knew Hinske was going to swing at it. I could tell by the way he strided at the ball. When he struck out, to me that was the greatest play of the game right there.

GEOFF JENKINS: I was in the dugout, right next to Pat [Burrell] and [Greg] Dobbs. We hopped over the rail, and it was the fastest I ever jumped for sure. It was super fun. I remember jumping on the pile twice because it was that much fun. I was like, 'I might as well jump on it again.' It's super great. The stories are endless and so vivid.