Phillies Nuggets: Howard’s 2009 NLCS dominance forgotten

By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor

Prior to his final game with the Phillies in 2016, Sports Talk Philly staffers debated the top moments of Ryan Howard's career with the Philadelphia Phillies. While some of the many tremendous moments of Howard's career were revisited, one impactful moment of Howard's career seems to be consistently forgotten: his 2009 NLCS dominance. 

After batting .375 in the the Phillies four-game NLDS win over the Colorado Rockies – including bringing the Phillies back in the ninth inning of Game 4, when his teammates "got him to the plate" – Howard used his 15 at-bats in the 2009 NLCS to help the Phillies reach their second consecutive World Series. In five games in the series, Howard batted .333 with five hits, six walks, five runs scored, two home runs and eight RBIs.

Howard's signature moment in the series came in Game 3 of the series, when a first inning triple plated two, leading the Phillies to a four-run first inning and an 11-0 victory that allowed them to seize control of the series. 

(Howard's Triple can be seen at the 21:21 mark.)

As a 2009 article from ESPN reminds us, dating back to the NLDS, Howard had an RBI in eight consecutive National League playoff games, which tied Lou Gehrig's record for most consecutive playoff games with a run batted in. 

Of course, Howard's strong playoff run was overshadowed when he, much like everyone on the team not named Chase Utley or Cliff Lee, struggled in the World Series. In six games against the eventual World Champion New York Yankees, Howard batted just .174, hit only one home run and struck out 13 times. Though Howard disappointed in the World Series, that can't overshadow how dominant he was in the 2009 playoffs, because the Phillies may not have won a second consecutive National League pennant had it not been for Howard. 

Don't forget about Pedro, either

When the Phillies signed 37-year-old Pedro Martinez on July 15, 2009, the future Hall of Famer admitted that he wasn't going to pitch like he did in the late 1990s and early 2000s with the Montreal Expos and Boston Red Sox. Still, the three-time Cy Young Award winner said he still believed he could "bring something to the table."

And boy, could he. 

In nine regular season starts for the team, Martinez went 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA, giving the Phillies rotation another effective arm. 

Though the 2009 playoffs will be remembered for the dominant pitching of Cliff Lee, Martinez was impressive in his one start in the National League playoffs. After not appearing in the NLDS, Martinez took the ball at Dodger Stadium in Game 2 of the NLCS. After the Phillies won Game 1 8-6, Martinez turned back the clock in Game 2, as he pitched seven scoreless innings, while allowing just two hits. Thanks to a Howard home run off of former Phillie Vicente Padilla, Martinez exited the game in line for a 1-0 win. 

Unfortunately for the Phillies, reliever Chan-Ho Park allowed two runs to score in the eighth inning, leading to a 2-1 loss. Martinez, however, did as much as one could have possibly expected him to. He also, a day after the Phillies asked for three-and-two-thirds innings from their bullpen, gave the Phillies seven quality innings. 

After a Lee complete-game in Game 1 of the World Series, the Phillies gave Martinez the ball in Game 2 against the New York Yankees. Martinez turned in a respectable start, going six innings, while allowing six hits and three runs. He gave the Phillies a chance to win the game, but was outpitched by future Phillie A.J. Burnett in an eventual loss. With the Phillies facing eliminiation in Game 6 of the World Series, Martinez appeared to burn out, as he allowed four runs in just four innings of work. 

With Cole Hamels having a season-long World Series hangover in 2009, the Phillies probably ended up asking too much from Martinez. Given the stage of his career he was at, Martinez actually was a pretty valuable addition to the 2009 team. 

The Nuggets

• Game 3 of the 2009 NLDS is an underrated game in the Phillies five-year run of National League dominance. Howard had the previously mentioned two-run triple, while Jayson Werth smashed a two-run home run one at-bat later. Cliff Lee, who was dominant throughout the entire 2009 playoff run, tossed eight innings of shutout ball while scattering just three hits and striking out 10. 
• Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins and Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees are among those that we normally wouldn't expect to bat in the No. 2 hole that we saw in that exact spot in 2017. Whoever the Phillies manager is in 2018, he will probably have a more progressive approach than his predecessor. Don't be surprised if Rhys Hoskins bats No. 2 a year from now. 
• It's actually impressive how little has leaked out about the Phillies managerial search.
• Shaq managed to make Ryan Howard look small in this picture: 

You might be having a good night, but not as good as Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins and Shaq. pic.twitter.com/Wcx0DyEG5N

— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) October 20, 2017

• Our forgotten 2000s Phillie of the Week series this week revisited Howard's 2009 teammate, catcher Paul Bako. 
• I wrote earlier in the week on why I believe the Phillies are likely to walk at a higher clip in 2018. 
• Thursday was the eight-year anniversary of Jimmy Rollins' walkoff hit in Game 4 of the 2009 NLCS. This week, I spoke to Jayson Stark, Kevin Cooney, Andrew Baggarly and Danny Knobler, all of whom have Hall of Fame votes, on how they feel about his Hall of Fame case.