Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images
Don’t crowd the plate against the Phanatic
Many important historical events occurred on April 17. The Bay of Pigs invasion failed on this day in 1961. Ford introduced the Ford Mustang back in 1964. Apollo 13 returned to Earth safely on this day in 1970 following critical mission failures.
And in 2011, the Phillie Phanatic drilled his mother Phoebe in the snout with a pitch:
The occasion was the Phillie Phanatic’s birthday, which the Phillies celebrate every year around the anniversary of his debut, which came on April 25, 1978. Mascots gathered for a little game in the Phanatic’s honor, but with his mom at the plate, the Phanatic put a pitch up-and-in, catching his mother right in the noggin.
Now, here is the thing.
It is time to let the Phanatic off the hook.
Why? Take a look at Phoebe’s feet. Computer, enhance!
She’s all over the plate! Her right foot is almost behind the inside corner. Any pitcher worth their salt knows that you own the inside part of the plate, and if the batter is crowding you, you have to pound pitches on the inside to make them move off the plate.
Pedro Martinez built his Hall of Fame career on challenging pitchers inside, moving them off the plate and “making a statement” with pitches on the inner half. Martinez walked viewers through his ability to pitch inside on this segment for the MLB Network:
But Martinez was not the only pitcher who made a living for throwing inside, and did not care who was standing in the batter’s box. Another member of the Baseball Hall of Fame is Early Wynn, who pitched for the Washington, Cleveland, and the Chicago White Sox. Ted Williams described Wynn as “the toughest pitcher I ever faced.”
What did Wynn say about throwing inside? “I’ve got a right to knock down anybody holding a bat.”
But he actually took it a step further.
Asked if he would even knock down his own mother if she were in the box, Wynn had this to say: “I would if she were crowding the plate.”
The Phillie Phanatic was just taking inspiration from some of the game’s best.
It’s time to let him off the hook.
