It’s great to see Utley back in the lineup, doing those things we love to watch him do on a daily basis. His return to the lineup this week got us thinking. What are some of those moments in Philadelphia sports, that we get to see over and over again, and get better each and every time?
We’re not talking about the greatest moments in Philadelphia sports. There are plenty of those lists. This is something different. This is a list of those great moments, that are unique enough to make special, but occur just often enough, to make the players that achieve these moments, elite. These are the moments that we get to see multiple times a season, but moments that we will never get sick of.
Here they are, in no particular order (categorized by team).
Ps. Hard to get YouTube videos for MLB, so we included links to the videos for you.
Utley Being Utley
You know that moment when Utley beats out a ground ball to second base? Or fakes a throw to first and then throws a guy out at home, to win the World Series? Or when he scores from second on a ground out to the pitcher? Yeah, we love those moments.
A Ryan Howard Bomb
The iconic, long, left-handed swing. About 40-50 times a season, we get to see Howard hit a home run, and each blast is better than the next. We have seen opposite field homers, upper-deck homers, and walk-off homers. We have seen homers that just got over the wall, and we have seen homers that even Tom McCarthy knew were gone, right off the bat. We have seen pre season, regular season, and post season home runs. We have seen 263 home runs in all…so far.
HERE is one of my personal favorite regular season HR’s, to complete a comeback against the Reds last season.
A Roy Halladay Complete Game
Seems like this guy pitches a complete game every time he takes the mound. It’s unreal. He is hands down, the best pitcher, maybe best player, in baseball right now. I’m actually hoping for a perfect game (skip to 5:00 mark for final out) every time he pitches.
Richards being Richards
Mike Richards is Chase Utley on skates. He makes the plays that no one else makes. You know, that pass the you have no idea how he fit it in that tiny space? He isn’t the fastest player, or the strongest player, but he is the smartest. He does it all, from playing the penalty kill, scoring short-handed, playing the power play, back checking, fore checking, passing, scoring, and he even fights against the dirtiest players/fighters in the game. What more can you ask from a captain? I want Richie to be my captain for many more years.
This epic shift came exactly one year ago today.
A Danny Briere First Pump
Briere gets that puck flying down the right wing of the ice, and just rips a slap shot top shelf, and continues to skate around the net. Then he gets on one knee, while still in motion, and gives us that iconic fist pump we love.
This fist pump is my favorite of all…
A Claude Giroux “Nifty” Goal
You know those kind of goals that G scores that makes you say, ‘Wow.’? Yeah, those.
When Mike Vick Runs
Man, is that fun to watch. Wasn’t fun when he was with the Falcons, but it’s whole lot of fun now a days. The man runs around untouched in the open field.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZVLjA4eS70
A DeSean Jackson Touchdown
Every time he touches the ball, I think touchdown. I can’t help it. So much fun to watch this guy run all over the field as well. Punt returns, short passes, end-arounds, and deep bombs. The man can do it all. And you never know what he’s going to do after he scores.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSL7vTGwPbk
And of course…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-aU3MCC_OM
*Honorable Mention
-Jimmy Rollins making a play deep in the hole
-Shane Victorino running (tracking down a ball or running the bases)
-LeSean McCoy running the clock out to clinch an Eagles W
-Andre Iguodala’s fade away jumper (Just kidding. You didn’t actually fall for that, did you?)
Any we missed? Let us know in the comments…
