PHILADELPHIA — Garrett Stubbs was an unlikely hero. At 5-foot-10, 170 pounds, he doesn’t look like a ballplayer, and is constantly reminded of that, by spectators who call him a Little Leaguer and a bat boy and a clubhouse attendant. He says he hears this just about every time he’s on the field but has gotten used to it by now. He’s always been undersized, but he has always had faith that his ability would shine through, if only he were given the chance.
Wednesday afternoon, he got his chance. With runners on first and second and two outs, Stubbs, batting in the nine-hole, stepped up to the plate. He was the Phillies' last shot at wiping out a one-run deficit. He worked his at-bat to a 2-2 count, and on the fifth pitch, a 90.2-mph slider, he crushed a three-home run into the right-field stands at Citizens Bank Park to give the Phillies a 3-1 win and a series victory over the Miami Marlins.
It was Stubbs’ third career home run, all coming this season, and his first walk-off hit. He insisted afterwards that he wasn’t going for the fences, but his mammoth swing suggested otherwise. Regardless, even Stubbs, the personification of an underdog, had to take a few seconds to admire his handiwork, before skipping along the first-base line with glee.
