Berks County Bar Association The Berks Barrister Spring 2020 - 24

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Championship Closer Opens Up About 2008
World Series and Passion for Archeology
Continued from page 23
Lidge recalled two sleepless nights waiting for the weather
to break so that play could resume. Finally, the game picked
back up on October 29.
The Phillies took a 4-3 lead into the top of the ninth
inning, having broken a tie in the bottom of the 7th on a
Pedro Feliz single to left that drove in Eric Bruntlett.
Lidge was summoned from the bullpen to preserve the
one-run lead with two out and a runner on second. Hinske,
the Tampa Bay utility player, was at bat.
Hinske was a dangerous hitter on the right pitch. He
hit a home run off Joe Blanton in Game 4. Hinske also
had scorched Lidge's fastball earlier in the series, so Lidge
resolved to go entirely with sliders. With two strikes, Lidge
related how he liked the way the ball felt. As the last pitch in
Hinske's at-bat is described by Tyler Kepner, in "K: A History
of Baseball in Ten Pitches," "Hinske had no chance. The pitch
dive-bombed into Ruiz's black Wilson catcher's mitt, far below
Hinske's swing."
Lidge described his elation in the moment, knowing that
he was talking but not remembering, saying, "I might have
been speaking in tongues." He then described how happy he
was in the celebration that ensued. A celebration in which
Lidge found himself at the bottom of what's known in baseball
as a dogpile "underneath 25 guys who weighed about 220
pounds each."
Lidge acknowledged he could have never gone 48-0
without a blown save in 2008 if not for the great support
in the field from his teammates. He described how in the
division-clinching game against Washington, with the bases
loaded and one out in the last inning, Washington's Ryan
Zimmerman hit a sharp ground ball that shortstop Jimmy
Rollins caught in full extension and then flipped to second
baseman Chase Utley, who threw to first for an inning and
game ending double play. "He described Rollins and Utley
as being in fast forward on that play and everybody else was
regular speed."
Collectively the room had been transported to a happier
time.
The conversation then turned to the psychology of being
a closer. Jim Hickey, Lidge's pitching coach on the Astros,
once said that a good closer needed "real nerve and a short
memory," and that Lidge's psychological makeup fit both
counts perfectly, adding how Lidge, "put hitters on edge, even
before he threw the first pitch."
Asked to comment on that assessment, Lidge first related
how, when he moved to becoming the Astro's closer in midseason of 2004, Hickey told him to "be stupider," not think
so much, and that after a game, win or lose, he should go out,
have a couple of beers and relax with teammates. Lidge also
talked of the importance of being viewed by the hitter as being
dominant.
24 | Berks Barrister

Brad Lidge signed
autographs and met
with guests in the
VIP Lounge after the
luncheon.

Lidge talked about the different times he basically had to
reinvent himself as a pitcher following his suffering various
injuries which at one time or another has subjected him to 11
different surgeries. During the 2007 season with the Astros, he
had to regain his pitching strength following injuries in 2006.
After his perfect 48-for-48 season, he suffered a group of
injuries in early 2009 and had to fight to come back from that.
Again in 2010, he had to fight back from injury, which he had
to do again in 2011, which resulted in the Phillies moving him
from closer to set up man.
During his time with the Phillies, on seven occasions Lidge
played on the Reading Phillies as a result of various rehab
assignments that arose from his various injuries.
He recalled one game in particular on April 27, 2010.
Lidge pitched a scoreless inning against the Harrisburg
Senators. But the Senators won the game 1-0 thanks to
pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg, who helped the
Washington Nationals win their first World Series title last
season.
Lidge related how when he initially saw a crowd of over
4,000 fans on a cold, drizzly April night, that he thought they
were there to see him. He then added with a laugh that he
soon realized they were there to see Strasburg. Lidge added
that he was really impressed not only with Strasburg's velocity
and control, but also with his ability to change speeds on his
pitches.
Lidge described how, after he left Notre Dame University
because of his being drafted by the Astros, in the offseason
he completed his degree through Regis University in Denver,
Colorado. After that, he obtained a master's degree in
archeology from University of Leicester in Great Britain. He
did his master's thesis on nails in Roman archeology, and has
been a part of five "digs" in Roman ruins in various parts of
Europe.
And when asked to describe what he'd like his legacy to
be, Lidge offered a response as sharp as any slider he's ever
delivered: "Archeologist discovers Ark of the Covenant."
Brian C. Engelhardt retired from BB&T's Legal Department
and is a frequent contributor to The Berks Barrister and
the Berks County Historical Review.
Photos courtesy of Zerbe Photography and Berks Bar staff.

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Berks County Bar Association The Berks Barrister Spring 2020

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