7/29/2011: A Day of Philadelphia Sports Infamy

Jul 21, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; San Francisco Giants right fielder Hunter Pence (8) walks out of the dugout during batting practice before a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

I was down the beach when the flurry of news started on the day before the MLB trade deadline. A Friday evening like any other Summer night would become one of the most influential dates as far as two of our city’s teams and their fortunes over the coming years.

The Eagles were in the midst of compiling a free agency haul that would put their team over the top the following year after Michael Vick had led them to a division title the year before. A heartbreaking loss at the hands of the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers signified how close it appeared the Eagles were to perfecting the formula for an elusive title of their own.

As for the Phillies, they were busy tearing through the rest of Major League Baseball en route to what would eventually be a 100+ win season. That Friday night, Roy Halladay paired with ten runs of support would combine for a seven-run win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. That would be win number 66 for the Phillies that season (or seven less than they had all of 2014). The Phillies had once again come up short in 2010 for a second World Series title for their core group and appeared to have all of their sights set on returning to the postseason as quick as possible so they could have another crack at a ring that would never come.

From a bigger picture standpoint, the Flyers were coming off a 106-point campaign with a young team that had reached the Stanley Cup Finals a year prior. Though they bowed out to the Boston Bruins in disheartening fashion, one had to feel good about where that franchise stood as far as long-term competition. Finally, the 76ers even had brought some entertainment with a young squad that had managed a playoff game win over the Miami Heat and a roster with some intriguing pieces.

July 29, 2011, however, will always be linked specifically to the fates of the Phillies and Eagles. Though the Flyers and 76ers are completely different looking teams than they were at that time, it’s tough to pinpoint a date of their transition like it is with the other two teams in the city.

The Eagles were the talk of the NFL during the offseason. With a stockpile of talent already on the roster and copious amounts of cap space, the usually tight-pursed organization broke open their checkbook in a big way. Acquisitions of Jason Babin, Cullen Jenkins, Dominique Rogers-Cromartie (via trade), Ronnie Brown, and others seemed to flesh out a roster that already looked close to one of a serious contenders. That Friday evening, however, the Eagles made the move that would ultimately define one of the more embarrassing stretches for an organizaTion in this city that I can remember.

After being rumored to be heading to either the Cowboys or Jets for what seemed like weeks, the crowned jewel of the 2011 free agency class, Nnamdi Asomugha, inked a five-year/$60 million contract with the Eagles. Along with Asante Samuel and Rodgers-Cromartie, Asomugha would round out what was thought to be a defensive secondary that would rival any in the league.

Dec 30, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz (80) catches a pass as Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha (24) defends in the first half during the game at Metlife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Mills/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports

With the euphoria already bursting at the seams in Philadelphia, the Phillies decided to one-up their football brethren with a blockbuster of their own.

After losing Jayson Werth to free agency, right field appeared to be the only hole in what was otherwise a flawless team on paper. Pence, who was stuck with the Houston Astros, would deliver a similar presence as far as power, fielding, and intangibles that would make a 2011 World Series title a cinch.

If one were to tell any sports figure in the Philadelphia media that neither Pence nor Asomugha would no longer be in the city, it would be tough to take them seriously at the time of the acquisitions. As we know all too well in the City of Brotherly Love, there is no such thing as a sure thing in sports and the fortunes of the teams that play them at the highest level.

For Nnamdi, one could only wear the blinders for so long. Asomugha was brought in to play a type of role that Charles Woodson seemed to have protected for the world champion Packers. Many figured Asomugha to be such a supreme football talent that he could play in space and dictate what the opposing offense did merely by his presence on the field. What the Eagles did not realize and clearly failed to do their research on was that Asomugha was a straight-line player who was at his best when trying to lock down half of the field. His skills had already started to decline and he did not possess the speed or fluidity (or football IQ, for that matter) to fill the role that the Eagles wanted. As the nightmarish ‘Dream Team’ season painstakingly plodded along, Asomugha was constantly the target of opposing offenses who feasted on the big ticket free agent on the regular. One could argue that it was his performance against Asomugha in a week three win that launched Victor Cruz (3 rec, 110 yds, 2 TD) into the conversation for one of the budding stars in the league. After two seasons with just 4 interceptions in Philadelphia, the Eagles decided to release the cornerback and pay him to play for the 49ers. After continued struggles in San Francisco, Asomugha has since retired at just 32 years old.

The Pence situation, though far more complex, could end up being the most franchise-defining sequence of events involving any single individual for any team in Philadelphia over the last 20 years. Pence was solid, albeit unspectacular for Philadelphia during the 2011 season and postseason. It’s tough to get on him for any of his struggles in the team’s heartbreaking NLDS loss to the Cardinals. No one played particularly well that series and his name is far down the list of scapegoats as to why St. Louis came out on top. Still, many figured the Phillies would still be able to contend in 2012 and Pence would be a key fixture on that roster.

By no fault of his own, Pence entered the 2012 season with loads of pressure on his shoulders. Ryan Howard was recovering from the Achilles injury he suffered on the team’s final at bat of the postseason and would not return to the lineup until early July. Chase Utley, much to the dismay of the organization and its fans, entered Spring Training with a serious knee condition that would cause him to miss a large chunk of the beginning of the season. With Utley and Howard, the team’s two iconic players in the middle of the order, sidelined until well into the Summer, the focus shifted towards Pence to provide the offense until reinforcements arrived. When he was initially acquired, one figured that Pence would be looked at more as an elite complimentary piece to what was a well-established core. Instead, he was forced to take on the brunt of the expectations that come along with being a five-time defending division champion.

The charismatic outfielder did all he could to try and keep the team afloat as it started a downfall that has now spanned three seasons. His unconventional style of play and streakiness led to frustration as the Phillies saw their stranglehold on the division deteriorate before their eyes. The team was a dying star and Pence had arrived just in time to go down with a sinking ship.

In an attempt to try and replenish the lower levels of the organization in what looked more and more like a throwaway year, the Phillies chose to sell at the trade deadline. Fan favorite Shane Victorino was sent to the Dodgers for Ethan Martin, Josh Lindblom, and a player to be named later. Continuing their jettison of outfielders to the NL West, roughly a year after acquiring him, the Phillies decided to trade away Pence to the San Francisco Giants. Coming back to Philadelphia was catching prospect Tommy Joseph, outfielder Nate Schierholtz, and minor league prospect Seth Rosin. In a matter of two trade deadlines, the Phillies had set in motion a ripple effect that would ultimately define the balance of power in baseball for years to come.

Now with the Giants, a team where Pence could fall in rank and not be looked at as a savior, the energetic outfielder flourished as San Francisco marched toward the postseason. His rally cry, energy, and leadership was the focal point of a World Series run that culminated with a surprising win over the Detroit Tigers. It had turned out that Pence was the missing piece of a franchise set to emerge as a dynasty, just not the Phillies.

Oct 26, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants right fielder Hunter Pence reacts after scoring a run against the Kansas City Royals in the 8th inning during game five of the 2014 World Series at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Wednesday night, behind the mastery of Madison Bumgarner and a cohesiveness not always seen on the diamond, the Giants won their third World Series in five seasons. They did so with Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum not throwing a single pitch. In the seven game series, Hunter Pence hit .444 and led off the Fall Classic with a titanic home run that set the tone for the remainder of the heated showdown with the Royals. He had an on-base percentage of .500 against Kansas City and provided ample dramatics in the rounds leading up to the latest crown for the Giants, baseball’s modern day dynasty.

The Phillies were supposed to be the team that brought home multiple titles over a short stretch. They had the homegrown talent, the payroll, the pitching. There was just one thing that they lacked that Pence seemed to have been able to re-energize in San Francisco upon his arrival: the hunger. By 2011, the Phillies were going through the motions and by the time the postseason started, teams did not fear ‘The Four Aces’ or Ryan Howard batting clean up anymore. Instead, teams outclassed the Phillies in their last two postseason exits and the franchise was unable to keep their spot as baseball’s elite organization. Pence was never given the opportunity to have the effect that he ultimately had on the Giants because the Phillies locker room would not let an outsider come in and serve as the emotional presence in a dressing room that sorely needed it. Instead, Pence fell in line in the pecking order and, when the pressure fell on his shoulders, was not in an advantageous situation to deal with it.

The two deals involving Hunter Pence have arguably set back the Phillies as a franchise for the next decade. The initial deal with Houston involved the last of the team’s prized prospects and the ones that came back in the deal with San Francisco have fizzled. Years of putting band-aids on bigger issues and searching for the ‘one missing piece’ have led to the rest of the roster crumbling apart and reaching the point where there is no offseason fix for. It will take the Phillies several offseasons to right the wrongs of the current regime and a great deal of good decision making to rejoin the conversation of being a postseason contender. Meanwhile, the Giants appear to be going nowhere fast as they have established themselves as the premiere playoff team in professional sports along with the San Antonio Spurs. Hunter Pence will be celebrating his second championship parade in three years this week. There is no guarantee that he was destined to do so on Broad Street in his career. Unfortunately, he was never in a position where we would have been able to find out whether or not that was the case.