Section 215
Fansided

Philadelphia Phillies Famous Steals of Home Plate

By Chuck Booth

May 22, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Cesar Hernandez (16) scores on a single hit by third baseman Maikel Franco (not pictured) in the sixth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies won 5-0. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
May 22, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Cesar Hernandez (16) scores on a single hit by third baseman Maikel Franco (not pictured) in the sixth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies won 5-0. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports /
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Yesterday the Philadelphia Phillies executed a steal of home in their 8-5 win over the Detroit Tigers.

The steal of home is a lost art in Major League Baseball along with the suicide squeeze (bunting with the bases loaded). It is usually done by National League teams playing small ball lineups that have issues scoring runs. The Philadelphia Phillies fit that bill especially with their offensive struggles on the year (they averaged 3.26 runs per game going into yesterday’s win) but they are one of the few teams to do it in an American League ballpark.

In the top of the second inning, the Philadelphia Phillies executed one of the oldest tricks in the book by stealing home on a delayed steal. With Peter Bourjos and Andres Blanco on base, Borjous stole second base. While the throw was going into second base, Blanco hustled home to put the Philadelphia Phillies up 2-0 early in the game.

Those runs were important as they set the tone for a slugfest and ignited the Phillies struggling offense to avoid the sweep. Whenever a pitcher is thinking about a team stealing bases then they can’t put full focus into the game. That steal also gave me the idea of looking up some other famous steals of home plate in Phillies history.

Let’s begin with last night’s gem:

In 2012 with the Phillies up 3-2 in the bottom of the 7th inning, fan favorite Jason Werth stole home against the Dodgers:

This next one is my personal favorite. Chooch became the first catcher to steal home in 25 years for the Phillies (sorry for the video quality):

Stealing home is one of the most invigorating moments in baseball behind a triple and an inside the park homerun. Hopefully, the Phillies can do this a little more often to continue making baseball fun again.

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