Worth the Wait: Tales of the Phillies 2008 Championship Season

by Jayson Stark

For 25 years, Philadelphia waited for a team like the 2008 Phillies to come along. Waited for a team that could end the longest title drought of any city in America that fields teams in all four najor professional sports. Waited for that one magical postseason run that could unleash a quarter-century of pent-up frustration. And then these '08 Phillies hopped on that magic carpet and made it happen. They roared from behind in the last two weeks of September to overtake the Mets. They wiped out CC Sabathia and the Brewers in the National League Division Series. They did in Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. Then, finally, they survived the Rays--and Bud Selig's attack of the rain gods--to win the World Series, in a rain-delayed, three-and-a-half-inning grand finale unlike any other finish in World Series history. That championship run was more than just the end of their city's interminable sports nightmare. It was vindication for a group of men whose fans had once decided wouldn't win, couldn't win, didn't know how to win. For Charlie Manuel, the countrified manager who overcame years of derision--and personal October tragedy--to become a certified Philadelphia hero. For shortstop Jimmy Rollins, the outspoken face of the franchise, a man who dared to speak openly of rewriting his team's tortured history. For Pat Burrell, the former No. 1 overall pick who had been a Phillie longer than any of them. For Brett Myers, their Opening Day starter who had been banished to the minor leagues in midseason and returned a new man--not to mention a man who was about to become October's least likely offensive dynamo. This was a team built around a compelling cast of ultra-cool emerging ace Cole Hamels; 45-year-old left-hander Jamie Moyer, who led the team in wins; energetic center fielder Shane Victorino, who somehow turned into a villain in laid-back L.A.; and Brad Lidge, a closer who finished off a perfect season with one last perfect pitch. Before they came along, the Phillies had won only one World Series in 125 seasons. But unlike so many Phillies teams that were haunted by that history, this team was inspired by it, by the chance to place its own inimitable stamp on the franchise. And as the 2 million people who attended their championship parade can attest, it was worth the wait.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Baseball

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Harold Kasselman · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was close to a 3 star but I found myself asking, "Is that all there is?" The book is made up of columns that were written by the author in 2008 so there is no in depth analysis of the players make up, or the strategy by the front office in building a team that almost became a dynasty. There was no "insider information" that rose up and grabbed the attention of the reader. There was no gossip about the interaction between the players and the GM or even among themselves. Now, I am not suggesting the book needed to be a Ball Four version of 2008. It could,however, been something akin to The Cubs Way or Astroball. After all, this was the most popular and beloved team in all of Phillies history-even surpassing the 1980 team.Yes, it was fun to relieve some of the great moments of that season. For instance, the game that clinched the regular season for the Phillies ended with a miraculous double play begun by Jimmy Rollins who prevented Lidge from a blown save. This clincher enabled Cole Hamels to rest the next day rather than pitch for the clincher. That allowed Charlie Manuel to align the pitching staff so that everyone had their regular rest and Hamels won four straight. Then there was the nine pitch at bat by unlikely hitter Brett Myers that led to a grand slam by Shane Victorino. And there were some interesting stats that I hadn't known or recalled. For example, had Phillies games ended after eight innings, they would have ended five games behind the Mets at the end of the season. Why? Their comebacks and the pure dominance of Brad Lidge as he had a perfect record closing out games. The one chapter that was especially good was the Circle of Life one that depicted Charlie Manuels' grueling pain when his mother died during the playoffs and the effect that had on the team's grit. So, I'm grateful that Stark was able to celebrate our 2008 glorious win, but I would have wanted more beef in my sandwich.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book about the phillies that only gets two stars!? Sorry, I love the columnist (more when he was w/ the inquirer as opposed to espn), but I didn't realize that the chapters were reproductions of his columns thruout the season. That makes for lots of repetition. There are only so many times you can read about how traumatized philadelphia sports fans are and how long we've waited for a championship before it starts to get old. It was nice to get some reminders about the playoff games that I didn't remember, but I have the DVDs to relive that (courtesy of my favorite little sister). oh well, i guess i'll just have to get my baseball fix somewhere else...good thing I have 162 games to look forward to starting next week!

[Kellen Short · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book in adulthood took it from a 5 to a 4 for me. Maybe I am not a fan of Jayson Stark's style, maybe I remembered it as more interesting than it actually was. But pretty meh overall. What a story though.

[Tom Gase · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't get into this one at all and was hard to finish. I'm trying to read a book in a project I started during the pandemic on every year in baseball and this was my pick for 2008. I don't mind reading about the Phillies winning the title at all, but I wanted a lot more than what was in this book. Basically it's just a bunch of columns Jayson Stark wrote in 2008 during the Phillies title run, and I just can't get into his writing style at all. There are a bunch of writing errors in this book and his columns are more and more and more of "Can you believe this happened? Can you? No, really, can you believe this happened?" Also Stark seems to be such a homer this book, wanted more of a book written about this team by someone who didn't care if the Phillies won or lost. It almost seems that he never talked to Chase Utley or Ryan Howard at all in this book. Mostly just Jimmy Rollins, Brett Myers and Jamie Moyer. Avoid, unless a big Phillies fan.

[Eric Schwass · Rating 1 out of 5]

A good book should have cohesion. This book, being made up of a number of newspaper articles, lacks a unifying central theme to help drive the story. Even though the book is laid out chronologically each individual chapter is spoiled in the first few paragraphs. The backwards writing of newspaper articles betrays the traditional style and flow of books. I find it lacking critical analysis and in depth thought at each step. I am extremely disappointed in this account of the great ‘08 Phillies and I’m still sitting here asking myself why I took the time to finish it.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jason Stark’s writing is delightful. Now I want a hot dog, some crab fries, and a ticket to a Phillies’ game. I will say it’s odd that Harry Kalas isn’t mentioned once. I know he wasn’t on the roster but my memories of that team are so closely associated with his calls, it seems odd that he’s not in the book.

[John Borchers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I understand the book is a collection of his columns, but reading this as someone who was 7 years old at the time, I think this does a great job at showing the spirit of the 08 Phils. Finished up just in time for spring training, looking for a repeat. Go Fightins!

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A valuable document of the most important event in my life outside meeting my wife and having my kids.

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably a 1-star book unless you're a Phillies fan. I like Jayson Stark's articles, but the format didn't do him any favors. Reprinting his old articles really highlighted how repetitive his style is (using the same quotes from one day to the next, always hyping every event as if it's the weirdest thing that's ever happened, over-stressing the uniqueness of pretty arbitrary statistical coincidences [ie - Pitcher X gave up 2 home runs today, when he hadn't allowed 2 home runs in a game for the past 3 months. How crazy is that!:])

But you're probably not reading this for the writing anyway. You're reading it to re-live the World Series run. In which case it's okay. But it doesn't add much to the stuff you probably already know if you followed the Series. Basically, its value was to say "hey, remember when Matt Stairs hit that homerun? That was awesome." And it was awesome. But beyond that, what is there for me? Just a repetitive read that doesn't add any depth to the story we all already know.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty fun look back at the 2008 Phillies, mainly during the post season. It's really just a collection of Stark's columns from that year, but it's no less enjoyable, as he's a fairly talented writer. Although, crazy how optimistic things were in his revised foreward, talking about how the Phillies had seemingly turned a corner for good in 2011... now we know how short lived it all was. And only one title to show for this run of good teams. Still....it was a heck of a season, and worth remembering. Any Phillies fan would enjoy this small piece of nostalgia.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you are looking for a book about your 2008 world champion philadelphia phillies this is the one. i have read a few other insta-books that were put out within a few months are the title, and this stark read is superior to them all. stark is a thorough, thoughtful, and skilled sportswriter and all those qualities are present in this book.... and as far as remarkable stats go (stark's specialty) this book is full of them. buy this one and add it to the book shelf -gw

[Dubin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Stark, and I thought that love would help me ignore the fact that 95% of the book is reprinted essays from ESPN.com. Unfortunately, it didn't, and reading them one after the other, Stark's writing style began to feel contrived and samey. If you've never read Stark's ESPN essays and you're a Phillies fan, pick it up. If you're a big fan of his already, I'd skip it. You've really already read the book.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a must-read if you love the Phillies, and a should-read if you're an ever-suffering Philadelphia sports fan. I didn't like how Stark began each chapter with the conclusion (which you know anyway, but it's fun to let the tension build), but he is masterful at making you relive each exquisite moment of this magical season.

[Sunday · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read. I spent the 2008 season run of the Phillies amongst Yankee and Mets fans in NY. Nothing but envy & hate arose from them. None of them giving them the credit they deserved until the 2009 season. And you better believe the Phillies will be again the 'team to beat' this upcoming 2010 season.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars because OBVIOUSLY it spoke about the best night of my life. Sad? Probably. But I just found a memory book I wrote in 5th grade where I completed the sentence " The worst thing that ever happened to me was ...." - when the Phillies lost to the Blue Jays in the World Series. Needless to say, Jayson Stark and his tale made me a happy gal.

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

solid stories from a fond time in my life. nothing groundbreaking here, but a wonderful trip down memory lane. it's amazing how much of this stuff I'd just forgotten or already misremembered.

I swore that Shane victorino's grand slam was immediately following Brett Myers' walk. jimmy, you're fading from memory.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm biased b/c (a) Jayson Stark is a family friend and (b) I love sports writing, but this book brought back so many happy memories, with really interesting insight into the team. If you are a Phillies fan, you must read this!

[Craig Stratton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book about a great team and a wonderful season. Stark is probably the best baseball writer. This books is mostly his articles throughout the season, all of which are extremely well written. This book is one that every Phillies Fan will enjoy.

[Bob Koelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

the writing was typically hyperbolic in a sports writer kind of way, and the tally of "the first person to do this since..." got overwhelming at times. But if you're a Phillies fan, you gotta love re-living the memories.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reliving the 2008 post season. Stark captures the feeling in Philadelphia that something is bound to go wrong. I'm not a big fan of the obscure facts that Stark serves up.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I felt like I knew everything in this book, I really like Jayson Stark and the way he writes.

[Chris · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

Waited for years for Jayson Stark to write a book about a Phillies' title. Worth the Wait indeed.