A World Series steal from 15 years ago still sparks trash talk
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Not even Ryan Howard remembered the moment. And you¡¯d think he would.
The former Phillies first baseman was hardly aware of his only career postseason stolen base -- in the World Series, no less -- until it came time to discuss it with the pitcher who allowed it.
On the first episode of their new podcast, ¡°The 6-1-1,¡± Howard and longtime Philadelphia teammate Jimmy Rollins chatted with lefty CC Sabathia, the man on the mound when Howard made his surprising move.
¡°How do we forget that Ryan Howard stole second standing up in the World Series?¡± Rollins said.
Howard ended his 13-year career with just 12 stolen bases in the regular season, although eight of them came in 2009 -- the year Howard, Rollins and the Phillies faced Sabathia¡¯s Yankees in the Fall Classic.
With the Yanks up 2-1 in Game 4 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Howard led off the fourth inning with a single to center field. On a 2-1 pitch to Jayson Werth, he made his move, surprising pretty much everyone -- including Sabathia and Yankees catcher Jorge Posada, who bobbled the ball and didn¡¯t get off a throw to second base. The steal was a key one -- Howard came around to score on a two-out single to tie the game.
¡°Speed kills,¡± Howard chided Sabathia. ¡°Speed kills.¡±
The 6-1-1 Podcast is available on MLB.com, MLB.TV, all podcast platforms and YouTube.