Gillick does it Again
October 27th, 2009 | by jays1992 |By Paul Bruno
The genius of Pat Gillick is again on display as the Philadelphia Phillies are going to defending their World Series Championship against the New York Yankees when the 2009
The team looks like an American league squad, with loads of speed at the top of the order and loads of power in the middle. No big surprise there.
A couple of key players have Gillick’s finger prints all over them, though.
Raul Ibanez was known by Gillick as a player who was more physically fit than players who are 10 years younger than the 37 year old outfielder. That’s why Pat snapped him up after he left Seattle to test free agency. They knew each other from their time together with the Mariners. The reward for that deal was handsome in the regular season. Ibanez struck for 34 homers and 93 rbis.
Jayson Werth was another big contributor, hitting a career-high 36 homers and 99 rbis. You can bet that Gillick knew all about this guy, thanks to his long history with the Blue Jays, where Werth got his major league start.
These are just two parts of the Phillies machine which rolled over the Dodgers in the NLCS.
He also likes the veterans. Everyone wondered about Pedro Martinez. Gillick pulled the trigger to get him. The payoff there, a 5-1 mark over 8 starts, with a very respectable 3.63 ERA. Then under the bright lights of the post-season, he dials up a sparkling two hitter over seven innings to take game two against LA.
What is it that separates Pat Gillick?
These are but a few examples of his guiding hand. You know his history
It’s the same thing he did in Toronto and then Seattle. Wouldn’t it be great if came back to the Jays?
In the meantime, “Just win, baby!”
Tags: Pat Gillick, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto
By KMP on Dec 26, 2009
Actually Gillick knew Werth from their Orioles days. He was the GM when he drafted Werth in 1997.