Read the arguments from Loyal Homer and Bleacher Fan about what they believe was the most pivotal managerial decision in the 2009 World Series
Game four of the 2009 World Series in Philadelphia was the scene of THE moment – THE decision – that changed the course of the series and ultimately set the New York Yankees on a course to victory.
Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel is a great baseball manager. Great. I am using the word great. Over the course of his managing career in Major League Baseball he has made thousands of “right” decisions. However, his decision to put a heavy shift – the “Ortiz shift” – on against switching-hitting Mark Teixeira was THE decision that swung the momentum in the World Series permanently over to the Yankees.
In the top of the ninth inning, the Yankees ahead in the Series two games to one and the game knotted at four, Brad Lidge struck out the first two hitters he faced. Next was Johnny Damon who put together an outstanding nine-pitch at bat. Next up was Mark Teixeira. Charlie Manuel decided to put the shift on and overplay Teixeira’s pull tendencies to get out of the inning.
Examine Teixeira’s hit chart from the 2009 season. The switch hitter faced mostly right handed pitching in the 2009 season, so it is clear that many of his hits were pulled to right field. However, is Teixeira so much a dead pull hitter – in the mold of Boston’s David Ortiz and Cleveland’s Travis Hafner – that a shift is necessary to properly defend him? No. Manuel’s decision on the shift was an exaggerated response to a hitter that was having a poor hitting World Series to begin with, and the Series was not tough because of the Phillies’ shift. Moreover, Lidge had two strikeouts in the bag already in the inning. There was no reason to put a fancy defensive shift into effect because Lidge was throwing the ball well enough to miss bats.
While Teixeira only got hit by a pitch, during his at bat Johnny Damon stole second base. Because Damon beat the ball to the bag, and because the massive shift was on in the Phillies infield, no Phillies player – including third baseman Pedro Feliz, who was playing just to the left of the second base bag – occupied third base, or ANY spot in the infield even remotely close! Alex Rodriguez doubled in the next at bat, easily scoring Damon. However, the momentum shifted when Damon moved up two bases on one play due to a poor defensive decision.
Philadelphia had the momentum in the Series leaving New York. The Phillies stole game one of the series with a masterful performance from ace Cliff Lee. Pedro was serviceable in game two, but the Phillies were not able to pull out the win. Game three was a tough loss, but game four was the pivotal game in the Series, and Manuel’s decision was the most important decision in the most important game at the most important moment. And on this rare occasion, Manuel got it wrong.
