Today in Philly Sports History: Michaels Bobbles Fly Ball Over Fence, 2004

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We caught a little of ex-Phils outfielder Jason Michaels when were passing through Houston recently, where he currently plays as a reserve outfielder. Apparently Phillies pitchers remembered the offensive juggernaut he was when he was playing in the red-and-white, and wisely pitched around him--putting him on base in the top of the ninth in one game, from where would eventually score the winning run on a Kaz Matsui single off...well, you guys know who it was off.

Still, possibly his most damaging perforamnce against the Phillies came when he was still technically on the team--a September 8th, 2004 game against the Braves in Atlanta. Going back for a Charles Thomas fly ball to deep center, Michaels barely was able to get glove on it, deflecting it towards the ground. But Michaels felt he could recover it, and swatted at the ball--sending it back up and over the fence for a Braves round-tripper. Whoops.

"I was like,
'You've got to be kidding me," Michaels recalled after the game. "I almost didn't think it was real." Oh, but it was very real, and the solo shot off Phils starter Cory Lidle ended up knotting the game at 4-4. Luckily for everyone involved, Michaels was later bailed out by his teammates, especially left fielder Pat Burrell, who drove in a couple runs on a homer and a ground-rule double. The Phillies ended up winning 9-4, moving them to 71-69 for the year--still a good ten-and-a-half games behind Bobby Cox's group, however. Michaels played one more year with the Phillies, before being traded to the Indians for reliever Arthur Rhodes.

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