Matt Stairs to Throw out First Pitch at NLCS Game 3

2008 NLCS hero Matt Stairs will throw out the first pitch ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies NLCS Game 3 matchup with the San Diego Padres.

Just days after Kyle Schwarber 'ripped one into the night' in San Diego, the Philadelphia Phillie to whom every postseason left-handed home run hitter will be compared has been picked to throw out the first pitch Friday night.

Matt Stairs' 2008 NLCS Game 5 blast is etched in Phillies history, not just for the boost it gave Philadelphia in clinching the 2008 National League pennant, but for the call it drew out of Joe Buck.

How many times have you heard the phrase "[insert Phillies player] ripped one into the night"?

For an announcer who is still reviled by many, he lent his voice to create one of the most iconic moments in Phillies history.

Stairs, for his part, was pretty blunt about his approach at the plate, coming in to pinch-hit.

"I'm not going to lie... I try to hit home runs and that's it.”

Though Stairs silenced a crowd of nearly 57,000 fans that night in Los Angeles, he'll bring Phillies fans to their feet Friday night as he takes the mound to throw out the first pitch in front of a raucous 45,000 at Citizens Bank Park.

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