David Robertson Hearkens Back to the Last Great Phillies Team

When the World Series returns to Citizens Bank Park on Monday, Philadelphia Phillies reliever David Robertson will be playing on familiar ground.

The last World Series game to be played at Citizens Bank Park took place thirteen years ago, on Monday, Nov. 2, 2009. The Philadelphia Phillies earned a hard-fought 8-6 victory over the New York Yankees, pushing the series back to New York for Game 6. If you feel like an eternity has passed since that day, I promise you aren't alone.

Nearly everyone who played in that game has long since retired. Only two players who took the field in that contest were active during the 2022 season, and one of them, Robinson Canó, looked to be on his last legs. The other? Well, he's back for more.

David Robertson has returned to the World Series. This time, of course, he'll be playing for the team he helped beat all those years ago.

Robertson pitched two scoreless innings in Game 5 of the 2009 World Series. He struck out Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard, and he induced groundouts from Chase Utley, Shane Victorino, and Carlos Ruiz. The only hit he allowed was a single by Cliff Lee. 

It has been said many times this postseason that Zach Eflin is the last remaining connection to the old core from 2007-2011. Eflin, as we know, came to the organization in 2014 as part of the trade that sent franchise icon Jimmy Rollins to L.A. It's certainly a meaningful connection.

Yet it might actually be Robertson who best ties the current squad to the great Phillies teams of yore. He is, after all, the only player on the roster to have pitched in a World Series at Citizens Bank Park. To have seen the home crowd go wild as the Phillies fought for a world championship. To have played in the Fall Classic with Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard. 

David Robertson throws a pitch in the 2009 World Series at Citizens Bank Park / © Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

In other words, Robertson is living proof that the last World Series in Philadelphia was not an eternity ago after all. 

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