History

The Texas Rangers are—can you believe it?—but one win away from their first-ever trip to the World Series. They are one win away from sitting down the Mighty Yankees, the Bronx Bombers, Baseball’s Bullies. One win away. Just one.

“It’s time.”

This has been the slogan, the mantra, the battle-cry all season long from this club.

“It’s about time.”

The Philadelphia Phillies have been synonymous with the NLCS as of late, more particularly though, the World Series.  Throughout their recent run in their current "dynasty," they have supplied fans with many unforgettable moments.  Those along with others in their grim past culminate to make up this list.

It was the kind of game that fans in 2010 have seen many times.

New York's most beloved team, the New York Mets, a last place team on Sept. 1 and the Cincinnati Reds were playing the first game of the 1973 National League playoffs at Riverfront Stadium.

Tom Seaver, the league's best pitcher who had been nursing a "tired" arm for almost one month, was opposed by the Reds' Jack Billingham, who had been ill the day before and told the press that he was probably dehydrated.

We've already seen some awesome pitching from the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2010 MLB playoffs. But will the Phils be able to display some equally clutch hitting as the postseason continues? Let's hope.

In the mean time, let's look back at the 10 biggest hits in Phillies' postseason history.

Keep in mind that the following rankings are not just based on the timeliness of the hit itself, but also on the relative magnitude of the game in which the performance came (basically, World Series hits count for extra).

Enjoy this trip through Phillies' history!

It isn't like they are baseball neophytes. They aren't a bunch of nobodies with no history. The baseball world at large may look at the Texas Rangers as a glorified Triple A team, never a threat, no great players, sub-par management.

And why not? After all, it did take the Rangers 38 years (49 if you count the time the franchise spent in Washington, DC) to win a postseason series.

Bobby Cox walked off the field for the final time Monday night after his Braves fell to the Giants in Game 4 of the NLDS.

Despite holding the record for most ejections by a Major League manager, few of Cox's counterparts have exhibited more class on the diamond.

Cox retires with 2,504 wins, good for fourth all-time in MLB history.  Under his guidance, the Braves reeled off a string of postseason appearances that has never been matched in professional sports.

Phillies’ ace RHP Roy Halladay thew a no-hitter in his FIRST ever playoff appearance, in the same season he threw a perfect game.

Doc cruised right through the Cincy lineup, whiffing eight batters and allowing only a fifth-inning walk as the only blemish on an otherwise perfect scorecard on his way to making baseball history.

The 1980's cannot be thirty years in the past already, can they?

Surely there's been some mistake; say it ain't so, Peter Ueberroth.  Please tell me Cheers and The Cosby Show are still atop the ratings, Bruce Springsteen is still The Boss, and Major League Baseball still has 26 teams, four divisions, no interleague play and no wild card.  Or if you can't say all that, at least pretend for the sake of argument.

Phillip Joseph Hughes, better known simply as Phil Hughes, has had a very tumultuous career thus far and has hurdled many challenges on his way to his postseason starting debut tonight in the Bronx.

In high school, Hughes was a first team All-American pitcher, while posting a combined 21-1 record between his junior and senior years, including a perfect game.

Three of this year's division series seem all but over. 

The Yankees, Phillies, and Rangers lead their best of five division series by two games to none.  Only a late inning rally by the Atlanta Braves prevented all four baseball series from being two games to none affairs and feeling all but over.

Baseball has been playing five game series since 1969.  In that year baseball added four new teams and expanded each league to two divisions.