Former Phillies closer Brad Lidge teams with Spector Sports for 2008 World Series baseball card
Sixteen years ago, Brad Lidge and the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies celebrated the franchise's second-ever World Series title with a parade down Broad Street. Fans and baseball card collectors can soon get a limited-edition card commemorating the final out.
Lidge and artist Jordan Spector teamed up for a "Lights Out" Immortals collectible trading card, available for pre-order now.
Each purchase comes with a holographic embossed 4x6 Immortals V1 box, one card case, and one limited-edition "Lights Out" collectible. It also comes with one certificate of authenticity and an authentication token.
"It's for the fans that can have kind of a piece they can hold from 2008," Lidge said.
On an upcoming episode of "Gallen of Questions," Lidge tells CBS News Philadelphia's Pat Gallen numbers played a factor in the collection. The former Phillies closer said there are 2008 cards in total, and he signed 54 of them (his jersey number). Former Phils catcher Carlos Ruiz signed some cards, as did Spector.
The trading cards have incorporated some game-used baseballs from the 2008 postseason, including the final ball from Game 5 of the National League Championship Series when the Phillies won the pennant over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Lidge has a collection of baseballs from games he finished in 2008 when he went a combined 48 for 48. After each game he closed out, he would get the ball from either Ruiz or whichever teammate recorded the final out. He gave Spector some of the balls for the Immortals project.
According to Spector Sports Art, Immortals trading cards "offer a redefined perspective on remarkable individuals who have undeniably shaped our sports world."
Some cards include Lidge on his knees celebrating the final out of the 2008 World Series.
Lidge breaks down the final out of the 2008 World Series
It's a pitch forever engrained in Phillies fans' memories: an 0-2 slider down and away to Eric Hinske, swung at and missed. A legendary call from Harry Kalas ensued, and a few days later, Lidge said the "biggest party ever" had paraded down Broad Street.
This week marks 16 years since the championship and the parade. On this week's "Gallen of Questions" episode, Lidge watches the final out and breaks it down for fans.
The video begins with Lidge looking in at Ruiz, comes set and delivers the deciding slider, but you don't see Ruiz give the closer a signal. Here's why.
"If you look at Carlos Ruiz right now, he's not putting down any fingers," Lidge said. "Because before Hinske came up, when we had a meeting on the mound, [pitching coach Rich] Dubee came out, and we were like, 'What have you done before?' I said, 'I faced him one time, and we quaffled a fastball off the wall on me.' So, no reason to throw any fastballs here."
Lidge recalled Ruiz saying they'll go with sliders and that he wouldn't put any fingers down.
"I had a good slider that day, and I knew he was the right guy to throw it to," Lidge said. "But obviously, you have to execute. Here, you got 0-2. You're ahead in the count. I'm thinking, you have a chance of putting him away, that one right there.
"Once I felt that grip, I knew it was going to be the pitch. When I threw it … it's still like this crazy feeling where I'm down on my knees, and I think I said, 'Oh my God, we just won the World Series.' I really don't know what I said, but in my mind, that's what I was saying. Then I looked up, and I looked at the fans. And all of a sudden, before I knew it, I was on my back underneath Ryan Howard. Twenty-plus dudes, 200-plus pounds jumping on top, and I was still screaming for joy."
"Gallen of Questions" airs on Saturday nights on PHILLY57 and on-demand on CBS News Philadelphia's YouTube channel.
