For Myerstown son Shenk, story gets a happy ending By JEFFREY FALK Daily News Sportswriter Lebanon Daily News Forget the party, the gold watch or the commemorative plaque. All Larry Shenk wanted for a retirement present was a trip to the playoffs. A couple of players said that to me, that this is great for you, Shenk said.
But I m more excited for others. I hadn t focused on it (during the season). But it would be nice to go out this way.
I ve been in the postseason before but never had one here (at Citizens Bank Park). It s great for the fans, he continued. They re dying for a Advertisement winner here, and they ve really supported us.
It s really great for the city. Ironically, the Phillies qualified for the playoffs thanks in part to a September collapse by the New York Mets that was reminiscent of Philadelphia s infamous faltering in 1964 Shenk s first year with the club. For Shenk, what went around, came around.
It s been a unique year, he said. It s been like a roller coaster, a pogo stick, a yo-yo. But they never quit.
This team had a slew of injuries and just bounced back. And Charlie (Manuel, the manager) did a heck of a job. We kept battling, he added, and we got some help.
When the momentum gets going, it s hard to stop. The whole thing down the stretch was you have to win. You can t look at the scoreboard.
You have to take care of your own business. The Phillies have certainly benefited from the seemingly coordinated maturations of emerging superstars Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard and near-career years from Aaron Rowand and Pat Burrell. There were also those who said Philadelphia didn t possess enough pitching to reach this postseason.
Those three, if they don t get hurt, are going to be our greatest players of all time at their positions, Shenk said of infielders Rollins, Utley and Howard. They did sort of come of age together. They identified this as being their team, and they took charge.
Jimmy was just unbelievable down the stretch. The game today is played in the bullpen, Shenk said, and we were strong there. The starters were consistent, and we only had one guy Jamie Moyer who didn t get hurt.
Charlie never panicked. He always stayed positive. He was very upbeat all the time, and it carried over.
This year marks the eighth time in Shenk s tenure 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983 and 1993 being the others that the Phillies made it to the postseason. Most of those teams were led by the hitting of Mike Schmidt and the pitching of Steve Carlton, both Hall of Famers. We don t have a Steve Carlton on this team, Shenk explained.
And the (World Series winning) 1980 team could catch the ball. But this team has more power and more speed. The postseason is a very hectic time in our end of the business, he continued.
I m not doing the work I did before. I m micromanaging and overseeing. But at the beginning of the year, knowing this was going to be my last, I wanted to enjoy it.
There will come a day for Shenk when all he has left from baseball is the memories. And nothing creates memories like the playoffs. The playoffs are the most memorable things because they re the most joyous times, said Shenk, who will serve the Phillies in an advisory role next year.
There s lots of memories from over 40 years, but you re here to win. Nothing will top the 80 (championship) parade. But hopefully there ll be another one.
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