History shows that the Yankees defeated the Phillies in six games to win the 2009 World Series.
What history hasn't shown, until now at least, is that the Phillies were battling an outbreak of the swine flu that struck the team during the series.
That's according to Pedro Martinez, who finished up a Hall of Fame career pitching for Philadelphia in 2009.
Why wait until now to bring this story to light? Martinez had the opportunity Sunday talking to reporters after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch against the White Sox to celebrate the 10th anniversary of that team.
Martinez said "most" of the team became sick during that series.
“It wasn’t told, but most of us were sick,” Martinez said (via the Philadelphia Inquirer). “Some of the guys had swine flu and had to be kept away. I caught some of the virus. We would just never say it. When I got home, I realized that I was really sick.”
Martinez, who turned 38 three days before that series started, lost two games. He was respectable in Game 2, giving up three runs in six innings while striking out eight but he said he fell ill during Game 6 and gave up four runs in four innings.
“I had a little bit of an asthma attack in the middle of the game and I was having a hard time breathing,” Martinez said. “I was really sick. In any other situation, I wouldn’t be out there. But the team needed me. I held on as long as I could and I did that. I was really proud to have my last game with the Phillies at Yankee Stadium.”
Kudos to Martinez for sharing the unusual behind-the-scenes story, and for not using it as an excuse to boast about what might have been. Even if they had been at full strength, the Phillies were facing one of the best Yankees teams ever, loaded with past and present All-Stars like Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera, etc.