America Is Having a Love Affair With Hunter Pence


Barf. Read ahead at your own risk.

As if October isn’t crappy enough right now *looks at NHL and the Eagles* Phillies fans had to watch the hated Cardinals beat the hated Braves in a one-game playoff. Then, we had to watch the hated Cardinals (thankfully) beat the hated Nationals before falling to the hated Giants in dramatic fashion. Now, Hunter Pence and his triple-hit, three-run knock is becoming a part of baseball history. On Wednesday, the paper of record heralded Pence—the guy who was (whoops) supposed to be “The Next Great Phillie”—as the spark that ignited the San Francisco Giants.

Outfielder Hunter Pence is the human defibrillator that shocked the World Series-bound Giants back to life with his motivational speeches in their division series victory against the Cincinnati Reds and with his bat in Monday’s decisive game of the National League Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. [New York Times]