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Never heard of Joe Beimel? You aren’t alone. Only baseball diehards really knew the name going into the 2008 season. The 30-year-old had languished in the minors for several seasons, spending five whole years with Philadelphia’s Triple A franchise.
Beimel earned a cup of coffee with the Big Club at the tail end of the 2007 campaign, and his performance then (4-2 record, 3.40 ERA) made him a prime candidate to take Zarzour’s spot in the rotation after the injury the following spring. Beimel made the most of it, moving from a No. 5 spot starter type into truly the team’s ace for 2008.
Beimel became almost a cult hero, posting an amazing 18-3 overall record, with an ERA of 3.30. Though he didn’t win the honor, he got a few Cy Young votes. He wasn’t that flashy or overpowering, he was just gutty and found ways to help the Phillies win. “I’ve waited for this my whole life,” Beimel said. “I knew once I got the opportunity to really prove myself up here, I could have a season like this. I just hope I haven’t expended so much of my arm this season that I won’t have anything left for future years…”
With Beimel and 2007 Cy Young winner Josh Johnson (14 wins) commanding the pitching staff and hitters like 1B Francisco Ramirez (.357 average, 49 HR’s, 163 RBI‘s), 3B Jorge Cantu (.345, 48 HR’s, 158 RBI’s) and CF Hunter Pence (..325, 31 HR’s, 94 RBI’s) pounding the ball all over the place, the Phillies won a whopping 104 games in 2008. They crushed everyone in the National League East and looked like the odds-on favorite to not only make the World Series but win it all (finally!).
But, Beimel, Johnson and the Phils never made it out of the divisional round of the playoffs. The wildcard Reds knocked them off in four games, before eventually losing to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the World Series. (Yes, the Rays are quite good in Zarzour’s world, as are the Reds).
Zarzour felt even more sick after this. He rejoiced at Beimel’s great season and that his team had performed so well overall. But what if he had been able to come back from his injury in time for the playoffs? Maybe his veteran leadership and arm could have gotten the Phillies through the tricky divisional round? Maybe not, considering other injuries hit the team late in the year, including a very costly one to starting catcher Ramon Orellana. But Zarzour had a tough time getting over how the Phillies’ season ended, especially as the fans howled about the underachieving nature of the club.
Zarzour pledged to once again re-double his efforts and help the Phils reach the World Series -- and win it -- in 2009. But behind closed doors, team doctors were wondering if the 7-foot-1 left-hander would ever get back to the form he had before his injury. Some doubted it. This particular injury wasn’t the kind that players recovered easily from. No one told Zarzour this of course…
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