Hunter Pence Apologizes For His Play In Right Field
By Spike Eskin
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Before Hunter Pence became the hero of Tuesday afternoon's game against the Astros with a walk-off home run in the 10th inning, he was one of the goats. Pence misplayed a ball in right field, contributing to the Houston rally that sent the game into extra innings. Defense has been a bit of an adventure for Pence of late, and he knows it.
"I can't really explain it, other than a debacle. It's just been bad," Pence told 94WIP's Angelo Cataldi and The WIP Morning Show. "It's just one of those things, it happens. You can't explain it at all. I just have to slow down and play my game. I'm going to make some good plays in the outifeld," he said. "It's been a debacle, I'm sorry about that Philly."
Like Tuesday's game turned around, the Phillies season has started to turn around as well; they've won four straight games for the first time this year. "The thing is to just keep going, keep going. If you look at it like last year, the teams that made the playoffs came out nowhere, some teams at the end there. And that's really the way it is. It's not how you start," Pence said. "I think dealing with this adversity is really going to make us a lot tougher as a team. What really matters is how you handle that adversity at the end of the season."
Pence said Charlie Manuel's talk to the team has really been a factor. "Charlie's speech, everyone kind of looked in the mirror, and come back, and if one guy doesn't get the job done, somebody picks him up," he said.
Pence also spoke about the "Let's Go Eat Food & Fun Fest," an event featuring food and entertainment, taking place May 31st in Philadelphia. The eventbenefits the Make-A Wish Foundation, Philabundance and Phillies Charities. He also issued a bit of a challenge; "There's going to be ping-pong, a game that I really love, and everyone seems to be the greatest at, so we're going to see at this event," he said. "Ultimately we're going to raise some money for some charities that I really love. I finally get to be a part of the community in Philly. This is the first time I've put on an event like this, and let me tell you, it's one of the most rewarding things, to help out."
You can get more information on tickets to the event at this location.
