Hayes: Fittingly, Polanco retires as a Phillie

PLACIDO POLANCO retired Sunday as a Phillie. It shouldn't be the last time we hear from him.

Polanco always played in the shadow of bigger names - Jim Thome, Pat Burrell, Bobby Abreu, Cole Hamels, Billy Wagner, Roy Halladay - but he belonged with them. He should be remembered as a hard-nosed Phillie with deep connections to the four hardest-nosed Phillies to play for the franchise in the past 20 years: Scott Rolen, Chase Utley, Thome and Carlos Ruiz.

Polanco came to Philadelphia in 2002 and turned out to be the most valuable piece in the deadline deal that sent Rolen to the Cardinals. Polanco's defensive skills at second and third base and his skill as a low-strikeout, high-average hitter made him a cornerstone of the Phillies' steady climb toward relevance in the National League East.

Polanco wore his familiar No. 27 when he threw out the first pitch Sunday and, at 40, three years removed from his last big-league game, he looked fit enough to pinch-hit against the visiting Rockies. Pinch-hitting was just one of the skills he mastered in his 16 seasons: He was a .273 pinch-hitter in 110 plate appearances.

That's comparable to Chase Utley's numbers as an off-day weapon (.286), a cozy coincidence, since Utley is the player to whom Polanco is most closely associated. Polanco's presence at second base (and David Bell's at third) kept Utley, a first-round pick and a star in the minors, from becoming an everyday player until June 2005, when the Phillies traded Polanco to the Tigers. Polanco warranted playing time - he became a two-time All-Star and won three Gold Glove awards - but Utley's ability was transcendent. Polanco knew that Utley, combined with Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins and Hamels, would turn the Phillies into a force in the National League.

"It was just a matter of time before they put everything together," said Polanco, who celebrated from afar when the Phillies won the 2008 World Series.

So did Thome, who was traded after the 2005 season. Thome and Polanco became good friends when Thome signed as a free agent in 2003. How good?

"Jim Thome hitting that 400th home run - right after the game, he signed his shoes and put them in my locker. What a great teammate!" Polanco said, flashing his bright, wide smile. "I still have those shoes."

Polanco proved to be a generous teammate, too, with a soft spot for hardscrabble players like himself. Polanco played mostly at second and third base but he hit the majors as part of the pipeline of shortstops from the Dominican Republic. He worked tirelessly to become an elite all-around infielder and warmed to players who, like himself, had to adjust to make it big. He saw such a player in Ruiz, a stocky second baseman from Panama whom the Phillies were converting to play catcher.

"I know how hard 'Chooch' had to work, because I had to do it," said Polanco, who met Ruiz during an injury-rehab assignment in Reading in 2004. "Chooch was a backup catcher in Double A. I gave him a couple of bats."

With that weaponry Ruiz wound up hitting .284 with 17 homers in 2004, which changed his profile in the Phillies' organization. Ruiz, 37, still is with the Phillies. He caught Polanco's first pitch Sunday.

Polanco had staying power, too. He went to his first All-Star Game in 2007 as a Tiger, when he won his first Gold Glove award . . . as a 31-year-old second baseman. He won another Gold Glove at second base in 2009. He returned to the Phillies in 2010 to play third base, part of an offseason upgrade that included the addition of Halladay, one of a boatload of great players with whom Polanco shared a clubhouse and the one whose sense of "The Moment" impressed Polanco the most. Polanco said the most significant moments of his second tenure with the Phillies are Halladay's perfection against the Marlins in May 2010, then Doc silencing the thunderous Reds later that season in his playoff debut:

"Roy Halladay pitching a perfect game, then a no-hitter in the playoffs," Polanco said.

Knee and elbow injuries dogged Polanco in 2010, but despite them he led the league with a .325 average in mid-August. The elbow kept Polanco out of the perfect game, benched him for the no-hitter and required surgery in the offseason, but in 2011 he was back at it.

Polanco hit .398 in April of 2011 and was at .320 through early June, which helped send him to his third All-Star Game. He could not play because of a back injury. Still, he also won his third Gold Glove award in 2011, which made him the only player in baseball history to win Gold Glove awards at both second and third base.

In May the next year he recorded his most memorable personal moment at Citizens Bank Park:

"Hitting my 2,000th with a home run here at home," Polanco said.

All of those moments paled by comparison to his 35th birthday present.

"In Cincinnati, 10/10/10; my birthday is October 10th, and that's when we clinched (the NLDS) against Cincinnati . . . a great game by Cole Hamels," Polanco said, dripping modesty.

Yes, Hamels pitched a five-hit shutout in the 2-0 win, but Polanco singled and scored in the first inning. That proved to be the winning run in the last postseason series win of the Phillies' Golden Era.

Polanco lives in Miami, where he attended Miami-Dade Community College and where he ended his career in 2013 with the Marlins. When his children are older, he said, he might like to return to baseball as a coach or manager. His qualifications are remarkable: a .297 hitter over 16 seasons; a masterful infielder; a terrific, intelligent baserunner. He is a multicultural, multilingual, workaholic All-Star in two leagues. He played with superstars such as Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Giancarlo Stanton and Justin Verlander, and he played under big-name managers Tony La Russa, Larry Bowa, Jim Leyland and, of course, Charlie Manuel.

Polanco approves of the Phillies' choice of Pete Mackanin to manage the current roster, which is full of developing players with promise who require patience and a firm hand. Polanco got to know him when Mackanin was the Phillies' bench coach from 2009-12.

Before Polanco becomes a coach or manager, his next stop should be the Phillies' Wall of Fame. He hit .289 in 688 games over seven seasons, the most time he spent with any team. He played brilliant defense at two infield positions in two stints. He played hard, played hurt and he played on winners.

Maybe in three years Polanco will be back at the Bank, wearing the same No. 27, accepting his plaque.