World Series Offers 2 Home Teams For Commissioner

Ask Pinellas County Commissioner Bob Stewart for a World Series scouting report and you likely will get more than you bargained for.

Not only can Stewart analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies, he can also name the Phillies starting lineup and pitching rotation from the Whiz Kids' 1950 World Series appearance, when they lost to the New York Yankees in four close games.

"The Phillies ran out of pitching and had to start the ace relief pitcher Jim Konstanty in the first game," Stewart recalled.

That enabled future Tampa resident and Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts to pitch the second game with his accustomed three days of rest. Konstanty lost, 1-0. Roberts lost, 2-1, when Joe DiMaggio hit a 10th-inning home run. And the Phillies would go without a World Series championship until 1980.

Stewart, who will throw out the ceremonial first pitch tonight, is one of many Tampa Bay residents for whom the 2008 World Series provides two home teams.

Some have relocated from the Northeast over the years, like Stewart, who came to Florida from Pennsylvania in the mid-1950s and earned bachelor's degrees from Rollins College and the University of Florida.

Others have become familiar with the Phillies because they have made Clearwater their spring training headquarters since 1947.

However, the Rays clearly are Stewart's favorites, as they have been since their 1998 inaugural season.

He proved that again after attending the Rays' Game 7 victory over the Boston Red Sox to win the American League pennant.

"I stayed a half-hour after the game to take in the celebrations," Stewart said. "I got home at 12:30 ... and thought there's no way I am going to sleep."

So Stewart called up the Bucs-Seahawks football game, which was played in Tampa at the same time as Game 7, on his DVR and watched until 3:30 a.m. to calm down.

It's been a long time since Stewart and his father would drive from their home in Shippensburg in central Pennsylvania to Harrisburg, where they would take the Pennsylvania Railroad to the North Philadelphia station and then walk to Shibe Park. Those trips began in about 1948 to see both the Phillies and Philadelphia A's.

"I've been through a lot of losing baseball seasons with these teams," Stewart said. "But this year it has all paid off for the team and the community."