Its not as simple as you might think. It takes planning and style and no small amount of courage. It also requires formespecially form.
The key, Hunter Pence said, a sly smirk forming at the corner of his mouth, was the crow hop and the throw. That was perfect form.
These are important things to remember if youre suddenly overcome by the urge to whip off your shirt while walking down a fashion show runwayor, failing that, a city sidewalk. In the event that day comes, follow Pences lead, and remember to put your weight behind the throw.
If you somehow missed Shane Victorinos Celebrity Fashion Show, you can find video and pictures on The700Level.com. It has to be an odd sensation, taking off your shirt in public with no sand under your feet or ocean in the immediate vicinity. Victorino suggested that Pence simply unzip the garment, but Pence was enjoying the moment and chose to push the preplanned gag even further.
It was a good time, Pence said about hurling his shirt into the crowd. I just wanted to have a little fun. Ive never done a walkwayrunway before. It was a little odd walking through the crowd with no shirt on and the ball girls there. But Im not afraid to embarrass myself.
Except he didnt embarrass himself. Pence stood there half-naked, a wicked farmers tan exposed for all to see and captured for posterity by sundry video cameras, and somehow made himself more endearing to the masses. His teammates laughed and the crowd laughed and he laughed, too.
Since the Phillies acquired him from the Houston Astros, plenty has been written about Pence and the ever-growing love affair between the outfielder and the city.
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Yet, it remains a bit stunning how quickly and universally accepted he became around here. Philly, as we all know, can be a tough city, or at least a place thats often slow to throw its arms around outsiders (or even insiders). With Pence, a guy weve known for all of a month now, its altogether different. Hes been embraced by almost everyone in the area. If youve heard or said a bad word about him, you might be the only one.
At least in my lifetime, its hard to think of anyone with a local approval rating as high as Pences. Jim Thome comes to mind, but no matter who you add to the list, its a short one in the end.
What other Philadelphia athlete, past or present, could have gotten away with performing a one-man Half-Monty? Who else could do something like that and escape almost any sort of criticism? Online and on the radio, the reviews of his stunt were largely glowing. Most were of the Oh, what a loveable scamp variety. By contrast, Cole Hamels kept his shirt on at the fashion show and hammed it up for a laughonly to be predictably panned by some of the mindless and merciless comments-section cretins that slither all over the internet.
Some guys cant win, others cant lose. Its not hard to figure which one Pence is these days.
It doesnt hurt his image, of course, that Pence reportedly attended the event with a Playboy Playmate. Add the oversized personality and lifestyle to his on-field anticsa hyper, high-energy style that Philly tends to loveand its remarkable Pence can leave the stadium each night without being mauled by slobbering fanboys and swooning women.
His Good game, lets go eat line was quickly adopted by the natives as a favorite catchphrase. And the crowd at Citizens Bank Park is already replete with fans that rock his jersey with pride. Some people even copy his chief sartorial signature. Aaron, a co-worker of mine, came back from a Phils game recently and showed me a picture. In it, Aaron is wearing a shirt and shortsand impossibly high red socks. When I asked Aaron about it, he blathered something complimentary about Pence that took a long while to finish and, from what I recall, included the phrases so awesome and totally awesome. This is a grown man (physically, at least, if not mentally).
I feel very welcome, Pence told CSNPhilly.com not long ago. I feel like Philly is a good city that my personality fits in good with. I like the city's mentalitybring your lunchbox to work and lets get after it. I feed off of it.I feel really comfortable with who I am here on this team and in this city.
Hes comfortable. His teammates are comfortable. The fans are comfortable, too. Anyway, good strip-tease. Lets go eat.
E-mail John Gonzalez at jgonzalez@comcastsportsnet.com.