Until last night, of course. Lidge closed out Game 5 and gave the Phillies their second title, the first since Schmidt hugged Tug at the mound in 1980 and prompted "We Win" on a back page.
"To be mentioned in the same sentence as him is pretty special," Lidge said. Yes, he knew he knelt where Tug's essence lay: "It's an amazing thing."
McGraw not only helped the Phillies surge to that 1980 Series win, he remained a part of Phillies legend and lore; eloquent, affable, clever unto his death, in 2004, of brain cancer. He helped close the Vet, but he never saw the Bank.
Surely, last night, Tug was somewhere, watching, his eyes twinkling, a glib comment poised.
"I imagine he's saying, 'I jumped a lot higher,' " said David Montgomery, now the Phillies' president, then the team's sales director, and ever the pragmatist:
"Tug had a great year in '80. But he didn't have Brad Lidge's year."
No one has, really.
Lidge saved his 48th game in 48 chances last night. Closers have been perfect before, but never perfect through a championship year.
Remember, Lidge was a reclamation project, a huge gamble for the franchise and Pat Gillick, its exiting general manager, who traded three prospects to Houston for Lidge and Eric Bruntlett.
Lidge was, in effect, the starter the Phillies wouldn't, or couldn't, add: Brett Myers would have been the closer but moved back to the rotation. Flash Gordon was considered worn enough to manage only a supporting role in the bullpen.
"Brett deserves a lot of credit for this," Montgomery said.
Not as much as Lidge, or Gillick – who allowed that he couldn't foresee such a thing as perfection.
"I didn't think anyone would be that good," Gillick said.
