A big step

They are still talking about Phillippe Aumont ('08) and his great escape against the USA.

Two outs, 2-2 count, bases loaded with big-league stars. Phillippe Aumont had one pitch left. He had to make the most of it.

The Seattle Mariners had given Team Canada strict orders: Aumont, their top pitching prospect, was limited to one inning and 25 pitches per game in the World Baseball Classic. He had battled elbow problems last year, and they were taking no chances.

So here was Aumont, a six-foot-seven right-hander, getting set to throw his 25th pitch, with 43,000 fans on their feet at the Rogers Centre. Aumont fired a hard curve ball.

Curtis Granderson swung and missed. As Aumont pumped his fist and bounced off the mound, the crowd roared.

Ever wondered about the term wear it? Here it is in its proper context:

As Aumont’s pitch count soared, Team Canada manager Ernie Whitt huddled anxiously in the dugout with coach Greg Hamilton, who also runs Canada’s national baseball program.

Hamilton had accepted the Mariners’ conditions on Aumont’s participation in the WBC.

“I’m going, ‘What do you do?’ ” Whitt said. “I mean, what if (Granderson) fouls that pitch off, do I take the guy out or what? So I was in deep discussion with Greg Hamilton, and I said, ‘You know, you’re going have to wear this with Seattle if he has to throw an extra pitch.’

Well, he didn't have to wear it.