Matt Stairs was gearing up for retirement when another opportunity to step to plate came around.
Stairs, who will forever live in Phillies lore for his mighty blast to win Game 4 of the 2008 NLCS, is playing his 18th Major League season in San Diego.
The 42-year-old was as recognizable for his beer belly as he was for his home runs while he made 11 stops around baseball. But, he looks a little bit different on team No. 12.
Stairs slimmed down 37 pounds in just three months during the offseason. He is so much thinner now that people barely recognize the slugger including his own family.
“My daughter didn’t recognize me,” Stairs said. “I’m a totally different person.”
The lefty slugger credits Hatboro, Pa.-based Nutrisystem for helping him shed the belly.
Stairs started the diet program following last season after talking about with a few people including Phillies skipper and Nutrisystem weight-loss spokesman Charlie Manuel.
“It’s very easy,” Stairs said. “The diet was nothing.”
Sports
In partnership with NBC Sports Philadelphia
Stairs even gets to eat some favorite dishes including the Swedish-style meatballs and lasagna while keeping his weight in check.
Stairs, who wasn’t brought back by the Phillies after a disappointing second half in 2009, was ready to retire to his home in Maine. He spent the winter playing hockey and keeping to his diet in hopes that maybe one last opportunity would come along.
That phone call came from the Padres who were in need of a lefty pinch-hitter. The craziest part for Stairs was that he had actually lost too much of his beer belly in the offseason and he actually had to pack back on a few pounds to get his swing back.
Even though he has moved on, Stairs remains grateful to have played in the World Series with the Phillies.
“After 20 years I finally got one,” Stairs said about winning a ring with the 2008 Phils.
And he also still feels plenty of love from Philly fans, he said. He is looking forward to making the trip back to his old stomping grounds at Citizens Bank Park when the Padres come to town in late August.
In the meantime he is part of a Padres team right in the thick of the NL West race.
Stairs, who is the second oldest active position player in baseball, serves as a father figure type or at worst an older brother character to a very young Padres team.
“Sometimes I get ‘hey sir,’” joked Stairs. It has to help young players to have Stairs around, and it helps the team to have him on the bench “in case of emergency.”
Besides the Nutrisystem plan Stairs credits his attitude for helping him stick around in baseball.
“You have to take something positive,” Stairs said about any situation.
You would think that at 42 years old Stairs would be ready to slow down but he is feeling more energetic than ever thanks to losing some of the beer gut that made him a normal guy hero.
But that doesn’t mean Stairs plans to play as long as former teammate, 47-year-old Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer, stuck around. He is just happy to be around now even if there is less of him for fans to love.
