MIAMI (AP) -Dan Uggla knows where his first game-ending home ball is going: He’s starting a personal trophy case.
The Florida Marlins second baseman hit a one-out grand slam into the left-field seats Wednesday night to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-2. The ball was given to him after the game by Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, and Uggla walked out of the ballpark holding it in his left hand.
Needing a place to store the souvenir, Uggla decided it’s time for an official home to his personal memorabilia.
“I guess this will be my first,” Uggla said Thursday.
Next up for Uggla, who had an influx of text messages and voicemails on his iPhone and e-mails from family and friends after the ninth-inning hit, is deciding where to actually put the case.
Uggla, in his third year with the Marlins and the majors, is putting together another All-Star caliber season. Uggla is second in the NL in home runs (19, a team-high), first in doubles (23) and leads the Marlins in batting (.298).
While some may think the reason behind Uggla’s season is related to this being an arbitration year for the slugger, he said that isn’t the case.
“Everything else will take care of itself,” Uggla said. “I don’t worry about that. I’m just going to do my thing.”
On Thursday, Uggla was out of the lineup for the Marlins because he has not fared well against Phillies starter Jamie Moyer. Since 2006, Uggla has gone 2-for-21 against the left-hander, and this year, he’s 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
Uggla had no qualms about manager Fredi Gonzalez’s decision to sit him. It gave him another night to revel in his feat; Uggla’s game-ending grand slam was the second one in Marlins’ history, joining only Bobby Bonilla’s on Sept. 16, 1997, against Colorado.
“Obviously I want to play, but I know the situation,” Uggla said. “Moyer has kind of had my number for a while now. That’s the way it is. I don’t disagree with it at all.”
Gonzalez said the decision was planned days earlier because of the matchup.
“He had three Ks going into the game yesterday and he came up big for us,” Gonzalez said.
Uggla said having the night off would even allow him to savor Wednesday’s slam a bit longer.
“It’s just fun,” Uggla said, “since it was my first time to be able to do that.”
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