"Not Much More I Can Ask For" Jean Segura Says About Storybook Moment

Philadelphia Phillies veteran Jean Segura had the biggest little hit of his career Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals. It couldn't have come at a better time.

Jean Segura played 1,328 games before his first postseason contest against the St. Louis Cardinals. It's a tired narrative now, everybody knows that Segura had played the most games of all active MLB players without a postseason appearance before Friday.

Despite that, Segura looked as if he was a veteran of over 100 postseason contests in his first appearance. His slick turn on a sixth inning double play helped keep the Philadelphia Phillies in the game, playing solid defense and biding his chances for a big hit.

It couldn't have come at a more opportune time.

In the ninth inning, the Phillies loaded the bases with one out down one run. Naturally it was Segura's time to shine. Basking in the shadows of Busch Stadium, it wasn't an easy look on Cardinals' reliever Adrian Pallante.

Segura worked himself into a 2-2 count, taking a big cut and a miss on Pallante's fastball for strike two, then came the slider.

Hanging about half a foot outside, and mere inches off the dirt, Segura rolled one past a drawn-in infield for the biggest little hit of his career.

Segura said about his hit:

"It's a lot of adrenaline in my body. Just like when you give a little kid a toy and just jumping around and happiness. Like I mean, just it's such a great feeling when you go through and the situation like that, especially in the postseason. That's why you play the game."

The hit was only 87.2 mph off the bat, but it was just enough. Segura said, "I just really [was] trying to put the ball in play and play the game."

It's natural to expect any big leaguer, except Matt Stairs, to say they were just trying to put the ball in play, but few mean it like Segura. For his career he sports a strikeout-rate of 13.9%.

While that might have been gaudy 50 years ago, today he is one of the best hitters at avoiding the strikeout. Among all MLB players, Segura boasts a K% better than 88-percent of all players.

For someone who had never experienced the thrills of a baseball postseason, Segura couldn't have gotten a better taste of what it's like to play on baseball's biggest stage.

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