If you ever saw closer Brad Lidge pitch, you know he could be nasty.

Drafted by the Houston Astros and later traded to the Philadelphia Phillies, Lidge had an upper-90s fastball and a ridiculous slider that seemed to disappear as it crossed the plate.

In 2004, he set the National League record for strikeouts by a reliever with 157.

In 2008, Lidge was perfect.

Forty-eight save opportunities.

Forty-eight saves.

The final one came when he struck out the Rays’ Eric Hinske to clinch the World Series for Philly.

He was a bad dude.

But by 2012, it was over.

The cold reality of baseball.

The fastball loses its zip.

The injuries pile up.

Lidge retired at 35.

He wasn’t finished chasing history.

Would you believe archaeology?

Yep.

Brad Lidge became an archaeologist.

Lidge had been an ancient-history buff going back to his high school days.

As his baseball career wound down, he gave more and more thought to the subject, reading and watching videos before games.

And yes, Harrison Ford might have had a little something to do with it.

With a laugh, Lidge said:

“I’m a child of the ’80s, and anybody that told you they weren’t influenced by Indiana Jones in the field of archaeology was not super honest.”

In 2013, he joined an excavation team in Italy as a volunteer.

While digging, Lidge flipped over a clod of dirt.

Bang.

An ancient Roman coin.

“I was like, this is so cool.”

From a pitcher’s mound to a whole lot more dirt.

He was hooked.

Lidge earned his master’s degree in ancient Mediterranean archaeology from the University of Leicester in 2017.

He has spent much of the past decade returning to excavation sites across Italy.

He has worked at Poggio Civitate in Murlo, studying the Etruscans, an ancient civilization that lived in Italy before the Romans.

And he’s preparing to pursue a PhD focused on the Etruscan civilization.

Quite the unlikely journey.

Lidge admits archaeology will never match the drama of closing a game.

But there is still a rush.

“There’s a little bit of adrenaline that comes with pulling something out of the ground that’s kind of one-of-one and super unique—that you can only see at your site.”

What do his former teammates make of all this?

“Some will ask stuff because they’re kind of curious. And when I start explaining it, their eyes roll to the back of their head.”

Of course.

The final out of the 2008 World Series will always be the moment baseball remembers.

But nearly two decades later, Brad Lidge is still chasing the next discovery.

The uniform might be gone.

But the chase isn’t.

Baseball’s Indiana Jones.

Time for a new glove?

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P.S. Have a former player you’ve always wondered about?

Hit Reply and send me the name.

Let’s go find out.

Have a great weekend.

John Boxley
High N Tight