"It's not as simple as you might think. It takes planning and style and no small amount of courage. It also requires form – especially form.

"The key," Hunter Pence said, a sly smirk forming at the corner of his mouth, "was the crow hop and the throw. That was perfect form."

These are important things to remember if you're suddenly overcome by the urge to whip off your shirt while walking down a fashion show runway – or, failing that, a city sidewalk. In the event that day comes, follow Pence's lead, and remember to put your weight behind the throw.

If you somehow missed Shane Victorino's Celebrity Fashion Show, you can find video and pictures on The700Level.com. It has to be an odd sensation, taking off your shirt in public with no sand under your feet or ocean in the immediate vicinity. Victorino suggested that Pence simply unzip the garment, but Pence was enjoying the moment and chose to push the preplanned gag even further.

"It was a good time," Pence said about hurling his shirt into the crowd. "I just wanted to have a little fun. I've never done a walkway/runway before. It was a little odd walking through the crowd with no shirt on and the ball girls there. But I'm not afraid to embarrass myself."

Except he didn't embarrass himself. Pence stood there half-naked, a wicked farmer's tan exposed for all to see and captured for posterity by sundry video cameras, and somehow made himself more endearing to the masses. His teammates laughed and the crowd laughed and he laughed, too.

Since the Phillies acquired him from the Houston Astros, plenty has been written about Pence and the ever-growing love affair between the outfielder and the city.

Yet, it remains a bit stunning how quickly and universally accepted he became around here. Philly, as we all know, can be a tough city, or at least a place that's often slow to throw its arms around outsiders (or even insiders). With Pence, a guy we've known for all of a month now, it's altogether different. He's been embraced by almost everyone in the area. If you've heard or said a bad word about him, you might be the only one.

At least in my lifetime, it's hard to think of anyone with a local approval rating as high as Pence's. Jim Thome comes to mind, but no matter who you add to the list, it's a short one in the end.

What other Philadelphia athlete, past or present, could have gotten away with performing a one-man Half-Monty? Who else could do something like that and escape almost any sort of criticism? Online and on the radio, the reviews of his stunt were largely glowing. Most were of the 'Oh, what a loveable scamp' variety. By contrast, Cole Hamels kept his shirt on at the fashion show and hammed it up for a laugh – only to be predictably panned by some of the mindless and merciless comments-section cretins that slither all over the internet.

"