Phillies Announce 2016 Spring Training Guest Instructors

The Philadelphia Phillies have invited a group of former big leaguers to participate in spring training as guest instructors.

Continuing a decades-long tradition, the club has decided to bring in seven alumni during the course of 2016 spring training and the Grapefruit League season.

This year’s group will feature:

Mike Schmidt – the greatest player in Phillies franchise history and arguably the greatest all-around 3rd baseman to ever play the game, Schmitty appeared in parts of 18 seasons with the club from 1972-89. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995, and has been a guest hitting instructor at spring training with the Phils since 2002. The now 66-year old Schmidt also has coaching experience, having spent the 2004 season as manager of the Phillies’ High-A Clearwater club in the Florida State League. Schmidt, whose first-ever big league game was the subject of a pieceduring our Phillies History Month here at TBOH back in January, also serves as a television broadcaster with the club during regular season Sunday home games.

Charlie Manuel – the manager of the 2008 World Series championship team who guided the club to five consecutive NL East crowns from 2007-2011 turned 72 years old just last month. Manuel was the manager for parts of eight seasons from 2005-12, and currently serves as a senior advisor to new general manager Matt Klentak. He was previously both a hitting coach and manager with the Cleveland Indians. He has an overall career big league managerial record of 1000-826, with a 29-22 postseason record. As a player, Manuel appeared in parts of a half-dozen big league seasons, and another half-dozen in the Japanese professional league.

Jim Kaat – having turned 77 years old back in November, he pitched in parts of 25 big league seasons across parts of four decades.

Phillies Fall Classics VIII: 1993 World Series Game Five

It appeared as if the clock was about to strike midnight on the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies worst-to-first Cinderella season. 

After splitting the first two games in Toronto, the Blue Jays had won the next two games at Veteran’s Stadium to take a 3-1 stranglehold on the World Series.

In Game Three, the Jays’ powerful lineup had laid waste to the Phillies, demolishing them by a 10-3 final. 

But what happened in Game Four was even more debilitating to the Phils’ collective spirit.

After the Blue Jays scored three times in the top of the first off Tommy Greene, the Phillies bats decided that they were not going to let Toronto run away and hide again, answering with four of their own off Jays’ starter Todd Stottlemyre.

Through four innings, the Phillies led 8-7 in what was developing as a slugfest. Little did the fans that night at The Vet know, they hadn’t seen anything yet. 

Over the next three innings, the Phils powered their way to a 6-2 advantage, taking an overall lead of 14-9 on the scoreboard.

Up by five runs going to the top of the 8th inning, the Phillies were just six outs away from tying the World Series at 2-2. 

And then the Blue Jays’ bats, silent for most of the previous four innings, finally awoke, and with a vengeance.

Toronto scored six times in that top of the 8th to re-take the lead at 15-14. Just as suddenly, perhaps demoralized by the unrelenting pressure, the Phillies’ bats went silent and scoreless. 

ESPN would rank this 9th on their “10 Greatest World Series Games” list.