Bobby Abreu thanks Phillies fans and organization in Wall of Fame speech

Embed from Getty Images

Dan Baker was emcee as Phillies honored Bobby Abreu

The Philadelphia Phillies made 1997-2006 outfielder Bobby Abreu the 41st honoree on the franchise Wall of Fame in a ceremony prior to Saturday night’s game with the Chicago White Sox at Citizens Bank Park.

An introductory speech from his 2001-04 manager, fellow Wall of Famer Larry Bowa, was followed by the plaque honoring Abreu being unveiled by his 2000-06 teammate and another fellow Phillies Wall of Famer, Jimmy Rollins.

Abreu then stepped to the microphone himself: “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.”

He then paused, clearly overcome by the emotion of the moment.

As the crowd roared their support, he went on: “I want to thank all of you for being here. Thank you, God, for this great moment. I want to thank my family, the front office, the media, my teammates, my coaching staff, my people in Venezuela, and you, the fans.”

For the full ceremony, and the full speech delivered by Abreu, enjoy the below video:

Phillies Nation@PhilliesNation

Enjoy the entire Bobby Abreu Wall of Ceremony:https://www.pscp.tv/w/cBYPlTY4MTg4NHwxZGpHWHBsQWtFZUdacoAu71AiHbIATUUSupprh-oUjckMvADPedqu-V9SZvA=?t=13s …

Phillies @Phillies

Celebrate @Toyota Bobby Abreu Wall of Fame Night with us LIVE from CBP!

pscp.tv

10

7:27 PM - Aug 3, 2019

Twitter Ads info and privacy

See Phillies Nation's other Tweets

Originally published at Phillies Nation as "Bobby Abreu: Full Phillies Wall of Fame ceremony"

Jimmy Rollins officially retires as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies

Embed from Getty Images

JRoll officially retires as a member of the Phillies

Prior to Saturday night’s big division rivalry game with the Washington Nationals, the host Philadelphia Phillies will hold a ceremony to honor long time shortstop Jimmy Rollins on the occasion of his official retirement from Major League Baseball.

Rollins, who turned 40 years of age back in November, played with the Phillies for the first 15 of his 17-year career in the big-leagues.

Born in Oakland, California, Rollins was the Phillies 2nd round pick in the 1996 MLB Draft out of Encinal High School in Alameda, California.

After getting his feet wet with the Rookie-level Martinsville club in the Appalachian League during that first pro summer of 1996, Rollins developed into an all-around offensive threat who could field the shortstop position brilliantly.

Over the 1997-99 seasons, he collected 110 extra-base hits and stole 94 bases. Spending most of the 2000 season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Rollins hit .274 with 51 extra-base hits and 24 steals, earning his first big-league promotion for a 14-game cup of coffee with the Phillies that September.

His first appearance in a Phillies uniform in an official MLB game came on Sunday afternoon September 17, 2000 at Veteran’s Stadium. That day he hit second in manager Terry Francona‘s lineup and provided an immediate spark. Rollins delivered two hits including a triple, drew a walk, stole his first base, and scored twice to contribute towards a 6-5 win.

Rollins started in the leadoff spot for the first time the very next day at The Vet against the Pittsburgh Pirates. he again delivered two hits and also recorded the first RBI of his career with a base hit in the bottom of the 6th inning to score Tom Prince.

He would play in 14 games that first month, 11 of those as the starter at shortstop. Seven times he produced a multi-hit game, setting himself up as the starter at the position to open the 2001 season.

Under new manager Larry Bowa, the Phillies began emerging for the first time in years as a contender, and Rollins was a primary reason. On May 2, 2001 at Veteran’s Stadium, Rollins led off the bottom of the 4th inning against Colorado Rockies starter Brian Bohanon and blasted the first home run of his career.

These were just the first milestone moments of what would become one of the most storied careers in the history of the franchise. By the time it was all over, Rollins had become the franchise all-time Hit King with 2,306 hits for the Phillies.

Bryce Harper scheduled to see first game action next weekend

Bryce Harper during first Phillies practice

The signing has been made official. The press conference has been held in the gorgeous and warm Florida sunshine. Phillies Nation has now seen their new superstar right fielder, Bryce Harper, don the Phillies red pinstripes and cap.

The fans watched with adoring eyes and listened with melting hearts as he extolled the values of family and community and dedication to the organization that he feels for and from Phillies ownership and management. The very values that were so important to him and his wife, Kayla, in picking Philadelphia as city to both play for and in which to raise a family.

The fans are flooding the phone lines down at Citizens Bank Park to order game tickets at a rate in the tens of thousands daily. They streamed in to the Majestic Clubhouse store in South Philly and waited in line by the hundreds to be the first to purchase Harper merchandise: jerseys, shirseys, caps, t-shirts.

Now the sense of excitement is beginning to transform to the ball field. Today for the first time, Bryce Harper strode from the clubhouse at Spectrum Field and walked out into that Florida sunshine to take part in his first practice with his new teammates.

Harper stretched and did sprints. He played catch. He chatted up beloved old-timers Larry Bowa and Charlie Manuel. And he stepped into the cage to take his first hacks with that powerful left-handed bat, the first of tens of thousands that he hopes to take over the next 13 years with the Phillies.

What the fans are waiting for now is to see their new hero step up to the plate in that Phillies uniform in an official game. To see him trot out to man his position in right field. They cannot wait to see him play in Grapefruit League action. But they are apparently going to have to wait just a little bit longer for that event.

Harper told the media following today’s practice session that he hopes to get roughly 40-45 in-game at-bats prior to the start of the regular season on March 28. Towards that end, the Phillies are going to ease him in by letting him face live pitching on the back fields in Clearwater during this coming week.

Matt Gelb

✔@MattGelb

Bryce Harper said he hasn’t seen live pitching yet. He’s been working out and hitting BP from his dad in Vegas. Seems like Phillies will attempt to get him as many looks at live pitching this week, probably on back fields.

221

11:46 AM - Mar 3, 2019

Twitter Ads info and privacy

34 people are talking about this

The Phillies are almost certainly going to want him to make his debut in front of the home fans in Clearwater. So, when might that debut actually occur? You can rule out Harper playing in Tuesday’s game against the Saint Louis Cardinals. There is a split-squad game on Thursday against the Yankees, but that is not likely either.

Philography: Mike Schmidt

Embed from Getty Images

Michael Jack Schmidt, the greatest player in Phillies history

This Philography series has now weaved its way through 20 individuals who have played a big part in the history of the Philadelphia Phillies franchise. So it is perhaps fitting that we now take a look back at the career of #20 himself, the greatest player in franchise history, Mike Schmidt.

Philography began with 18 pieces that I wrote during each off-season between 2014-17. Over the last few months I re-introduced the series here at Phillies Nation with two of the players whose actual uniform numbers the Phillies have retired: Richie Ashburn and Jim Bunning.

Entire books can be written – have been written – in order to fully tell the story of one of the greatest players in the history of Major League Baseball. I’m not going to try to do that here. If you are interested in getting in deeper, check out a fine biography at this link written back in 2010 by Rob Maaddi titled Mike Schmidt: The Phillies’ Legendary Slugger.

In order to keep this to a reasonable article-length piece, I will simply rehash the early playing career, and then key on the 1980 highlights of the greatest third baseman in the history of the game, with a little background tossed in here and there. It should make for a great introduction for younger fans, and a fun bit of nostalgia for those who, like me, actually got to see him play.

BEGINNINGS

Schmidt was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio and stayed home to play college baseball at Ohio University. He was a shortstop in those days and was selected at that position to the 1970 College Baseball All-America Team after leading the Bobcats to the College World Series.

With the sixth pick in the second round of the 1971 MLB Amateur Draft, the Phillies selected Schmidt at 30th overall. That was just one pick after the Kansas City Royals had chosen a California shortstop by the name of George Brett.

Schmidt described his contract signing process in a 2015 piece by Matt Monagan for MLB.com’s Cut 4:

“The next day, Mr. Lucadello (Phillies scout Tony Lucadello) came to the house, pulled in the driveway, opened his trunk and he pulled out a typewriter. He pulled a typewriter out, walked in the house, set the typewriter down, had a piece of paper and said, “We’re prepared to offer Mike $25,000 if he’ll sign with the Phillies right now.” And my father said, “No way. Come back when you can give us $40,000.” We ended up settling on $37,500 and I went out and bought a Corvette for $7,000.”

As an advanced college prospect, Schmidt went straight to Double-A Reading that same summer. He appeared in his first 74 professional games there, hitting .211 with eight homers and 31 RBI over 268 plate appearances.

With a full off-season of rest, Schmidt moved up to Triple-A Eugene for the 1972 season and really showed his ability. He slashed .291/.409/.550 while slamming 26 home runs and driving in 91 runs over 131 games.

In January 1982 trade of light-hitting shortstops, the Phillies dealt away a future Hall of Famer

Embed from Getty Images

Sandberg was a 22-year-old prospect in January 1982

This latest installment of the “Phillies Hot Stove History” series was inspired by today’s 66th birthday celebration for Ivan DeJesus. While we may celebrate his birthday, few Phillies fans have ever celebrated the 1982 swap of shortstops that brought him to the team.

In short order this would prove to be one of the worst trades in franchise history. For younger fans who may have heard of the deal but not know how such a thing could happen, let’s take a quick look back at this key “hot stove” moment from the Phillies past.

As always, a little perspective is required to set the stage. At the time of the deal the Phillies were coming off a 1981 season in which they had been dethroned as world champions.

The veteran-laden 1980 Phillies had won the first World Series crown in franchise history. The following season was interrupted by a mid-season work stoppage, and the Phillies would return to the playoffs in 1981 thanks in part to a split-season format adopted by Major League Baseball.

In baseball’s first-ever Divisional Series, the Phillies were eliminated by the Montreal Expos in five games. Following that 3-2 series defeat, Owens looked over his roster and felt that an aging team that had won four of five NL East titles between 1976-80 needed more adjustments.

One key member of that 1970’s core group and 1980 championship team had already been dealt away when left fielder Greg Luzinski was sold to the Chicago White Sox at the end of spring training just prior to the 1981 season.

Owens decided that it was now time to turn the pages on the 36-year-old shortstop Larry Bowa, with whom he was having difficulty reaching agreement on a new contract.

THE GREEN FACTOR

Another pivotal factor in the trade was the man sitting in the General Manager’s seat on the Cubs side of the deal. Dallas Green had skippered the Phillies to that 1980 World Series title. Following the 1981 playoff defeat, Green was hired to become the new GM in Chicago.

Remembering the Jim Thome Era in Philadelphia

Embed from Getty Images

Thome's arrival as a big-ticket free agent signaled a new era of winning for Phillies

With this MLB off-season so highly anticipated here in Philadelphia, I decided to take a look back during this month at some of the more important Hot Stove moments over the course of Phillies history.

So far we’ve traveled back to re-examine big free agent signings of Pete Rose in 1978 and Jose Mesa in the winter of 2000. We also took a look back at a pivotal 1981 trade in which catcher Bo Diaz came to Philly from Cleveland as part of a three-team swap which sent outfielder Lonnie Smith to the Cardinals.

This time around we’re going to take a look back at two different Hot Stove moves from the first decade of the 21st century. One is a free agent signing, the other a trade. Both involve the same centerpiece player, Phillies Wall of Famer and Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Thome.

To understand the motivations for the Phillies deciding to open up their wallets and bring Thome to Philadelphia you need to remember the context of where the franchise was and who the player was at that time.

From 1987 through 2002, a period that spanned the final years of Mike Schmidt‘s career through the final year of Scott Rolen‘s career with the Phillies, the team suffered through 14 losing campaigns over 16 seasons.

The 1993 National League champions had proven to be an oasis in a long, wide desert of losing years. But things began to change as the new century dawned.

Under popular and fiery new manager Larry Bowa the Phillies had nearly captured the 2001 NL East crown. Thanks to a stretch of nine losses in 11 games to open the month of September, the 2002 Phillies finished 80-81. Though it was another losing record, something was obviously different.

The Phillies had a talented core group of position players featuring veteran catcher Mike Lieberthal, exciting youngsters Pat Burrell and Jimmy Rollins, and the power-speed combination of an entering-his-prime Bobby Abreu.

Also, the club was preparing to say goodbye to Veteran’s Stadium. The 2003 season would be the 33rd and final one on turf for the team. A brand new facility to be named Citizens Bank Park was under construction and would open for 2004.

Phillies chairman Bill Giles, club president David Montgomery, and GM Ed Wade knew that there would be major financial benefits coming with the new ballpark. They wanted to make a push to excite the fan base even further, and so went into that off-season on the hunt for marquee names to add to the roster.

On December 2nd they signed 30-year-old free agent David Bell to play third base. This would allow Placido Polanco, obtained the previous summer in trade for Rolen, to shift over to second base, strengthening the overall lineup.

But what the lineup really needed was one truly menacing presence in the middle. A big bopper to serve as an anchor, a game-changing threat with the kind of true power that hadn’t regularly plowed the baseball trade in South Philly since Schmidt’s retirement more than a decade earlier.

As good fortune would have it, just such a talent was coming available on the free agent market. Thome was a 32-year-old veteran of a dozen big-league seasons who was one of the most feared power-hitters in the game at that time.

Free agent signing of Jose Mesa helped Phillies springboard to 2000's contention

Embed from Getty Images

Mesa became a record-setting closer with the Phillies in the 2001-02 seasons

Rumors continue breaking nearly every single day during this off-season that the Philadelphia Phillies are ready to make some big moves.

Today came rumors that the club had put relievers Pat Neshek and Tommy Hunter on the trade block, joining Carlos Santana there. The team was also once again linked strongly to the two biggest free agent names, shortstop Manny Machado and outfielder Bryce Harper.

It was with all this current activity in mind that just yesterday I began a regular ‘Phillies Hot Stove History’ series in which I plan to re-visit some of the big free agent signings, trades, and other transactions made by the club on this date in off-season history.

That first entry took a look back at a 1981 three-team trade in which the Phillies sent outfielder Lonnie Smith to the Saint Louis Cardinals and landed catcher Bo Diaz from the Cleveland Indians. Within weeks that deal would have permanent ramifications for two of the team’s 1980 World Series heroes, catchers Bob Boone and Keith Moreland.

Today we’ll take a look at a big free agent signing from this date in the year 2000. To fully understand the signing and the reasons that it took place, you need to go back and recall what was happening at that time in Phillies history.

The organization was struggling mightily at that point. From 1987 through the 2000 campaign the Phillies had finished with a winning record just once, in the magical 1993 run to a World Series appearance.

Aside from that 97-65, first place and pennant-winning miracle, the Phillies had fashioned a horrendous cumulative record of 912-1,128 over the other prior 13 seasons.

To say that it was a long, dark dry-spell would be an understatement. The sustained losing would eventually cost five managers their jobs: John Felske, Lee Elia, Nick Leyva, Jim Fregosi, and Terry Francona, as well as general manager Lee Thomas.

But things began to change for the better as a new millennium dawned, even though it hadn’t yet shown up in the win-loss column. The Phillies finished the 2000 season with a 65-97 record, the second-worst during that stretch.

However, new and talented young players were beginning to make their way into the lineup. At age 25, third baseman Scott Rolen would win his second Gold Glove Award that year and was better than a 4-WAR player in each of his first four big-league seasons.

The Phillies first round pick in the MLB Draft just two summers earlier, 23-year-old Pat Burrell busted into the lineup with 18 homers and 79 RBI as a first baseman/left fielder. He would finish fourth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting.

Philography series to resume with Phillies retired number legends

Embed from Getty Images

Phillies legends Schmidt, Carlton, Bunning to be covered as 'Philography' series resumes

It was just over four years ago that I first decided to write mini-biographies about famous Philadelphia Phillies figures of the past. The effort was largely for me. I have always enjoyed history and biographies of influential and famous figures from the past, not just sports-related.

While I knew the “baseball card” information on most of the players, I knew very little about their backgrounds. Where did they come from? What was the specific path leading them to Philadelphia?

If they played for another team, what achievements did they enjoy with that club? How did their career, and in some cases their lives, come to an end? Did they enjoy a post-baseball career?

Out of this natural curiosity on my part the “Philography” series was first born. I decided that I wanted to write about the playing careers, and touch on other aspects of the lives, of some of my own Phillies favorites of the past. The series would begin with a star player from my youth, “The Bull” himself, Greg Luzinski.

Over the next two months, I produced a new piece each week, picking from the team’s past in no specific pattern: Mitch Williams, Chris Short, Von Hayes, Placido Polanco, Jim Konstanty, Dick Allen, Dick Ruthven, Grover Cleveland “Pete” Alexander, Darren Daulton,

Paintings and memorabilia adorn the walls and fill the
halls on the Hall of Fame level at Citizens Bank Park

The Philography series was officially born. I then made the decision that this would become a regular off-season project, to write a handful of Phillies mini-bios each fall and winter.

In December 2015 a piece on Larry Bowa was produced, and we were off and running once again. A month later I reached back in time to produce a piece on Sherry Magee. Before spring training began for the 2016 season there would be installments on Kevin Stocker, Granny Hamner, and the only female to appear thus far, Edith Houghton.

The series returned in December of 2016 with a piece on Bob Boone, and I made a decision to push the series in a specific direction for the first time. That off-season, I would go after the Phillies all-time best catchers who hadn’t previously been covered. With Daulton and Boone in the books, the series continued with Wall of Famer Mike Lieberthal and old-timer Red Dooin.

And then the series was shelved. Last off-season saw a number of changes in my life, and most of my writing took a back seat for a while. I returned to regular baseball writing this summer upon joining the staff here at Phillies Nation. And now, the series will be making its return as well.

Today's Game Era nominates Charlie Manuel to their Hall of Fame ballot

Embed from Getty Images

Manuel managed the Cleveland Indians and the Phillies to a combined 1,000 wins

The Baseball Hall of Fame “Today’s Game Era” committee announced their ballot today for individuals to be considered for enshrinement in the 2019 class at Cooperstown. Named as one of the 10 nominees was former Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel.

Manuel served as manager of the Phillies from 2005 into the 2013 season. During that time, he guided the club to an overall 780-636 record, five NL East Division crowns, two National League pennants, and the 2008 World Series championship.

The Phillies were Manuel’s second big-league managerial stint. He had previously served as manager of the Cleveland Indians from 2000 into the 2002 season, compiling a 220-190 record. His 2001 Indians squad captured the American League Central Division crown.

That 2001 Cleveland squad was eliminated in five games by the Seattle Mariners after taking a 2-1 series lead. The Mariners tied that series, then won a dramatic Game 5 in Seattle behind the stellar pitching of Jamie Moyer, who ironically would become one of Manuel’s key starters during the 2008 championship run with the Phillies.

The Baseball Hall of Fame website page dedicated to the Today’s Game Era ballot describes Manuel’s career as follows:

Charlie Manuel managed for 12 seasons with the Indians and Phillies, winning 1,000 games. Manuel managed the Indians to the American League Central title in 2001 and the Phillies to National League East titles in five straight years from 2007-11, winning NL pennants in 2008 and 2009 and the World Series in 2008. In his 10 full seasons as a manager, Manuel led his team to a first or second place finish nine times. His .548 career winning percentage ranks 16th all-time among managers with at least 1,000 victories.

Manuel earned his big-league managerial opportunity thanks largely to his work as the Indians hitting instructor from 1994-99. During those years the Tribe, led by Manuel protege Jim Thome, paced the American League in runs scored three times and in home runs twice.

In 1999 under Manuel’s tutelage the Indians scored a franchise-record 1,009 runs. That team became the first in Major League Baseball in nearly a half-century to reach the 1,000 runs mark. He was then hired as the manager in Cleveland for the 2000 season.

Manuel was fired at mid-season of 2002 by Tribe management over a contract dispute. He was quickly scooped up by the Phillies organization as a special assistant to GM Ed Wade, and then hired as the manager to succeed Larry Bowa for the 2005 campaign.

His first Phillies squad missed the NL Wildcard by just a single game, and the 2006 team fell three games short after leading that NL Wildcard race with just a week left to play.

Coming out for the 2007 season, shortstop Jimmy Rollins proclaimed that the Phillies were the “team to beat” in the NL East despite the fact that the New York Mets were the division’s defending champions and a talented squad in their own right.

That 2007 Phillies team did indeed win the division over the Mets on the season’s final day after rallying from a seven-game deficit with just 17 to play. It was the first of five consecutive NL East Division crowns under Manuel.

Manuel was finally relieved of his managerial duties 120 games into the 2013 season with the club in fourth place at 53-67. Many felt he had been made a scapegoat for management’s failure to effectively transition the roster as the championship team of the 2007-11 era aged.