RIP David Montgomery, Phillies minority owner and club chairman

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David Montgomery was a Phillies driving force for nearly five decades

The Philadelphia Phillies announced this morning that club chairman and minority owner David Montgomery has passed away at the age of 72 years. Montgomery had battled cancer for more than five years.

In an official release from the team (see below Twitter link), majority owner John Middleton stated the following:

“David was one of Philadelphia’s most influential business and civic leaders in his generation. For 25 years, he has been an invaluable business partner and, more importantly, an invaluable friend. He was beloved by everyone at the Phillies. Leigh and I are saddened beyond words at David’s passing and extend our love and sympathy to Lyn, his children and grandchildren.”

Born and raised on Pembrook Road in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia, Montgomery graduated from both William Penn Charter High School and the University of Pennsylvania. He then continued his education at The Wharton School, where he graduated in 1970.

While at Penn, Montgomery was a classmate and friend of future Philadelphia Mayor and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell. The two would attend Phillies games together at old Connie Mack Stadium, and per a 2008 piece by Tyler Kepner in the New York Times, they were typical Philly fans. Kepner wrote:

“They would try to eat all the food that $5 could buy — back when hot dogs cost 50 cents — as they shared their thoughts with the players. “I remember one time riding Turk Farrell,” Rendell said, referring to a Phillies reliever of the 1960s. “He got so mad he looked like he was going to throw a ball at us, and Turk could really hum the ball. We were scared to death.””

After they graduated, Rendell tried to get Montgomery to apply for a job with basketball’s Philadelphia 76ers franchise. Instead, in 1971 Montgomery got a job in the sales office of baseball’s Philadelphia Phillies through a connection with the club’s former pitching great, Robin Roberts, as well as through his connections made while coaching with the Germantown Academy football team.

Join Phillies Nation in fan polling for Wall of Fame 'March Madness'

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Manuel, Thome, Carlton (L-R) are part of March Madness

The calendar showing that it is the third week in March can mean only one thing. Okay, two. Alright, alright, at least three things. The first thing is that Spring has arrived! It was a long, cold winter. But now it’s finally over. Soon flowers will begin to bloom and grass will start to grow again.

The other two big things about this time of year involve the sports world. For baseball fans, spring training is winding to a close. The Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues have just days remaining in their schedules.

For fans of college basketball and many sports fans who barely follow the game at any other time of year this is “March Madness” time. The excitement and drama of the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament is unfolding.

Here at Phillies Nation we decided to run our own “March Madness” involving our favorite ball club. As subject matter we chose the Wall of Famers, those 40 individuals who have been honored to this point with a plaque at Citizens Bank Park.

Our tournament is being run at our Twitter feed: @PhilliesNation. If you aren’t following, fix that right away. If you are, head on over and be sure to follow regularly over the next week as we poll followers for their selections.

Phillies Nation “March Madness” began with a Play-in showdown between 1960’s-70’s infielder and later a coach with the team, Tony Taylor, facing off against 1950’s ‘Whiz Kids’ shortstop Granny Hamner. The popular Taylor took an early lead in voting and coasted to victory by 61%-39% of the 157 followers who cast a vote.

Andy MacPhail addresses the media at Phillies 2019 spring training

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Team president Andy MacPhail addressed the media at 2019 spring training

The Philadelphia Phillies have been running their decision-makers out in front of the media this week as spring training has gotten underway down in Clearwater, Florida. Two days ago it was manager Gabe Kapler, and yesterday general manager Matt Klentak took his turn in front of the press.

Today it was president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail who sat down and provided organizational updates and then answered questions from the gathered media members.

MacPhail started off wanting to provide a history of how the Phillies got to the point where they are today during his tenure with the club. That tenure began when he was hired as a special assistant to then-president Pat Gillick in June 2015. MacPhail would succeed Gillick as the club president at the conclusion of that season.

“I don’t think this organization really committed to a rebuild until July of 2015,” said MacPhail, obviously equating that start with his arrival in town. He went on to list some of the player salaries shed in the aftermath of his arrival, and then said that the contract savings were used to make “a series of significant investments in the infrastructure of the franchise while our payroll was diminished.”

Those investments came in the areas of facilities, personnel, and technology.

Funds invested in the area of facilities took a number of forms, including a new Phillies academy opened in 2016 in the Dominican Republic, which is a traditional hotbed of amateur baseball talent.

There were also improvements made last year at Citizens Bank Park, including major changes to the fan experience in the right field area of Ashburn Alley. MacPhail said there will be further noticeable improvements this year to the third base/outfield area.

Fans who live and travel in the area have noticed scaffolding around the perimeter of the ballpark during this off-season. This was described by MacPhail as part of a process that the organization is undergoing in applying for their Safety Act to help “create an environment where it is a much more secure and safe place for our fans.”

MacPhail also told of “a huge new building that’s being built” on Darien Street near the ballpark which fans will notice as they arrive to games for the 2019 season. He said that when he addressed the personnel area, there would be further explanation of what this building would be used for, but never specifically got back to the topic, unless this will be the place to house the new hires.

Funds invested by the club in the personnel area took on three forms: traditional baseball roles, “new ground” areas as far as the Phillies interest in hiring people to such positions, and finally the hiring of new personnel on the business side.

Some potential nominees for the 2019 Phillies Wall of Fame honors

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Manny Trillo of the 1980 World Series champs is a legit Wall of Fame candidate

Approximately one month from now the Philadelphia Phillies will announce the 2019 honoree who will be enshrined on the franchise Wall of Fame this coming summer.

Last year for the very first time the team honored two individuals, and in a rare occurrence, Phillies fans had no say in either selection. One of those was Pat Gillick, who has served for 14 years as general manager, president, and senior advisor. Gillick was the first “executive inductee” to the Wall of Fame.

The other honored a year ago was former pitcher Roy Halladay, who had died suddenly and tragically in Florida back in November 2017 while piloting his private plane. Publicly released ballots seem to reveal that ‘Doc’ is also about to be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame this coming summer.

Those two joined the manager of the 2008 World Series champions, Charlie Manuel (2014), the organization’s all-time greatest pitcher Steve Carlton (1989), and the greatest player in Phillies history, Mike Schmidt (1990) in becoming the only individuals honored without fan voting as part of the process.

The Phillies had honored no one in the prior summer of 2017. That year, Pete Rose had been scheduled to be enshrined on the Wall of Fame. In early-August, less than two weeks before that was to take place, the club cancelled the ceremony after Rose became embroiled in controversy surrounding allegations that he had sex with a minor while a player with the Cincinnati Reds back in the 1970’s.

Otherwise, the Phillies have honored one individual each year other than 1983. That year an entire “Centennial Team” was named and celebrated in honor of the 100th anniversary of the franchise.

Odds are that one individual will be honored when next month’s announcement is made, so who might that be? One thing that should be obvious is that with an increasing number of worthy individuals now retiring from the 2008 world championship team, we are going to see many of those players enshrined in the coming years.

PARADE TO THE WALL COULD CONTINUE FOR '08 CHAMPS

Already on the Wall of Fame from that team, joining general manager Gillick and manager Manuel, is outfielder Pat Burrell. The Phillies already have individual ceremonies scheduled for this summer to honor Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, and Chase Utley due to the announcement of their formal retirements as players.

If the honor goes to another member of those 2008 World Series champions this time around, the leading candidates would be Shane Victorino, Carlos Ruiz, Jayson Werth, Brad Lidge, and Jamie Moyer. The favorite might be Victorino after the popular Flyin’ Hawaiian was fetted just last season at Citizens Bank Park upon his formal retirement from baseball.

But the Phillies could also take another tack, choosing to honor some other worthy individuals before beginning what should prove to become a veritable parade to the Wall of Fame for a half-dozen or more of those 2008 players during the decade of the 2020’s.

Remembering the Jim Thome Era in Philadelphia

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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.

Matt Klentak on the hot seat as the weather gets colder and baseball's Hot Stove warms up

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That chair is getting hotter under Klentak's butt as the weather gets colder

Major League Baseball’s off-season “Hot Stove” began to heat up in front offices all across the game this past weekend. Dozens of players became free agents eligible to negotiate with all 30 clubs at that point.

Over three days beginning today in Carlsbad, California the MLB general managers are meeting. While most of the work they undertake will be of the procedural type not directly involving player movement, the groundwork for future deals can certainly take place here.

The Phillies and their fans need look no further than their last World Series champions for proof that important deals can actually get done at the MLB General Manager meetings.

It was 11 years ago tomorrow, on November 7, 2007 at these very same meetings that Phillies GM Pat Gillick swung a deal with Houston Astros GM Ed Wade. Gillick obtained closer Brad Lidge and infielder Eric Bruntlett in that trade in exchange for pitcher Geoff Geary and a pair of prospects, outfielder Michael Bourn and infielder Mike Costanzo.

Flash-forward just over a decade later, and it’s general manager Matt Klentak who will be attempting to either swing such a deal or lay the groundwork for one that he hopes will prove just as beneficial for today’s version of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Klentak is clearly on the hot seat this off-season. If not with Phillies ownership, then certainly with the club’s fan base. Since being hired to the position in October 2015, his moves have proven to be a mixed bag to this point.

“I’m not going to make decisions because of what they mean to me for my job security” ~ Matt Klentak, September 2018

To be fair, the team that he inherited was a disaster. Three straight losing seasons, each worse than the last, had left the Phillies as the worst team in baseball when he arrived.

However, it is arguable as to how much the situation has actually improved on his watch. While the Phillies reached the 80-wins plateau for the first time in a half-dozen years this past season, it was a sixth consecutive losing campaign, the third in a row under Klentak.

It would be difficult to take an objective look at the Phillies anticipated regulars for the 2019 season at this point and find any homegrown position player who looks to have their lineup spot secured for years to come.

Rhys Hoskins, drafted under the regime of previous GM Ruben Amaro, should have such a claim to the first base position. However, Klentak went out and spent $60 million unwise dollars on an aging Carlos Santana last December, presumably relegating Hoskins to an out-of-position role in left field for the foreseeable future.

Klentak made what seemed an astute move back during spring training of 2018, signing the club’s top prospect Scott Kingery to a team-friendly six-year contract with three additional club-option years.

Kingery, another Amaro draftee and a minor league Gold Glove second baseman, was then switched to shortstop at the big-league level. It was a position where he had played just two games over three minor league seasons, and he struggled mightily both at the plate and in the field.

Klentak also handed a $30 million contract guaranteed over five years to Odubel Herrera, a player whose baseball brain betrays him far too regularly, and whose play has steadily deteriorated since signing the deal.

Remembering Eric Bruntlett, unsung hero of the 2008 World Series champion Phillies

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Bruntlett dashes home as the winning run in Game 3 of the 1980 World Series

It seems somewhat hard to believe, but it has been a full decade now since the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in five games to capture the 2008 World Series championship.

There were many popular, homegrown heroes on that Phillies ball club. The names and faces jump immediately to mind for every fan who was around to enjoy that incredible team: Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, Ryan Madson, Carlos Ruiz.

But even with all of those great players, the Phillies don’t win the World Series that year without the contributions of those brought in from the outside. Many of those acquired from other organizations became extremely popular and are easily recalled by fans as well: Jamie Moyer, Jayson Werth, Shane Victorino, and Brad Lidge would quickly come to mind.

But there were lesser contributors, players who didn’t get on the field or up to bat as often but who played a pivotal role in much of the drama that unfolded during that season and in that Fall Classic. One such contributor was utility player Eric Bruntlett.

Born and raised in Lafayette, Indiana, Bruntlett played shortstop at Stanford University. He was chosen in the ninth round of the 2000 MLB Amateur Draft by the Houston Astros as the 277th player taken overall that year.

He rose quickly through Houston’s minor league system, reaching Triple-A by the following summer. In late June of 2003, Bruntlett was called up for the first time and would spend most of the season with the Astros from that point as a pinch-hitter and infield backup.

That would prove to be Bruntlett’s primary big-league role over the entirety of what became a five-year stint with Houston. In each of his first four seasons, the Astros finished in second place in the National League Central Division.

He was part of the close-but-no-cigar Houston teams that tried to win the first world championship in Astros franchise history during that run. The team lost a heart-breaking NLCS in seven games to the Saint Louis Cardinals in 2004, and then were swept by the Chicago White Sox in the 2005 World Series.

On November 7, 2007 newly hired Astros GM Ed Wade, the former Phillies general manager, packaged Bruntlett with Lidge in a trade, sending both to the Phillies. In exchange, Houston received relief pitcher Geoff Geary and a pair of prospects, infielder Mike Costanzo and outfielder Michael Bourn.

It would prove to be a coup for Pat Gillick, who had been hired as the Phillies GM to succeed Wade almost exactly two years to the day earlier. In fact, it would end up as one of the most important deals in Phillies history.

WIP's Angelo Cataldi dukes it out with Phillies manager Gabe Kapler

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I rehashed the Philadelphia Phillies collapse over the final two months of the season in last week’s piece on the “significant changes” that I feel general manager Matt Klentak needs to make in this coming off-season. So, let’s not wade through that murky water again.

A great many Phillies fans became disillusioned by the collapse of the team after they had spent a month in first place in the National League East Division. One of those fans was local morning talk show host Angelo Cataldi of SportsRadio 94 WIP FM.

In a piece published on Monday at The Philly Voice, Cataldi laid much of the blame for that collapse at the feet of Klentak.

“For the three puzzling years of his tenure running the Phillies, the novice executive has mastered only one skill, and that’s finding a way to wriggle out of blame for his own resume of failure.”

“Matt Klentak is incompetent.”

“The young double-talker has survived three years of bungling because he has hidden, effectively, behind the new wave of analytics.”

There is more. Much more. But I’ll let you click into that above link and read it all for yourself.

Cataldi then doubled down, ostensibly calling on controlling owner John Middleton to fire his team’s general manager.

“How much more patient can he be with a general manager who has no record of success and who just oversaw a debacle reminiscent of 1964? Hey, John. The fans want that bleeping trophy back, too. Do something.”

The Phillies 38-year-old GM has not responded publicly to this point. However, on Wednesday morning another member of the team brain trust felt that he had to step up in response. And so manager Gabe Kapler called in to the radio station during Cataldi’s program and confronted the host.

“I thought that your article was disrespectful to a man (Klentak) that gives everything he has to bring a World Series championship to Philly.” 

The Phillies skipper then went on a lengthy description of the team’s overall performance, and what he saw as the overall improvements made, while also acknowledging the depth of disappointment in the season’s final 45 days. He stated in strong terms that Klentak has played a pivotal role in leading the club to that improvement.

“I take issue with what you said. I’m a compassionate, competitive man. But generating anger for the sake of anger means that you end up just flat-out wrong like you were in that piece.”

Kapler then questioned Cataldi’s very sanity, calling the host out for what the manager feels has been a pattern of angry coverage of the team in recent years. “You’re still doing the same thing, Angelo. So, you talked about the definition of insanity. I’d take a minute to look in the mirror about that.”

Ruben Amaro Jr considering a run at big league GM and managerial jobs

Ruben Amaro Jr (R) was fired by the Phillies
back in September 2015
(Photo: D. Benjamin Miller)

It has been almost exactly three years since the Philadelphia Phillies parted ways with former general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. For many fans of the team it was a move that took far too long for the organization to make.

Amaro inherited a team that had won the 2008 World Series championship. The club continued to contend over the first three seasons of his tenure largely thanks to a core group of players put together by the previous regimes under Ed Wade and Pat Gillick.

The club would lose the World Series in Amaro’s first season as general manager, then went out in the NLCS in 2010 and the NLDS in 2011. As that group aged, Amaro proved incapable of transitioning the franchise successfully.

The Phillies slipped to the .500 mark in 2012, to a losing record in 2013, and to last place in the NL East in 2014. Finally, the club plummeted to the worst record in baseball during the 2015 season, and Amaro was out.

He was not out of baseball for long. That winter the former player turned in his GM suits for a return to his uniformed roots, taking a job as the Boston Red Sox first base coach and outfield instructor. After two years in Beantown, Amaro moved on to New York where he served this season as the Mets first base coach.

And now the 53-year-old is contemplating a step back up the baseball ladder. According to an interview with Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic, Amaro is considering taking a run at the Mets general manager position. He may also be looking towards an opportunity to actually manage a Major League Baseball team.

“…keeping an open mind that if there are opportunities to be back in the front office, I still feel like I have a lot to offer in that regard as well. I felt like being back on the field would give me a different and interesting perspective as a far as doing a better job as a GM, and trying to improve my information resources. I’m open-minded. If you were to ask me if I would like my next step to be a GM or a manager, I guess it would be a toss-up.”

According to Amaro, he has let the Mets know of his interest in their open GM position. He told Rosenthal that the team was “appreciative of my interest“, which sounds little more than a tacit openness to offer him the chance to interview for the position.

Phillies fans would be skeptical of any such opportunity afforded a man who they largely abhorred by the end. They might, however, be happy to see him making key decisions for those division rivals up north at Citi Field.

“I know toward the end of my tenure as a GM in Philadelphia, I was not received well,” Amaro told Rosenthal. “But I do feel grateful that I got to be a part of the rebuild when (former GM) Ed Wade started it. I feel great about being able to work for a Hall of Famer in Pat Gillick, getting advice from guys like Dallas Green and utilizing it for success. Being part of that Phillies success in 2007 through 2011 was something really, really special for me, and something I’ll never forget.”

Originally published at Phillies Nation as "Former Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr considers taking an MLB managerial shot"

Phillies try to hold off two tough rivals as August unfolds

2018 Phillies hope to hang another flag in South Philly

A glance at the calendar reveals this to be the first weekend of August. That means we have now entered the normally steaming hot ‘dog days’ of summer.

Down in South Philly at Citizens Bank Park, the Philadelphia Phillies are taking on the division rival Miami Marlins in a four-game series. During this particular weekend, the Phillies are glancing back at their past.

The annual Alumni Weekend began with last night’s tribute to Shane Victorino. Tonight will feature the induction of two key figures in recent Phillies history to the franchise Wall of Fame. The general manager of the 2008 World Series champions, Hall of Famer Pat Gillick, will be honored. Also enshrined will be the late, great Roy Halladay.

On Sunday it will be the first full-blown reunion of that 2008 World Series championship team. Gillick and Victorino will be back for that 10th anniversary celebration along with two more Wall of Famers in Pat Burrell and manager Charlie Manuel. Numerous other players from that team will be present as well, including Brett Myers, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Carlos Ruiz, Jayson Werth, and many more.

For the first time in six years, honoring the past will not be the only source of excitement for Phillies fans. After a frustratingly long rebuilding program, the present-day Phillies are once again contenders.

The 2018 Phillies team enters tonight’s contest in first place in the National League East Division. Their 61-48 record comes out to a .560 winning percentage. The second place Atlanta Braves are 59-47, a half-game behind the Phillies with a .557 winning percentage.

But as you can see from the records of the two teams, the Braves actually have fewer losses than the Phillies. They have played three fewer games to this point in the schedule. Those games will be made up over the next three weeks as Atlanta will get little rest during the month.

Vince Velasquez pitched the Phillies past the Marlins on Friday night. As quoted by Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, Velasquez is enjoying this weekend’s celebrations of the team’s championship past, as well as the fan reactions.

“The whole excitement and hype going around the stadium generates the momentum that we thrive to have. It drove me to come out on top today and pitch a little better. My whole mentality was to attack hitters. But the fact that we saw fans get on their feet the way they do is a solid inspiration of what we’ll be having the next couple weeks, few months. It’s something I can’t wait for it to happen.”

The Braves will enjoy an off-day on Monday. But that will be followed by a Tuesday doubleheader at Washington as the Phillies two closest current division rivals square off in a huge four-game series. This begins a stretch of 22 games over 20 days before finally, on August 27, the Braves will get their next scheduled day off.

The Nationals have won four of the last six NL East crowns and are currently in third place. Due largely to injuries, the Nats have underachieved for much of the season.

While it has been a frustrating season in our nation’s capital, the Nationals have showed some signs of late that they may finally be getting healthy. With victories in six of their last eight games, they appeared to finally be pulling it together.

2008 Phillies first World Series reunion will take place without Chase Utley

Chase will be back for future 2008 reunions

Just a little more than a week from now the Philadelphia Phillies will return from a six-game road trip to Cincinnati and Boston. 

When they get back, the club has a big party weekend planned for the organization and its fans.

During a four-game long weekend series with the Miami Marlins from Thursday, August 2 through Sunday, August 5 the Phillies will hold their annual “Alumni Weekend“, paying homage to a number of heroes from the franchise’ past.

Those honors begin with the Friday night game during which the Phillies will fete former all-star Shane Victorino, who recently announced his formal retirement from Major League Baseball.

“The Flyin’ Hawaiian” spent eight of his dozen big league seasons in a Phillies uniform, including as the starting center fielder for the 2008 World Series champions. Victorino produced 998 hits, won three Gold Gloves, and was a two-time all-star during his time with the Phillies.

On Saturday night, the Phillies will induct two men to their Wall of Fame. The general manager of those 2008 world champions, Pat Gillick, will be inducted that night along with the late Roy Halladay.

The weekend concludes on Sunday with a 10th anniversary reunion of the memorable 2008 World Series championship Phillies team.

Returning for that day’s festivities will be a pair of Wall of Famers in manager Charlie Manuel and outfielder Pat Burrell. Also expected to return are players such as Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Brett Myers, Brad Lidge, and more.

One vitally important piece of that title-winning team who won’t be present is Chase Utley. He is now playing out his 16th and final season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who will be hosting the current world champion Houston Astros that weekend.

“I am disappointed I am not going to be able to be here with all the guys,” said Utley per Evan Macy of The Philly Voice. “I’ve seen a handful of guys more recently and more guys I haven’t seen since that year. I look forward to sitting down and talking to them and seeing what they’re doing with their life.”

Utley, who is in town this week with the Dodgers for his final regular season visit to Citizens Bank Park, still keeps in close contact with Rollins, Werth, Howard, and others from his time with the Phillies according to Macy.

This will only be the first of what are sure to be numerous reunions of that unforgettable 2008 World Series championship team over the coming decade. At some point within these next few years there will be ceremonies honoring at least a handful more of those players as they are each added to that Wall of Fame.

One of those ceremonies will surely be for Utley himself, who over parts of thirteen years left an indelible mark on the team and in the hearts of its fans. 

Those fans will show up in droves to heap some more love on “The Man” on that night and will continue to visit his Wall of Fame plaque for decades to come.

Originally published at Phillies Nation as "Chase Utley disappointed he won't be at 2008 Phillies reunion"