Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from March, 2009

News for You's

Plenty going on in Phillies world today. Chan Ho Park was annointed the 5th starter. Park is extremely pleased, of course. "Jay" Happ's role is not yet known, as the Phillies could use him in the bullpen or keep him in a starting role at Triple A. Geoff Jenkins was released. Jenkins is owed $8 million ($6.75 million for this season, then a $1.25 million buyout for next season). The over abundance of lefties on the bench (Greg Dobbs, Matt Stairs and Jenkins) made Jenkins expendable. Add Jenkins' $8 million to Adam Eaton's $9 million and Jim Thome's $3 million and our Phillies are spending $20 million on players they've parted ways with. The Phillies have reportedly contacted Gary Sheffield, who was released by the Tigers on Tuesday, also. Sheffield is a right handed hitter. Sheff is likely a stretch as an option for the Phillies' bench, as he is best suited as a designated hitter. John Mayberry Jr. or Miguel Cairo should be the righty batter that makes

They're Home in Just 4 Days!

Join PhoulBallz.com at the On-deck Series this Saturday, at Citizens Bank Park. You'll get a super sweet schedule magnet, see Pat Burrell in an opposing uniform and you'll get to check out Cole Hamels in his last spring start. Charlie Manuel announced today that Colbert is definitely out as opening night starter against the Braves. He also announced that Jamie Moyer will start game 2, at home Tuesday night, 4/7. Two key details about the pitching rotation have yet to be made known to the public. 1- Who will start opening night, Brett Myers or Joe Blanton? 2- Who will be the 5th starter, Chan Ho Park or "Jay" Happ? Park made his final start of the spring today. Happ will pitch Thursday. Considering our Phils have 3 days off in the first 10 days of the season, they wouldn't need to use a fifth starter till Monday, April 20th, or so. Among today's roster moves, Marcus Giles was released. Giles told reporters, "I got every chance in the world. It's not th

Sunday School: History Lesson 10

John S. "Jocko" Thompson was a left handed pitcher for the Phillies from 1948-1951. Jocko had been in the Red Sox organization prior to World War 2 breaking out, but served military duty as a paratrooper and company commander prior to making his major league debut. Jocko was set to enter the 1942 season with the class A Scranton Red Sox but, when World War 2 broke out, he was called to duty and sent to basic training. After completing training in Louisiana, he became a paratrooper with the famed 504th Paratroop Regiment of the elite 82nd Airborne Division. Thompson and the 82nd Airborne made jumps in nearly every major war zone. One of Jocko's early jumps was into Sicily in 1943. This invasion led to the Allies' capture of dictator Benito Mussolini. The list of Jocko's notable war experiences is long. When the war ended, so did Thompson's military career. Upon his return to the United States and baseball, Thompson was the most decorated professional ball play

CATCH the Phever!!

Chris Coste can rest a little easier now that the Phillies have traded away Coste's prime competition for the back up catcher spot. Ronny Paulino was traded twice last night. First, by the Phillies to the Giants for lefty reliever Jack Taschner. Later, the Giants traded Paulino to the Marlins for Hector Correa. Coste told reporters this morning that he is a little relieved, after learning of Paulino's departure. However, he won't feel like his job is guaranteed, and acknowledged a "constant fight to survive" in order to keep his job. It is likely also, that this trade clears an easier path for prospect Lou Marson to climb above both Coste and starter Carlos Ruiz, during the season. ******* Links for you to enjoy... PhilliesFlow has a solid post comparing "Jay" Happ & Chan Ho Park. IronPigPen has content worth reading, as always, today, reviewing IronPigs and R-Phils points of interest. More Hardball is weak on promises, but strong on the World Seri

...Got My Learn On

The weekend is just about here, but it's not feeling great so far. My college hoops team lost, and my mail included a huge image of Mets star David Wright on the cover of The Sporting News. "All Wright"? Um, I don't really believe it is. Aside from the non-appealing cover, it's the MLB preview issue, so allow me to share some things I learned from this week's magazine. 1- Former Phillie, and regular Sporting News columnist, Todd Jones has gone insane. Jones predicts that Jamie Moyer will win the NL Cy Young Award, and that Manny Ramirez will run for governor of California after the Dodgers win the 2009 World Series. 2- Ichiro Suzuki rocks the party that rocks the body. Metropolitans reliever Francisco Rodriguez compares Jose Reyes to Ichiro, saying they do many of the same things. I must have missed Ichiro performing rehearsed celebratory hand jives after getting a hit or scoring a run in a losing effort. And I know I missed Ichiro getting caught cheating on

Phils Toying with Pro Wrestling Appearances?

Total Non-stop Action (TNA) Wrestling is holding its monthly pay per view program at the Liacouras Center on April 19th. A few weeks back, wrestling champ "Big Sexy" Kevin Nash visited the Phillies in Clearwater and TNA shot some footage of Nash chatting it up with our Phillies. Former World Wrestling Champ Nash seemed interested in recruiting some of the World Baseball Champs for appearances at the April Lockdown show. Brett Myers, Geoff Jenkins, Shane Victorino, Ryan Howard and even the skipper Charlie Manuel are all seen spending time with Nash. Myers even takes time to tell Nash about the Philadelphia phans and what to expect from the crowd. In an additional note tying the Phillies and TNA Wrestling, Mrs. Hamels' Survivor and Playboy friend, Jenna Morasca is now employed by TNA in a yet to be announced on-air role. Survivor phans may recall Cole's wife, Heidi and Jenna removed their clothing for food, on the show, and then were featured in a Playboy pictorial la

It's a Q&A with John Flynn!

PhoulBallz.com was lucky to have folk music artist John Flynn take a few moments to answer some questions about baseball, his national anthem performances at Phillies games and his career. You can see John live in person in Wilmington, Delaware this coming Saturday at YoYo Joe's Toys and Fun . -John, you're a Philadelphia area native and a Temple graduate. What is it like to perform in your home town? Its always the best! The more I travel around the country, the more convinced I am that I was lucky to be raised around here... - You've been seen around the area at live shows wearing Phillies gear, and of course at multiple Phillies games performing the National Anthem. Where do baseball and the Phillies rank with you? As someone that grew up in Delaware County in the seventies, the Phillies were always on my radar. But I didn't really become a baseball fan until I became a musician. Driving home from gigs late at night I would pick up Phillies games from the west coast.

The Bridge to Lidge Revisited

Just dropping a little Jewelry here on a classic Phoul Ballz picture . A photograph is usually looked at ... seldom looked into . ************** The same gem applies to the picture below also.
Looking over the Grapefruit and Cactus League statistics this spring, there are surely some surprises. These types of things are worthy of a look, if only to know which guys might be fantasy sleepers, and which guys to stay away from during fantasy draft time. By position, here are your notable bust-outs, and just plain busts, of the spring season so far. Bust-outs... 1B- Mike Jacobs: 18 games, 6 HR, 17 RBI, .320 avg, 13 R, 1.063 OPS. 2B- Mark Teahen: 11 games, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 37 total bases in 11 games, 1.621 OPS. SS- Jed Lowrie: 17 games, 8 doubles, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 1.297 OPS. 3B- Pablo Sandoval: 17 games, 3 HR, 8 RBI, .442 avg, 23 hits, 1.155 OPS. C- Jeff Mathis: 14 games, 4 HR, 10 RBI, .343 avg, 2 SB, 1.244 OPS. OF- Corey Hart: 16 games, 5 HR, 13 RBI, .422 avg, 3 SB, 11 R. OF- Josh Hamilton: 18 games, 3 HR, 16 RBI, .389 avg, 1.085 OPS., 11 R. OF- Jason Lane: 19 games, 5 HR, 12 RBI, .353 avg., 1.115 OPS. P- Francisco Liriano: 6 games, 21 1/3 IP, 19 K, 1-1, 2.95 ERA, 1.04 WHIP. P- Aaron C

A Brand New WEAK

It's bad enough that Team USA lost in the semi-finals of the WBC, but it's also Monday. Jimmy Rollins had four hits and got on base all five times at the plate in the semi-final match up with Japan on Sunday, but that wasn't enough to help the team advance as Roy Oswalt surrendered 6 runs in 3 2/3 innings, and the Americans could not catch up...losing 9-4. The rest of Team USA, not nicknamed J-Roll, went 5-for-32 (.156 avg.), in the loss. And if the USA loss and the arrival of Monday don't have you feeling badly enough, former #1 Phillies draft pick Gavin Floyd has signed a 4-year, $15.5 million contract with the White Sox. The deal includes a 5th year team option worth $9.5 million. A change of scenery has surely proved positive for young Floyd. It's just a shame that Gavin couldn't achieve greater things in Philadelphia. We may never be sure why Gavin never developed well as a Phillie, and only time will tell if he can steadily be the 17-win/Sub-4 ERA pitcher

Sunday School: History Lesson 9

There is tons of lore about the 1950 Phillies, the team full of youth that fought off the Dodgers to make it to the World Series, but do you know about how the season finished? Do you know how the 1950 Whiz Kids nearly pulled a 2007 Metropolitans? Read on, little stars...and let's shine together. In the closing weeks of the 1950 season, our Phillies had a 7 game lead with just 11 games left to play. A World Series berth seemed almost locked up. It would be the Phillies first trip to the Series in 35 years. However, without warning, the team began to fizzle (yes the Whiz began to Fizz). They lost seven of nine, during the final weeks of the season, while the Brooklyn Dodgers won 12 of 15 games during a stretch in the closing weeks. The Phillies roster suffered a big loss, in September, when 17 game winner, pitcher Curt Simmons, an Army National Guard member, was drafted for the Korean War. The team kept fighting, however. In fact, 1950 was the year that the team got the nickname, &q

Charlie's Staying Healthy

Charlie: "Hey! I say, Doc, yeah, it's like you say... it don't-it don't hurt dat bad." **** Links for today- More Hardball's hottest fans contest . Vote. The Fightins has Marshall Harris asking Shane Victorino about the WBC assisting him in getting ready for the season. Can you guess his answer? "Phan Amanda" continues her series on poor Phils pitching over at Phillies Nation. The BlueClaws Blog continues this week's hype about prospect Dominic Brown .

It's Spring and I Love Baseball

A quote from former baseball commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti- It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. <>I think that sums up how I felt every year until 2008. With the Phillies coming up short every season that I can remember until last year, I felt as though I was left hanging. I would never stop falling in love all over again, with baseball, each Spring season, but I was surely heart broken each Autumn. This was surely brought on by my team not making it to the top. Being left feeling like there was unfinished business, just didn't sit well inside. 2008 was different. 2008 made it all worth it. It was the year when the phandom finally paid off. It was the pinnacle of my love of the sport. The Phillies' World Championship season ga

USA to Face Japan in the Semi-finals

Jimmy: "A'ight, JC, dog. So, look...Shane and I wanted to apologize for getting those hits off you and beating you and your boys in da WBC. Like, I'm just sayin', ya know. You gotta do whatcha gotta go." JC: "Nah, it's cool, man." Shane: "Oh, no questions asked, it's cool!" Jimmy: "Yeah, and just make sure you don't give up any more hits to David Wright from here on out. Scott Eyre and dat kid Happ might lock down the lefty spot in the 'pen, while you out servin' dat suspension. A'ight then...we gotta go fly to Cali now, 'cause Team USA is the team to beat in this World Baseball Thang."

Trivia Calendar Inspired Trivia

I have a desk calendar that provides daily trivia, facts and such, all about baseball. Today's question: Who was the first player to have his signature engraved into the barrell of a Louisville Slugger bat? (Pause, think it over.) Today's answer: Honus Wager. One of the recent calendar entries had to do with Curt Schilling leading our Phillies in wins and K's during the 1990's. When the question was asked, the answer came easy for me. But that got me wondering about who the team's offensive leaders were, for the same decade. The hitting leaders would not come to mind as swiftly. In the categories of HR's and RBI, would it take anyone longer than a second to tell you who led the Phillies in those categories in the 1980's? What about the 2000's? (Pause, think it over) In the 90's, was it Rolen? Dykstra? Kruk? Lieberthal? Abreu? None of those are the correct answer. Darren Daulton led the Phillies in homers during the 1990's with 110. His RBI total

USA! USA! USA!

Team USA won their elimination game last night in dramatic fashion to advance into the semi-final round of the World Baseball Classic. With injuries still plaguing the Americans, expect Davey Johnson to manage the next game conservatively, like he did in the opening round. That next game in the 2nd round, tonight, will finalize the seeds in the semi-finals. Seeding doesn't matter to Johnson, advancing does. Phillies phans who stayed tuned for the walk-off win got to see Shane Victorino and Jimmy Rollins spark a 9th inning rally against Puerto Rico's JC Romero. While David Wright smashing a game winning hit against Romero ( video here ) is not something I ever thought I'd want to see, I think when the game is played in March, and there is national pride at stake, I'll be inclined to cheer that occurance. As if the walk off win wasn't a remarkable enough story, a Dolphins Stadium security officer should be praised for his quick role in making the night very special f

This...is....Jeopardy!

For $500, in the category of Professional Atheletes, the answer is: "This slugging third baseman, from the city that never sleeps, was seen posing for a metro men's magazine in a near make out session with his own mirror image, when he should be rehabbing his surgically repaired hip...just when you thought you couldn't hate the man any more." Question: "Who is Alex Rodriguez?" Correct.

Time For Redemption

As injuries set in, Team USA has its sites set on redeeming themselves for the mercy rule loss suffered at the hands of Puerto Rico on Saturday night. PR then lost their next match up on Monday, when they got shut out by Venezuela, 2-0. The injury bug is spreading throughout the Team USA club house. Chipper Jones is out of the tournament. Dustin Pedroia is out, and was replaced by Brian Roberts. Outfielder Ryan Braun and pitcher Matt Lindstrom are also suffering ailments right now. Tournament rules prohibit USA from replacing Jones, Braun and Lindstrom till the current round is complete. Things got so bad during Sunday's game that catcher Brian McCann played left field in the 9th inning. Team USA manager Davey Johnson has suggested a rule change for the WBC that would allow managers to reinsert a player into a game, should an injury occur. Such a change could not take effect until future WBC tournaments. He would also like to see more exhibition games prior to the tournament, to h

The Colbert Report

The media and internet is all abuzz today with news that Cole Hamels has been experiencing regular elbow soreness. He is headed back up to Philadelphia, tonight, in order to be examined by team doctor Michael Ciccotti. Many of the beat reporters that are stationed down in Clearwater are posting updates throughout the day. GM Ruben Amaro Jr. assured the press this morning that the Phillies do not think this is a serious issue. Some reporters are stating that Cole was seen on the practice field in Clearwater taking part in stretching, throwing and fielding practice this morning. Check out the following links for the latest news about World Series MVP Colbert's arm joint region. Dave Murphy Scott Lauber Todd Zolecki

Sunday School: History Lesson 8

Emil "Irish" Meusel patrolled the outfield for our Phillies from 1918-1921. His best years in the majors came after he left the Phillies. His nickname also fits in with the weekend festivities that many of us have been enjoying. Initially signed by the Washington Senators, Irish joined our Phillies in 1918 after batting .311 for Los Angeles in the Pacific Coast League. As a rookie, Meusel batted .279 with 18 steals. Meusel would then raise his batting avg., with the Phils, each of the next three seasons, batting over .300 each year. In 1921, Irish got off to a terrific start, but Meusel became a prime example of the Phillies' front office, at the time, selling off their best players to help pay the bills. While ripping through National League pitching with a .353 avg., Meusel was stunned, along with the phans and press, when owner William Baker traded Irish to the NY Giants for two players and $30,000. Meusel helped the Giants erase a 7 1/2 game deficit in the standings e

Saturday special with the Carlos's

Carlos Ruiz says have a fun time time celebrating St. Patrick's Day this weekend! Be safe, don't drink and drive, and wear protection...just like Carlos does behind the plate. And here's a shot of today's game action and Phillies top pitching prospect Carlos Carrasco. Carrasco surrendered 1 earned run in 3 innings pitched while striking out 4, in the Phillies' 5-2 win over Houston. Click the image for a better look. Happy weekend to you all.

5th spot, Wall, Old timers, Links

The race for the Phillies' fifth starter spot is still on. While it's not fully fair to compare Grapefruit League stats, when some of the pitchers have had "B game" and scrimmage outings mixed in, Kyle Kendrick and Carlos Carrasco look to be falling behind Chan Ho Park and "Jay" Happ. Happ added to his solid Grapefruit League stats (2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP in 4 games) today against the Rays. Pitching coach Rich Dubee had been displeased with Kendrick even before he surrendered 8 earned runs in 3 innings of work yesterday against the Braves. Park has been working on improving his change up, with (Coach) Jamie Moyer. Park noticed Moyer's location control on his change, so he sought out Moyer to teach him the grip and positioning of the ball. Moyer, of course, feels good about helping anyone on the Phils' staff. Park has been coached by greats like Nolan Ryan with the Rangers and Sandy Koufax with the Dodgers, so Moyer is in great company. Park is working h

Our Spokesmodel is back at it again...

Lindsay G, the newest member of the PhoulBallz.com family, has done it again. This time she approached Phillies relief pitcher Chad Durbin to knowlingly pose for a photograph endorsing this wonderful Phillies blog. I know what you're thinking...How does she do it? Lindsay just has amazing people skills and even Millionaire Baseball Studs like Chad Durbin and Brad Lidge can't resist her persuasive and smooth techniques. Durbin inquired, "Hey, where can I get one of those hats?" Lindsay replied, "Just take the picture!"

Taking a Glance at Pat's Bat

I have some statistics for you all to ponder. Who remembers that old left fielder for our Phillies named Pat Burrell? It's been a while, but if you still have some memories of him, these numbers could be of interest to you. I just thought we'd take a look at Pat's numbers in Phillies' wins against Pat's numbers in Phillies' losses. In Phillies wins... Batting avg-.296 HR- 159 RBI- 580 Slg %- .570 In Phillies losses... Batting avg- .215 HR- 92 RBI- 247 Slg %- .391 Take from this comparison what you will, but I'd assert that this displays Pat's inconsistencies. An argument could be made that this shows how integral Pat was for our Phillies in wins, but if that's the point of view one chooses, there's no ignoring what type of credit he'd deserve in the losses. Blame. ***** And here is another quick look at the spring performances of John Mayberry Jr. and Greg Golson. Golson was traded for Mayberry in the offseason, as Texas and Philadelphia swap

Team USA All the Way!

Once again, in conjunction with IronPig Pen and Swing and a Long Drive , it's a World Baseball Classic feature! This week, we're each announcing our picks to win the entire tournament, while making some points against the others' choices. My choice to be the Champions of the World (Baseball Classic) is Team USA. This year's American squad is plenty different than the 2006 team. With only 2 offensive players on this year's team that played on the 2006 team (Chipper Jones, Derek Jeter), the face of the team is brand new. Speed on this version of Team USA is much improved also. In 2006, USA only had 2 stolen base attempts and just one of those were successful. In the first round of 2009, stolen bases have not yet come into play for the Americans, but as the tournament moves on, and competition is tougher, speed will be a factor. Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, David Wright, Curtis Granderson and Dustin Pedroia are all stolen base threats, not to mention solid overall

BIG site news...

In order to keep all readers up to date on site happenings...Phriend of Phoul Ballz, Lindsay G., visited spring training in Clearwater, FL last week, with her family, and based on her abilities to get Phillies All-star closer Brad Lidge to knowingly pose for this picture endorsing our little web page, she has now been hired as the official PhoulBallz.com spokes model! Welcome aboard, Lindsay. It's a glamorous gig that will reward you with all kinds of astounding riches (like free ball caps) for the rest of your whole entire beautiful life. If anyone else wishes to obtain a similar form of employment , I encourage you to holler this way.

Sunday School: History Lesson 7

Eddie Sawyer was a highly regarded Yankees' outfield prospect until a shoulder injury knocked him out of action in 1939. Sawyer never made it to the majors as a player, but earned college degrees from Cornell University and Ithica College prior to playing in the minors. With his playing days over, he began managing in the minor leagues, trying to work his way up the ladder. In 1944, Sawyer took over as manager in Utica, which was the Phillies' Eastern League affiliate, in those days. There, Eddie Sawyer was responsible for moving a young Richie Ashburn from catcher to the outfield. Sawyer began the 1948 season managing the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Phillies' triple A team, and midway through the 1948 season, the Phillies fired manager Ben Chapman, and Sawyer was promoted to the big club. At the time, some press questioned the move of hiring a man who has never played in the majors, as the manager. Sawyer's arrival in the majors coincided with the development of some youn

The Neighbors are Talkin'

My Blogosphere neighbors are always chatting it up, even when I come up short of an original post, on a given day. Here's a trip around the horn and what some other cool blogger types, that I am familiar with, have going on today. It's the story of the day, ladies and gentlemen. It's one of those chunks of news you just can't avoid. Philly Burbs, The Fightins, The Big Lead, With Leather, and others, all had the report on the latest Burrell Girl, Sophia Rossi. Rossi, a "friend" and coworker of adult film icon Jenna Jameson, was on The Howard Stern Show this morning, discussing her celebrity repertoire. From Stern's web site... Sophia Rossi said she dated MLB slugger Pat Burrell "He was immature...he was young at the time." The men at Not Qualified to Comment have a great video up with Stern Show comic Artie Lange telling stories about Bob Eucker and Harry Carey. Sharapova's Thigh has the clip of Matt Vasgersian dropping the biggest curse of

A Quick Look at the WBC

The World Baseball Classic begins tomorrow, when Pool A gets things popping at 4:30AM Eastern. In conjunction this week, and next, with Swing and a Long Drive and The IronPigPen , we're going to glance over our picks for who will advance to the 2nd round of the WBC. The easiest pick in the bunch, to win their pool is Japan in Pool A. The defending WBC champs easily have the best roster in this bracket. Also, Japan may very well have the best starting pitching duo in the entire Classic. Yu Darvish and Daisuke Matsuzaka are likely to be a knockout 1-2 punch on the mound, especially in Pool A. Most of you should be familiar with "Dice-K", but if you haven't heard of Darvish...you should be watching Japan closely. The 6'5" fireballer is just 22 years old and already is winning awards in Japan. He also has completed back-to-back seasons with both double digit complete games and an ERA under 2. Other major leaguers on Team Japan are Kenji Johjima, Ichiro Suzuki, K

Dubble you-Bee-Sea 2-mar-oh

With the World Baseball Classic less than 24 hours away, here is a little something to get you in a patriotic mood. USA! USA! USA! ***** Colbert Hamels made his 2009 spring debut today. He pitched 2 scoreless innings against Team Canada, allowing 2 hits and a walk. John Mayberry Jr., Jeremy Slayden and Raul Ibanez led the offense, as our Phils won 9-2, scoring runs off all 5 Canadian pitchers faced.

Phreestyle Battle & Notes

Unrelated to baseball, really...but it's fun and our Phils are off today. This new kid on the hip hop scene, Charles Hamilton , whose single Brooklyn Girl is ripping up radio and video count downs, was at PSU for a performance recently. A freestyle battle ensued, and as you'll see, the Penn State student held his own. Stay tuned for the ending. It's the best part. Here are some random Phillies-in-idle baseball thoughts and notes- Colbert Hamels is slated to make his Grapefruit League debut tomorrow vs. Team Canada. Shane Victorino is going to wear #50 on his jersey for Team USA, a nod to Hawaii Five-O. Brad Lidge is likely to not see game action till next week, after he throws some more bullpen sessions and works out the tightness in his forearm. Albert Pujols is declaring "respect for his country" as reasoning for sitting out of the Cardinals' exhibition this week against Team Dominican Republic. He told reporters, "I don’t want to play against them

Down on the Farm Freebies

This coming season, the farm teams have some worthwhile giveaways and promotions. Here is a glance of some of the best events, by team. Lakewood BlueClaws- Thursday, April 9th...Opening Night, Get your picture taken with the World Series Trophy! Friday, April 10th...Asbury Park Press Dollar Ticket Night! Thursday, April 23rd...Thirsty Thursday. $1 beers! It's true times two (repeats various Thursdays). Saturday, May 9th...Bark in the Park Night, bring your dog to the game. Tuesday, May 26th...Ryan Howard Cap Giveaway. Tuesday, June 9th...Lou Marson Bobblehead Dolls. Monday, June 15th...Charlie Manuel World Series Champions Bobbleheads. Saturday, June 20th...Wrestler "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan autograph signing. Sunday, June 21st...Celebrate Fathers' Day with a post game father/son catch on the field. Saturday, June 27th...Phillies World Series Poster. Tuesday, June 30th..."Jay" Happ Bobblehead Doll. Thursday, July 16th...World Series MVP Cole Hamels Bobblehead and

Sunday School: History Lesson 6

Eddie Waitkus was a first baseman with our Phillies from 1949-1953, then again in 1955. Waitkus was a slick fielder who is best remembered for being shot by a female fan in his Chicago hotel. Waitkus was also the basis for the novel The Natural , that was later made into a major motion picture starring Robert Redford. Waitkus was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cubs in 1939. He played with the Cubs over parts of 4 seasons, after which he was traded to the Phillies on December 14th, 1948. Eddie was not a great offensive contributor, as his best season saw him bat .295, while hitting 7 homers and driving in 44 runs. That didn't stop Cubs fan Ruth Ann Steinhagen from developing a dangerous infatuation for Waitkus. During his seasons with the Cubs, Steinhagen's interest in the player was kept in check, but once he was traded to Philadelphia, her infatuation became obsession and she sought to attack Waitkus. In June 1949, with the Phillies in Chicago for a series, Steinhagen