Skip to main content

Sandberg, Wathan & Morandini Set For Winter Tour

Two Phillies developmental managers are set to make stops at their new homes and a Hall of Famer will be in the house, when the organization's winter tour stops come through the region later this month.

On Tuesday, the Reading Phillies (Class Double-A) and the Lakewood BlueClaws (Class A) announced a trio of additions to their lineups for the 2012 Phillies Winter Banquet tour stops. Baseball great Ryne Sandberg and first year Reading manager Dusty Wathan (pictured) have been added to the banquet in Reading on Tuesday, January 24th at The Crowne Plaza Reading Hotel.

Meanwhile, it was also revealed that new BlueClaws skipper Mickey Morandini will join the lineup of featured guests at the banquet event in Lakewood on Wednesday, January 25th.

Sandberg, Wathan and Morandini were all Phillies on the field during their playing days but have now proven to be top managerial prospects in the Phils' system.

Wathan and Morandini were each promoted up one level this off-season.

The 38-year-old Wathan led Class A Advanced Clearwater to a 75-63 record and a third place finish in the Florida State League North Division in 2011. Wathan led Lakewood to a league championship in 2009.

After managing the Phillies' extended spring training squad, Morandini, 45, led the short-season Williamsport Crosscutters to a 43-33 record and a second place finish in the NY-Penn League's Pinckney Division. Last year marked Morandini's first season as a professional manager.

According to a press release, tickets for the Reading banquet are $65 each or $600 for a 10-person table, and can currently be purchased in person at the R-Phils ticket office or by phone at 610-370-BALL. The banquet starts with a cocktail hour at 5:30 pm, followed by dinner at 6:30 pm. Proceeds from the event benefit Reading Phillies Baseballtown Charities, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children who don’t have the resources to play baseball. Phils television broadcaster Tom McCarthy will also be in attendance at the Reading event, while general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. is scheduled to be on hand for both events. Additionally, the R-Phils announced on Thursday that former Phillies player and manager Larry Bowa will be in attendance for the banquet as well. Bowa played for Reading during his minor league days.


Phillies manager Charlie Manuel is also slated to appear in Lakewood. All proceeds from the 7 pm event at Woodlake Country Club, which includes a sit-down dinner, dessert, and coffee, will benefit BlueClaws Charities. Tickets are just $40 and space is limited. To reserve a spot, please call 732-901-7000 ext 172 or email ademichele@blueclaws.com.


_____________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...

Ibanez Makes Hall of Fame History

It's every player's dream to be enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. For Raul Ibanez , who hasn't had the sort of career that would ensure his face would one day be cast in bronze and displayed on the Hall walls, it was necessary to find a less common way to earn a spot in the annals of baseball history. Recently, Ibanez became the very first big league player to spend the night in the plaque gallery at the storied Hall of Fame. As detailed on the National Baseball Hall of Fame's website , Ibanez accompanied his son's Little League travel team to the Hall, where they participated in the Museum's "Extra Innings Overnight", a program that allows groups to travel to Cooperstown, NY in order learn more about the great game of baseball. Ibanez's son, Raul Jr., is 11-years-old and plays baseball in Lower Merion, PA. The article on the Hall of Fame's website quoted Ibanez as being excited to see some recent Phillies milestones represent...

PhoulBallz Interview: Off-season check in with 1B Kyle Martin

Kyle Martin, image- Jay Floyd First base prospect Kyle Martin grew up in South Carolina as a Phillies fan, admiring slugger Jim Thome , so it was a dream come true for his entire family when the organization made him their 4th round draft choice this year. A lefty batting power threat, Martin quickly made his professional debut with Class A Lakewood. The transition to the minors seemed easy, as the 23-year-old tallied a .279 average with five home runs and 37 RBI in 65 games for the BlueClaws. I recently spoke with the University of South Carolina product about his remarkable 2015 as a whole and he ranked how playing in the Phillies organization ranks against playing for Team USA in this year's Premiere 12 tournament. Read ahead for that interview and click here for my previous feature on the six-foot-two 240-pounder. -Are you still enjoying downtime right now or have you reached the stage of your off-season where you are back to baseball activities and knocking the ru...