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

Drabek Preparing For Next Step

The transition has been easy for Kyle Drabek. In December, he was part of a package of young prospects that was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for ace pitcher Roy Halladay. Now, as though nothing has changed, he's right back where he was last season...the star prospect on the pitching staff of a team in the Double A Eastern League. Drabek has often stated that he wanted to stay in the Philadelphia organization, who drafted him in the first round of the 2006 amateur draft. The 22-year-old thought after the midseason trade rumors, that surrounded him possibly going to Toronto last year, passed with no action that all the turmoil was over and that he could simply relax and focus on getting to the big leagues with the Phillies. That wasn't the case, as the deal eventually came to fruition over the off-season. In the Blue Jays system this season, Drabek doesn't have to worry about being dealt. He only has to concern himself with opposing batters and working on his secondary pit...

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...

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...