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Last week Phillies slugger Ryan Howard celebrated his 33rd birthday and thanks to his fiance Krystle Campbell, it was a memorable one.  Unbeknownst to Howard, his lady contacted the National Baseball Hall of Fame and planned a surprise visit for the pair to Cooperstown. Although, it was the former All-Star and league most valuable player's very first trip to the Hall of Fame, Howard has been a part of multiple displays at the museum in recent years, having donated a jersey from his 2006 MVP season and the bat he used to mash two home runs in game 4 of the 2008 World Series.  Each of those items are currently on display among a Phillies exhibit. Howard, who was photographed checking out one of Babe Ruth 's barnstorming jerseys from the 1920's, along with Campbell, told the Hall's director of communications Craig Muder , “Every kid wants to grow up to play baseball, then to win the World Series and some day make the Hall of Fame.  Just to see my bat and jersey

By now, you've heard about the drug suspension imposed upon Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz earlier this week.  Following a second positive test for amphetamines, the 33-year-old Panama native will miss the first 25 games of the 2013 regular season. Following the news, Ruiz issued a statement to apologize to his team as well as the fans.  The Phillies also went public, stating that they were disappointed, but would continue to support their player.  Both of those are typical and were expected.  Also a sure thing are Philadelphia baseball fans' reactions to Ruiz upon his return.  The man they call "Chooch" is an individual that has accomplished a great amount while wearing Phils' red.  The "home grown" player has caught no-hitters.  He has become an All-Star.  He helped lock down a World Series championship and five consecutive division titles.  Philly faithful will absolutely continue to have their guy's back when he gets back on the field. Not

It's another edition of our weekly off-season league updates.  Check it out, as we take a tour around the globe for a look at Phillies talents participating in various autumn and winter league action.   Mexican League- Catcher Sebastian Valle (pictured, left) is batting .214 with two doubles, two home runs and seven RBI in 17 games with Los Mochis.  The righty hitting Valle, 22, was an All-Star in the Double-A Eastern League in 2012 prior to earning a promotion to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Venezuelan League- Darin Ruf wrapped up his time with the La Guaira last week. The 26-year-old Creighton product posted a .258 batting average with 10 HR and 27 RBI in 32 games for the Tiburones. Ruf, a 20th round draft choice from 2009, made his big league debut with the Phillies in September and batted .333 with two doubles, a triple and three home runs in 12 games. Righty reliever Justin Friend has a 3-1 record along with one save and a 5.19 ERA in 20 outings for La Guai

Jon Pettibone took great strides in 2012 On Tuesday, several additions to the 40-man roster were announced by the Phillies, as outfielder Zach Collier as well as pitchers Trevor May , Jonathan Pettibone , and Ethan Martin were all added. Collier, was a supplementary round draft choice by the Phillies in 2008. The lefty hitting California native performed extremely well in the recently wrapped up Arizona Fall League. To read my interview with Zach from last weekend, which includes more info on the 22-year-old, click here. May, a righty hurler, had an up-and-down 2012 after entering the regular season ranked by many outlets as the Phillies’ top prospect. May posted a 10-13 overall record along with a 4.87 ERA and a 9.09 K/9 mark with Double-A Reading this year. The 23-year-old was a 4th round draft pick in 2008. Pettibone had a strong 2012 campaign following a troubling start that saw him post a 1-3 record and a 4.78 ERA in his first six outings. In the 13 starts wh

It's another edition of our weekly off-season league updates.  Check it out, as we take a tour around the globe for a look at Phillies talents participating in various autumn and winter league action.  Venezuelan League- Outfielder Tyson Gillies (pictured, left) is done playing with the Lara team, after just 13 games, as his contract is up.  The 24-year-old had two separate stints in which he missed time in Venezuela, due to ailments, at least one of which was a hamstring issue, something Gillies has dealt with on a recurring basis since the Phillies acquired him in 2009.  The British Columbia native posted a .294 average with two doubles, one triple and four RBI with the Cardenales. Darin Ruf slugged his Venezuelan League leading 10th home run of the season on Sunday.  Ruf, playing mostly left field, has posted a .943 OPS and his 27 RBI are also tops in the league (tie).  Combined with his minor league leading total of 38 homers and his three in the big leagues this

On Saturday, the Peoria Javelinas won the Arizona Fall League championship in a winner-take-all one-game match up with Salt River, following a season in which the club posted a league-best 19-13 record. Peoria, which was made up of prospect from the Phillies, Reds, Twins, Padres and Mariners, featured many highly regarded prospects. Phils minor league outfielder Zach Collier was among them and was a certainly key contributor all throughout the five-week long season. In 19 games, the 22-year-old California native posted a .371 batting average with four doubles, three triples, 10 RBI and three steals. Collier, who began the 2012 regular season serving a 50-game suspension following a positive test for a banned substance in 2011, has had a slow rise in the developmental ranks after he was selected by the Phillies in the supplemental first round on the 2008 draft out of Chino Hills High School (CA). Along with missing time this year, Collier sat out the entire 2010 season followin

Phils hurler Tyler Cloyd relies on superstitions Baseball players are known for being some of the quirkiest of all athletes and, as such, they typically seem to be the most superstitious. Many people feel that superstitions and sports go hand in hand. The habits and things players believe can bring good luck or serve up bad luck are embedded deeply in the game of baseball. Some of the best known player activities based on bringing a positive vibe include kooky actions like Turk Wendell 's oral habits, which involved the former Cubs, Mets, Phillies and Rockies hurler chewing black licorice while he pitched and brushing his teeth between innings. Some players are big believers in physical routines, like the manner in which Mike Sweeney would enter the batter's box, touching his helmet and face multiple times, or how Nomar Garciaparra would unfasten and readjust his batting gloves between each pitch. The superstitions that are widely known are those that belong to

Through 10 outings with the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League, righty reliever Tyler Knigge has posted a 1-1 record with a 7.50 ERA, while striking out 10 batters and walking five over 12 innings. Knigge, a 12th round draft selection by the Phillies in 2010, took great strides during the regular season, as he tallied a 4-1 record, nine saves and a 0.60 ERA in 34 outings for Class A Advanced Clearwater, en route to becoming a Florida State League All-Star.  He then earned a promotion to Double A, where he tallied a 2.92 ERA with no decisions and two saves in 21 appearances.  Additionally, Knigge, who sports a fastball that has been clocked at 97 MPH, averaged 9.09 K/9 at the two levels this season. This week, Tyler offered his thoughts on his troublesome AFL stats, his close relationship with top Phils prospect Jesse Biddle , his intentions for the near future and plenty more.  Read ahead for that full interview. - Taking a look at your stats out there, through 8 g

Once again it's time for the weekly off-season league updates.  Check it out, as we take a tour around the globe for a look at Phillies talents participating in various autumn and winter action.  Statistics are current, through action played on Saturday.   Venezuelan League- Freddy Galvis (pictured, left) has a .315 average with four doubles, one triple and three homers while driving in nine runs in 24 contests for Zulia.  Despite recent reports that Galvis, who turns 23-years-old this week, could be a possible solution to the Phillies' vacancy problem at third base, the switch-hitter has played shortstop exclusively in the Venezuelan League.  Tyson Gillies returned to action on Saturday, after sitting out due to undisclosed reasons over the past two weeks.  The outfielder, who has dealt with a steady string of injuries since he was acquired from Seattle in 2009, missed nine days earlier in the Venezuelan League season with a hamstring issue.  In eight games for La

Once again, we're back with another edition of the PhoulBallz Minor League Podcast.  On episode 17, Tug and I talk about tons of topics, including big league free agents, Cody Asche , Tommy Joseph , Darin Ruf and other Phillies talents in the Arizona Fall League and other off-season leagues, the World Series, the Triple-A IronPigs' new manager, the rebranding of the Double-A Reading team, the MiLBY awards, pro wrestling as well as plenty more. Check out the media player below to hear the full episode, or download it by clicking HERE . You can also check out previous episodes and subscribe on iTunes .

Some noteworthy bits of news popped up today, topped by the revelation that the Phillies' Double-A club in Reading, which recently announced an upcoming name change, will reportedly be known as the Fightin's.  Rumors circulated online, early Tuesday, and a post by Chris Creamer of SportsLogos.net confirmed that the Reading team registered some telling domain names, which included ReadingFightins.com, FightinsBaseball.com and ReadingFightinPhillies.com. This proposed new name is not bad, especially since, in recent days, fans seemed greatly displeased over the team doing away with the Phillies name after using it for 46 years.  Simply using a different form of the previous nickname allows the club to avoid getting too far away from something that so many baseball fans throughout region have grown up with as well as the heritage that local fans love and appreciate. Using "The Fightin's" does seem silly, however, as Reading's main focus in changing the nick