Prior to Thursday's Double-A Reading Fightins game at Trenton, home of the Yankees' affiliate the Thunder, I noticed a youngster among a group of about a few dozen children from a local school singing the national anthem. Among the crowd, there was one kid who wasn't quite interested in singing at all. He caught my attention while he was glancing backward toward the stadium's video board and not participating with his classmates, who were positioned with him on the field. After a few lines, I picked up my camera to capture video of the boy who seemed considerably impressed with his status in the moment. Have a look at that fairly cute video clip below.
Danny Ozark was the Phillies' manager from 1973-1979. During his tenure as the team's general, Ozark led Philadelphia to three straight division titles. In his playing days, Ozark was a first baseman, who was a career minor leaguer in the Dodgers system. When Ozark took over the team in 1973, the Phillies were fresh off 5 consecutive losing seasons and 3 straight last place finishes. During his first season in charge, the Phillies would again finish in last place, 20 games under .500, but as his core of young talent, like Mike Schmidt and Larry Bowa, developed, the Phillies' win totals rose. Within 2 years, the Phillies were above .500 and in the playoff hunt until late in the season and the most successful era of Phillies history was about to begin. By 1976, the Phillies were headed to the post-season for the first time since 1950. The Phils would enjoy a 10-game lead over their nearest division rival at the midway point of the season. Despite a lul, which saw their lead d...
Comments