PhoulBallz.com

On the 74th edition of the PhoulBallz Minor League Podcast, Tug and Jay discuss the recent Hall of Fame voting including thoughts on Pedro Martinez and Barry Bonds . The guys also pour through the revamped Phillies prospect core thanks to last year's amateur draft, trades and December's Rule 5 draft, reviewing Jesmuel Valentin , Zach Eflin , Odubel Herrera as well as plenty more. Also minor league infielder Carlos Alonso joins the guys for the fun segment Nine Silly-Ass Questions. Use the media player below to stream the full episode, or simply download it by clicking HERE . You can also check out previous episodes and subscribe on iTunes . Thanks also for making the previous episode of the show featuring live call-in guest Matt Imhof the most downloaded edition ever!

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 ...

On Monday, the Baseball Writers' Association of America announced that former Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin has been voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The 12-time All-Star was chosen on 495 of 573 ballots (86%), well above the necessary 75 percent. This year marked Larkin's third time on the ballot. He fell 75 votes short of making it into the Hall last year. Larkin, who was named National League MVP in 1995, will be inducted July 22nd in Cooperstown, NY along with the late Ron Santo, who was elected by the Veterans Committee. Over his 19-year career with the Reds, Larkin posted a .295 average along with with 198 HR, 960 RBI, 2,340 hits, 1,329 runs scored and 379 stolen bases. I don't wish to debate Larkin's place in history or his worthiness for votes, however, it is likely that the nine-time Silver Slugger Award winner and three-time Gold Glove Award winner, received a boost from voters thanks to the limited options available for induction this...

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...

Former Phillies General Manager Pat Gillick was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Monday by the 16-member Expansion Era Committee. Gillick, who won 3 World Series as an executive with the Blue Jays (1993-1993) and the Phillies (2008), declared that the announcement was an honor. "It's really on behalf of all the people I worked with over the years. That's who I feel this honor is for," Gillick stated. Gillick received 13 votes, one more than required to be elected. Marvin Miller, a longtime executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, fell one vote short of election this year. Candidates must receive 75% of the vote to be elected, thus needing 12 of the 16 votes. By definition, the Expansion Era covered umpires, managers and executives who made their greatest contributions to the game from 1973 to the present. As for players to be considered, that period was 1973-89. Currently employed as a senior advisor to current Phillies gene...

Tonight, July 1st, the Lakewood BlueClaws will host 2010 National Baseball Hall of Fame honoree Andre Dawson. (Tickets available here ) The man known as "The Hawk" will throw out a ceremonial first pitch and sign autographs for phans in attendance through out the game. Friend of PhoulBallz, Jenn Fink , wrote the following piece about her childhood love of Dawson and the time she spent bonding with her father over the national pastime, baseball. Jenn and her dad at The Field of Dreams site, circa- back in the day As a product of the 1980's, I had many favorite baseball players. I grew up a New York Yankee fan (thanks to my cousin) but have always had a sweet spot in my heart for the Philadelphia Phillies. However, my favorite player was not a Yankee or a Phillie, it was an Expo/Cub/Red Sock/Marlin….Andre “The Hawk” Dawson . Growing up, my family lived about 30 minutes from Philadelphia (on a good day) and my parents would take me to as many Phillies games as they could aff...

The baseball world lost one its all-time greats on Thursday morning as Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts passed away at the age of 83. An official release from the Phillies stated that Roberts died of natural causes at his Florida home. Roberts had a 286-245 career record with a 3.41 ERA. As a Phillie, Roberts posted a 234-199 record and completed 272 games. Also, from 1949-1960, he won at least 10 games each season. That streak of 12 straight seasons with double-digit victories is 2nd, only to Steve Carlton, in team history. Roberts also threw 3 one-hitters in his Phillies career. A seven time all-star, Roberts was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976. Roberts was attending Michigan State University on a basketball scholarship, when the Phillies convinced him to sign a professional baseball contract by offering him a $25,000 bonus. At 21-years-old in 1948, Roberts attended his first spring training, before being assigned to the Phillies minor league affiliate in W...

On Tuesday, it was announced that long-time Expos and Cubs outfielder Andre Dawson was voted by the Baseball Writers Association of America to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Dawson will be inducted on July 25th, in Cooperstown, NY, along with former Major League manager Whitey Herzog and umpire Doug Harvey, who were both elected by the Veterans Committee in December. The statistic that most people in the media are tossing out there, as pertaining to Dawson, is that he is one of three players in the history of MLB to hit at least 400 homeruns and steal at least 300 bases. The other two men are Barry Bonds and Willie Mays. That is obviously a very exclusive club and Dawson is quite deserving. In his 21-year career, Dawson hit 438 homers, drove in 1591 runs and had 2774 hits. Not to take anything away from those who ARE being honored this year, but I feel as though it's time to honor someone who has been deserving for a long time. If you aren't familiar ...

So many top level talents are still free agents this offseason. Andy Pettitte finally signed an incentive laden deal with the Yankees yesterday, which can be worth as much as $12 million, but as little as $5.5 million. With under 3 weeks until pitchers and catchers report for spring training, have a look at the big names who are still available. Catchers- Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez- an eventual Hall of Famer Jason Varitek, a mainstay with the Red Sox for, well, ever...still remains unsigned Outfielders- Bobby Abreu, a steady numbers guy and former all star Adam Dunn, 40 or more homers for 4 straight years Ken Griffey Jr, more HoF names on the list Manny Ramirez, another Hall of Famer with a monster bat Garret Anderson, .296 career avg. and 84 RBI last year Jim Edmonds, 20 homers last season is worth consideration Starting pitchers- Livan Hernandez, former world champ & all star racks up innings Tom Glavine, surely another HoF lock Ben Sheets, has talent but is an injury conce...

I got a lot of baseball books for holiday gifts and as I read through them, I find many remarkable stories. These have inspired me to share and teach some Phillies history. Who has heard of Eppa Rixey? I hadn't either. Eppa Rixey was a Phillies pitcher during the 19-teens into the 19-twenties. In 1916, Rixey had a break-out season, when he won 22 games for our Phillies and had an ERA of 1.85. The tables turned the following season. In 1917, Eppa Rixey's record was 16-21. His high loss total was mainly due to a lack of run support. There was one stretch when Rixey lost 5 straight starts, while the Phillies offense could only amass 3 total runs in those 5 games. Rixey even threw 4 shutouts that season. The tales of this solid pitcher not being able to shine continued. Rixey served in the military in 1918, and saw action in World War 1. He returned in mid-1919 to put up a 6-12 record. But in 1920, Eppa led the National League with 22 losses, despite completing 25 of his 33 starts!...