Presented by the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
Don Mattingly tweaked the Phillies lineup, and it paid off dividends. Kyle Schwarber, Brandon Marsh, and Alec Bohm all homered. Jesus Luzardo was sharp as the Phillies beat the Marlins 8-2. They look for the sweep today. June 17 saw big moments in Phillies history, a franchise altering trade for the Sixers and the debut of the GOAT.
The GOAT Debuts
Less than a week after signing with the Phillies in 1971, Mike Schmidt made his professional debut, playing shortstop for the Phillies in an exhibition game against the Reading Phillies. He played the whole game and hit the game winning homerun. Schmidt would stay in Reading to finish the season before moving on to AAA Eugene for 1972. The Phillies and Reading Phillies played exhibition games throughout the 70s and 80s before CBAs changed the landscape.
The Bats Wake Up
The Phillies offense was struggling heading into their 1979 game against the Reds. Randy Lerch pitched eight solid innings, striking out six. The Phillies found themselves tied at 3, heading into the bottom of the eighth inning. The bats finally woke up thanks to a pair of 2-run doubles from Bob Boone and Garry Maddox. Tug McGraw shut the Reds down in the ninth, giving the Phillies a 9-3 win.
Another Franchise Altering Day
Hours after being acquitted of battery and disorderly conduct charges in Milwaukee that stemmed from an incident in a bar where he punched a guy in the face and broke his nose, Charles Barkley was traded by the Sixers. The 1991-92 season was a struggle for Barkley and the Sixers. Barkley was not happy with the front office’s efforts to build a team around him and made it known. A week prior to the 1992 draft, the Sixers sent Barkley to Phoenix for Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang, and Tim Perry. It would take the Sixers until the late 90s when they drafted Allen Iverson to be relevant again.
What’s in a Name
In 2003 the Phillies announced that their new ballpark would be named Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies and Citizens Bank agreed to a 25-year $95 million deal to name the park that would open the following year. That night on the field at the Phillies old home, the Vet, the Phillies walked off the Braves 5-4 when David Bell knocked in Nick Punto. Jimmy Rollins went 4-4 with two doubles and two RBI.
Thome Makes History
The Phillies lost to the Blue Jays 6-2 on this day in 2012. Jim Thome hit a homer in the top of the second inning. It was his 100th career home run with the Phillies. He became the fourth player in MLB history to hit 100 or more homers with three different teams. (Cleveland, White Sox, and Phillies).
Trivia – Jim Thome currently is one of five players to hit 100 homers with three different teams. Who are the other 4? (Answer Below)
Trivia Answer – Reggie Jackson, Darrell Evans, Alex Rodriguez, Jim Thome, and Adrian Beltre.
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