9/29/25 : News and Notes

Red October :

It says a lot about a team’s fan base when an intra-squad scrimmage’s advance ticket sales have already amounted to filling half the stadium - if availed it seems likely the other seats might just be filled as well 😳!  Phillies playoff anticipation engulfs the entire region especially when expectations are at the highest mark. This year I get to experience that while living in the region as opposed to watching from Florida in the most recent years past. In the last three years the fan base has proven that playoff crowds here are different - it’s intense baseball watching - rarely leaving the seating area - into every play of the game - often standing throughout - loud beyond imagination with negativity left outside the gates - Philly support at it’s best. It’s deemed Red October and with eleven more wins in it’s midst will end in a Broad Street Parade not seen for baseball in this area in seventeen years. It says here as it has for the past month that the Phillies will win the 2025 World Series - feel it in my gut, heart and soul and with eager anticipation await seeing it with my eyes!

European Championship Tournament :

There was another pro level baseball championship tournament recently played - the European Baseball Championship was won by the Netherlands in a September 20-27 tournament held in the Netherlands, Italy and Belgium featuring sixteen national teams competing. The Netherlands team had a perfect 6-0 record. Phillies minor league RHP Jaydenn Estanista pitched for the Netherlands squad appearing in four games (4.2 IP) without allowing a run, he struck out nine batters, walked just one and yielded only one hit. Opposing hitters had a minuscule .067 batting average against him. Jaydenn pitched the final two innings in the championship game against Italy and struck out five batters earning the save in a 6-5 win! The 23 year old who finished his regular season this summer with Reading now heads to the Arizona Fall League as part of the Phillies contingent. Some former Phillies who participated in the tournament included Nelson Prada (Manager - Spain), Gabriel Lino (Catcher - Spain), Lou Helmig (First Baseman - Germany), Nick Ward (Infielder - Great Britain), Didi Gregorius (Infielder - Netherlands), Jiandido Tromp (Outfielder - Netherlands) and Chase d’Arnaud (Coach - Croatia).

Lehigh Valley leads in Attendance :

Kudos to the fan base of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs who led the Minor Leagues in attendance for a third consecutive year! They led in both total attendance (585,167) and average attendance (8,242). No other minor league team averaged over 8,000 fans this season 😳. It’s the 9th time in the team’s 17 year history that they have led minor league baseball in either overall or average attendance. The club also welcomed their 10 Millionth fan thru the gates this summer reaching that milestone faster than any team in the modern era.  “The IronPigs had 21 capacity sellouts (10,100 fans) this season as well as 39 sellouts (8,364 fans). This brings the total to 278 capacity sellouts all-time and 689 sellouts all-time.” - 9/22 article on team website.  Congrats to the organization and the fan base for their tremendous support!

Batting Champions History Made :

Trea Turner won the National League batting championship - the first Phillies player to do so since Richie Ashburn won it in 1958 - congrats to Trea! The accomplishment has another historical caveat - Justin Crawford won the International League batting title at the AAA level and Felix Reyes won the Eastern League batting title at the AA level. It marks the first time in Phillies history that they’ve had a big league title winner and two minor league title winners (at the two highest minor league levels no less) in the same season! My guess is that Phillies fan who used to say “Everybody Hits!” in the stands would be very proud 🤓. I think it’s quite something indeed.

Minor League All-Stars :

Otto Kemp, Mick Abel and Justin Crawford were named International League All-Stars and Abel was awarded the Pitcher of the Year Award. Mick’s a great young man and I’m very pleased for his breakthrough season this year including a great close to his year with six shutout innings against the Phillies for the Twins on Saturday night.

Felix Reyes and Aidan Miller were both named Double A level All-Stars with Reyes also earning and awarded the Eastern League MVP title.

Aroon Escobar was named to the Florida State League All-Star squad for his play while at Clearwater this summer.

Community Service Awards :

I know it’s been mentioned elsewhere but I wanted to throw it in here also - community service is a big deal for teams and the areas that they play in - the Phillies have always done a great job recognizing those efforts and did so again this past week. Kyle Schwarber won the big league award for his vast efforts while Lehigh Valley’s Devin Sweet, Reading’s Tommy McCollum, Jersey Shore’s Kodey Shojinaga, Clearwater’s Eli Trop and the Player Development Complex’s Naoel Mejia were recognized for their efforts. That’s good stuff!

Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️

Preston Mattingly with award winners Naoel Mejia, Eli Trop, Tommy McCollum, Kodey Shojinaga and Devin Sweet

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