Phillies Alumni Weekend is always a fun time of the year. It’s seriously great to see some of the legends from Phillies history. This year, we’ll get to see Jim Thome inducted into the Wall of Fame, Randy Wolf and Placido Polanco officially retiring as members of the Phillies, and more than 40 other greats from several different decades making appearances.  But what would make it even cooler would be an actual old timers game—they could play it on whichever day of the weekend has a night game, and include it into the promotion with the game ticket.
In years past, the Phillies would host old-timers games featuring your favorite ex-players in action on the field. It’s been decades, though, since the team hosted such an event (side note: the Phils hosted an Alumni Batting Challenge in 2010 that featured the likes of Kevin Stocker, Jim Eisenreich and Ricky Bottalico mashing baseballs, but that wasn’t the same as a game). Bringing back a true old-timers game could add an exciting draw for the team’s annual alumni festivities.
My idea for how a returning old-timers exhibition should go down would be to turn it into a softball game. We already have the celebrity softball game during the All-Star Break (my personal favorite event), which includes some retired MLB legends in addition to the celebrities from outside the game. It would be a great opportunity to see some of those Phillies greats that fans love so much in an environment other than just honoring them on the field before the game.
The Phillies could even make it fun for fans by having them choose captains for each team and having the teams picked the day of the game, playground style. They could have Scott Palmer M.C., the whole thing and the Phillie Phanatic doing his usual shenanigans. I could see the Phillies turning it into an annual tradition that becomes a fan favorite part of Alumni Weekend. These are all just ideas, though.
Would you want to add an Old Timers Game to alumni weekend?
Latest Comments