Spring Training Flashback: 2009

With Hot Stove League news dwindling to an occasional drip, let's wind the time machine back a decade. We're at the Phillies spring training park in Clearwater.
Take note, these are the Defending World Champion Phils. Chase Utley at bat facing Aaron Harang of the Reds. And be sure to take note of the Philadelphia uniforms -- it's March 17th, and the club continues its tradition, credited to the late Tug McGraw, of wearing special green uniforms on this day, and auctioning them after the game for charity.

Check out the lineups in the image to the right. How many of those players are still active 10 years later?

None of the Phils -- but three of the Reds: Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Edwin Encarnacion.

Utley called it quits last fall after a 16-season big league career. A six-time all star, he might have been on the way to the Hall of Fame until injuries sidetracked him at the beginning of this decade. But he left fans, especially in Philadelphia, with a mountain of memories -- such as the World Series that October. After the Phils won their second straight pennant, he personally kept the team afloat, belting five home runs in a six-game loss to the Yankees.

Below, the famed tiki bar past the left field foul pole. The concept has since been copied by several clubs, but the Phillies are the first club to have one designed into their spring training home. And, of couse, a healthy amount of palm trees to remind our friends up north that we're in Florida.
(My images are from the Phillies/Reds game on March 17th, 2009.)

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