The players on the Phillies range in age from 10 thru 12 years old. For the 2000 season eight players are returning from 1999, and two of those, Nick and Josh, played on the team for the 1998 season. The other six returners, Brian, Kevin, David, Jonathan, Devin, and Sean joined the team last year. This year we will have to draft four more players to fill out the team.
The 2000 season will be my as 10th year as a major manager. In 1990 I took over the Major Giants for one year and then in 1991 went back to the minors for one final year at that level. For the first three years of the nine I've been in the majors the team was named the Giants. The Giants were the only team available when I originally got a major team. New uniforms forced the name change in 1994. I had a choice between the Braves and the Phillies. Being a true blue Dodger fan, there was no way I could take the name of their NL West rivals. So the Phillies were born.
In 1992 I had to draft 11 players to fill out the team. The one returning player quit 2 weeks before the season started. Needless to say we had a terrible season that year. The next year we went 13 - 9 over all and tied for the second half. We played and won a tie breaker and then won the first half - second half playoff game to finish in first place. Because of the playoffs, the league sent the 3rd place team to the Tournament of Champions and we didn't get to play in the TOC.
The entire major division was re-drafted in 1996 and I drafted five 10 year olds. Even with such a young team we managed to go 12 - 11 and finished in 2nd place. In 1997 the competition was tough and we went 11 - 13. 1998 was a good year for the Phillies. We went 8 - 1 in the first half and won a playoff berth. Our number two pitcher injured his arm with 4 games left in the season and as you might expect we had a tough second half going 4 - 6 after a 4 - 2 start. We had to play the winner of the second half in a playoff game and battled to a 9 - 6 win.
We went into the TOC short on pitching and still made it to the Championship game. During the semi-final game our starting pitcher (our number 3 pitcher) was ejected from the game in the 3rd inning and our starting catcher had to leave the game at the same time because of a sprained thumb. We finished the game with our number 4 and 5 pitchers and our backup catcher. We never gave up, and the team played like true champions. The score was 4 - 3 in favor of the Phillies. It was one of the best games I have ever seen in 17 years of managing Little League baseball.
In the Championship game we lost to the Dodgers from North Redondo by the score of 6 - 3. We played the Dodgers 3 times during the regular season and they where the only team we didn't beat.
The 1999 season was another good one for the Phillies, we won both halfs outright, then we played a great game and lost 1 - 0 in the TOC. With only four 12 year olds on the team in 1999, we were a young team.
Because of winning the Championship, we get the last pick in each round of the draft. (Thats a fair trade)
We're looking forward to the 2000 season and are determined to 3peat as League Champions.
"Things worthwhile generally just don't
happen. Luck is a fact, but it should not
be a factor. Good luck is what is leftover after intelligence and
efforts have
combined at their best. Negligence or indifference or inattention
are usually
reviewed from an unlucky seat. The law of cause and effect and
causality both
work the same with inexorable exactitudes. Luck is the residue of
design."
-- Branch Rickey, quoted from Branch Rickey's
Little Blue Book, Macmillian
Publishing