Brian Brian Kelley, links, NJ, Philadelphia Phillies, running, training

Update No. 4 – Back in training 2013: Preparing for my first 10K

Trenton Half Marathon logo

OK…it’s been awhile since the last update, but here’s the deal…I’m making progress in shortening my 10K times.

Today (10/16/13), I ran 6.23 miles in 1:04:36, setting a new personal best for a 10K in the process. This is actually my second 10K-distance run in less than 1 hour, 5 minutes, as I ran 6.23 miles in 1:04:50 on Sept. 25.  In between, I completed a 3.14-mile run in 30:27 on Oct. 9.

I’ve updated my run tracker below with links to data from my Nike+ Running app.

Original Post from May 4, 2013:
This week, I signed up for the Trenton (N.J.) 10K, which is held in conjunction with the Trenton Half Marathon. The race takes place Saturday, November 9, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. It will be yet another in a series of runs I’ve done this year that take place near or in a ballpark, as the Trenton 10K finishes inside the Trenton Thunder’s (Class AA affiliate of the New York Yankees) Arm & Hammer (formerly Mercer County) Waterfront Park. So far in 2013, I’ve taken part in the Phillies Charities 5K, which included a post-race walk around the warning track of Citizens Bank Park, and the Barnabas Health/Lakewood BlueClaws 5K, which finished inside FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood, N.J.—home of the Class A affiliate of the Phillies.

I don’t really claim to be a “runner,” but I’m trying to get in better shape and I’ve been enjoying running more and more over the years. Last night, I attempted my first-ever 10K-distance run and it went very well. The Nike+ app on my iPhone clocked me at 1:05:50 for a 6.24-mile run. There is definite room for improvement, but the thing I was really happy with was that—for my first time attempting that distance—I felt great throughout the run. I established a nice, comfortable pace early on that left me feeling good enough to turn in a rather solid final 1.24 miles. My average pace was 10:33 per mile, but I was running at a pace of under 10:00 per mile for the final 7/10th of a mile. In fact, I was cruising along at 9:31 per mile at the 6-mile mark.

It’s going to be rough to get in 10K-distance runs on a regular basis as I train for the Trenton 10K, so I’ll likely be doing mostly 5K runs with a few longer outings sprinkled in. But I’m hopeful I’ll be able to get in two or three 10K runs in a month—likely more closer to November—prior to the race.

Run Tracker
I’ll be posting updates on my progress here once or twice a week. The table below includes my run distances and times during this training period:

Date Distance Time
10/16/2013 6.23 miles 1:04:36 – personal record (10K)
10/9/2013 3.14 miles 30:27
9/25/2013 6.23 miles 1:04:50
9/23/2013 6.2 miles 1:05:12
9/20/2013 3.1 miles 30:10
9/4/2013 3.13 miles 32:10
8/14/2013 3.12 miles 29:52
7/26/2013 2.2 miles 23:13
5/19/2013 3.1 miles 29:52
5/12/2013 3.1 miles 30:42
5/3/2013 6.24 miles 1:05:50
Brian Brian Kelley, links, NJ, Philadelphia Phillies, running, training, weight loss

Update No. 3 – Back in training 2013: Preparing for my first 10K

Trenton Half Marathon logo

OK…the summer and everything going on during it really prevented me from doing a lot of running. However, this month, I have resumed training for the Trenton (N.J.) 10K in November.

As you will see in my run tracker below, I’ve only gone on five runs since May 19—and only one of those (yesterday, 9/23) was a 10K-distance run.

I’m going to try to do another 6.2-miler later this week. Ideally, I will be able to condition myself to finish the Trenton 10K in less than an hour. That essentially means I have to get down to an average pace of 9:30 per mile—a full minute less than my average pace during yesterday’s 10K-distance run.  That’s going to be tough to do with a little more than a month left for training and conditioning, but that’s my goal.

Original Post from May 4, 2013:
This week, I signed up for the Trenton (N.J.) 10K, which is held in conjunction with the Trenton Half Marathon. The race takes place Saturday, November 9, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. It will be yet another in a series of runs I’ve done this year that take place near or in a ballpark, as the Trenton 10K finishes inside the Trenton Thunder’s (Class AA affiliate of the New York Yankees) Arm & Hammer (formerly Mercer County) Waterfront Park. So far in 2013, I’ve taken part in the Phillies Charities 5K, which included a post-race walk around the warning track of Citizens Bank Park, and the Barnabas Health/Lakewood BlueClaws 5K, which finished inside FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood, N.J.—home of the Class A affiliate of the Phillies.

I don’t really claim to be a “runner,” but I’m trying to get in better shape and I’ve been enjoying running more and more over the years. Last night, I attempted my first-ever 10K-distance run and it went very well. The Nike+ app on my iPhone clocked me at 1:05:50 for a 6.24-mile run. There is definite room for improvement, but the thing I was really happy with was that—for my first time attempting that distance—I felt great throughout the run. I established a nice, comfortable pace early on that left me feeling good enough to turn in a rather solid final 1.24 miles. My average pace was 10:33 per mile, but I was running at a pace of under 10:00 per mile for the final 7/10th of a mile. In fact, I was cruising along at 9:31 per mile at the 6-mile mark.

It’s going to be rough to get in 10K-distance runs on a regular basis as I train for the Trenton 10K, so I’ll likely be doing mostly 5K runs with a few longer outings sprinkled in. But I’m hopeful I’ll be able to get in two or three 10K runs in a month—likely more closer to November—prior to the race.

Run Tracker
I’ll be posting updates on my progress here once or twice a week. The table below includes my run distances and times during this training period:

Date Distance Time
9/23/2013 6.2 miles 1:05:12
9/20/2013 3.1 miles 30:10
9/4/2013 3.13 miles 32:10
8/14/2013 3.12 miles 29:52
7/26/2013 2.2 miles 23:13
5/19/2013 3.1 miles 29:52
5/12/2013 3.1 miles 30:42
5/3/2013 6.24 miles 1:05:50
Brian Brian Kelley, links, NJ, Philadelphia Phillies, running, training, weight loss

Update #2 – Back in training 2013: Preparing for my first 10K

Trenton Half Marathon logo

This is a bit overdue, but I have done a couple of 5K-distance runs since I originally posted May 4 that I am “back in training” for the Trenton (N.J.) 10K in November. Those more recent times are in the table at the bottom of this post.

One of the runs was the Mercer County (N.J.) “Spirit of Boston” 5K on May 19, which I finished in 29:14 (official results – PDF). However, it is listed below as 29:52 because I was unable to immediately turn off my Nike+ app on my iPhone.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to get some more running in over the next couple of weeks. I’d really like to get another 10K-distance run (or two) in, if possible.

Original Post from May 4, 2013:
This week, I signed up for the Trenton (N.J.) 10K, which is held in conjunction with the Trenton Half Marathon. The race takes place Saturday, November 9, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. It will be yet another in a series of runs I’ve done this year that take place near or in a ballpark, as the Trenton 10K finishes inside the Trenton Thunder’s (Class AA affiliate of the New York Yankees) Arm & Hammer (formerly Mercer County) Waterfront Park. So far in 2013, I’ve taken part in the Phillies Charities 5K, which included a post-race walk around the warning track of Citizens Bank Park, and the Barnabas Health/Lakewood BlueClaws 5K, which finished inside FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood, N.J.—home of the Class A affiliate of the Phillies.

I don’t really claim to be a “runner,” but I’m trying to get in better shape and I’ve been enjoying running more and more over the years. Last night, I attempted my first-ever 10K-distance run and it went very well. The Nike+ app on my iPhone clocked me at 1:05:50 for a 6.24-mile run. There is definite room for improvement, but the thing I was really happy with was that—for my first time attempting that distance—I felt great throughout the run. I established a nice, comfortable pace early on that left me feeling good enough to turn in a rather solid final 1.24 miles. My average pace was 10:33 per mile, but I was running at a pace of under 10:00 per mile for the final 7/10th of a mile. In fact, I was cruising along at 9:31 per mile at the 6-mile mark.

It’s going to be rough to get in 10K-distance runs on a regular basis as I train for the Trenton 10K, so I’ll likely be doing mostly 5K runs with a few longer outings sprinkled in. But I’m hopeful I’ll be able to get in two or three 10K runs in a month—likely more closer to November—prior to the race.

I’ll be posting updates on my progress here once or twice a week. The table below includes my run distances and times during this training period:

Date Distance Time
5/19/2013 3.1 miles 29:52
5/12/2013 3.1 miles 30:42
5/3/2013 6.24 miles 1:05:50
Brian Brian Kelley, links, NJ, Philadelphia Phillies, running, training, weight loss

Back in training 2013: Preparing for my first 10K

Trenton Half Marathon logoThis week, I signed up for the Trenton (N.J.) 10K, which is held in conjunction with the Trenton Half Marathon. The race takes place Saturday, November 9, 2013, at 8:30 a.m. It will be yet another in a series of runs I’ve done this year that take place near or in a ballpark, as the Trenton 10K finishes inside the Trenton Thunder’s (Class AA affiliate of the New York Yankees) Arm & Hammer (formerly Mercer County) Waterfront Park. So far in 2013, I’ve taken part in the Phillies Charities 5K, which included a post-race walk around the warning track of Citizens Bank Park, and the Barnabas Health/Lakewood BlueClaws 5K, which finished inside FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood, N.J.—home of the Class A affiliate of the Phillies.

I don’t really claim to be a “runner,” but I’m trying to get in better shape and I’ve been enjoying running more and more over the years. Last night, I attempted my first-ever 10K-distance run and it went very well. The Nike+ app on my iPhone clocked me at 1:05:50 for a 6.24-mile run. There is definite room for improvement, but the thing I was really happy with was that—for my first time attempting that distance—I felt great throughout the run. I established a nice, comfortable pace early on that left me feeling good enough to turn in a rather solid final 1.24 miles. My average pace was 10:33 per mile, but I was running at a pace of under 10:00 per mile for the final 7/10th of a mile. In fact, I was cruising along at 9:31 per mile at the 6-mile mark.

It’s going to be rough to get in 10K-distance runs on a regular basis as I train for the Trenton 10K, so I’ll likely be doing mostly 5K runs with a few longer outings sprinkled in. But I’m hopeful I’ll be able to get in two or three 10K runs in a month—likely more closer to November—prior to the race.

I’ll be posting updates on my progress here once or twice a week. The table below includes my run distances and times during this training period:

Date Distance Time
5/3/2013 6.24 miles 1:05:50
Brian Brian Kelley, NJ, Philadelphia, Philadelphia 76ers, Philadelphia Phillies, Phillies, Sixers, sports, Twitter

Why I won’t be tweeting much until July

A couple of months ago, I realized I was going to send my 10,000th post to Twitter at some point this year. At the time, I thought the milestone would come no sooner than mid-July, but I just happened to check the other day and noticed I was only 25 tweets away. That’s probably due to an unexpectedly high number of tweets related to the craptacularness of the 2012 Philadelphia Phillies.

After tonight’s huge Sixers 79-78, playoff series-clinching win over the Bulls in Game 6, my tweet count stands at 9,983. Once this post is published, it will also go to Twitter and put me at 9,984.

I estimate that 98 percent of these 9,984 tweets were inconsequential and unimportant. So I have decided that I want my 10,000th tweet to mean something. I would hate to think I may casually use that milestone to tell the world for about the 1,000th time that Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick sucks or use it to retweet a funny quip by a fellow fan or beat writer.

Since my wife and I are expecting our first child in early July, I would like to use that 10,000th tweet to announce the birth of my son or daughter (it’s a surprise). Therefore, I’m going to refrain from doing a lot of tweeting until that day comes.

I’ll still be reading my timeline and chiming in every now and then…hopefully, after another Sixers playoff round win…or two…or three?! But once I hit 9,995 tweets, I’m going to stop tweeting entirely until my wife goes into labor. Fortunately, the Phillies being so bad is actually helping at this point, as I’ve entered that phase where I now feel they’re just not worth tweeting about.

So if you don’t see me on Twitter much over the next eight weeks or so, this post explains my absence.

And, if you missed it when I posted this here in late December 2011, here is the horror/sci-fi teaser trailer I made to tell my family and friends about our new addition…because I’m a huge geek…

Baby Kelley Teaser Trailer

Brian baseball, Cliff Lee, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Phillies, Phillies, Roy Halladay, sports, trade, Yankees

If reports are true, Phillies are making huge mistake

OK…most baseball fans are aware of the reportedly impending trade of Toronto Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay to the Philadelphia Phillies and the reported companion trade (right now, this does not appear to be a 3-team deal) of Phillies ace Cliff Lee to Seattle.

While I love Lee and appreciate what he did for the Phillies in his short time with them, I understood that the Phillies needed to a) create payroll space to fit Halladay’s contract, and b) acquire prospects from another team to fulfill Toronto’s trade demands.

Also, it sounds like the Phillies were not confident Lee would sign a contract extension. Lee is good friends with CC Sabathia, who signed a 7-year, $161 million contract with the New York Yankees last offseason, and he was quoted by the Cleveland Plain Dealer in August that he was looking to enter free agent market after the 2010 season.

So I was OK with the “Trade Lee” scenario if it meant getting Halladay and signing him to an extension while leaving the Phillies’ top prospects (P Kyle Drabek, OF Michael Taylor, C Travis D’Arnaud) safely down on the farm.

Keep in mind, back in July 2009, when the Phillies pursued Halladay the first time, Phils general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. kept saying Drabek and Taylor were “untouchable.” So instead of giving in to Toronto’s demands, Amaro turned around and traded for Lee by sending second-tier prospects (P Jason Knapp, P Carlos Carrasco, C Lou Marson and SS Jason Donald) to the Cleveland Indians.

Lee went on to be a stud for the Phillies in the playoffs and World Series while Halladay remained untraded in Toronto.

Everyone knew the Phillies would stay in the hunt for Halladay during the offseason, so it doesn’t surprise me that a deal is apparently in the works. But when FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal mused a few days ago that he had a hunch the Phillies might trade Lee in order to create the payroll space to add Halladay, I was among many who didn’t think it made any sense. In the World Series against the Yankees, what hurt the Phillies was not having a clear No. 2 pitcher behind Lee. I assumed the objective was to have Halladay AND Lee in 2010.

But the more I thought about it, the more I was OK with trading Lee…ONLY if it meant the Phillies would be sending the prospects acquired in a Lee trade to Toronto as part of a package for Halladay. I could even support sending Taylor or D’Arnaud as part of such a package.

However, as more and more sportswriters started reporting what they were hearing about the Halladay deal, which started coming to light Monday afternoon, it became apparent that this blockbuster is not shaping up to be a three-team trade. It was starting to become much more evident that the Phillies had worked out a separate deal with Seattle that would send Lee to the Mariners for second-tier prospects in order to cut payroll.

The latest reports indicate the Phillies are still going to be trading either Drabek or J.A. Happ, Taylor, and D’Arnaud to the Blue Jays in exchange for Halladay, who appears likely to sign an extension with the Phillies reported to be in the 3-year, $60 million range.

Now, I’m ecstatic about the Phils getting Halladay and that kind of contract for one of the best pitchers in baseball is awesome.

But if the Phillies were going to wind up trading Drabek et al for Halladay now when they were “untouchable” in July, my question is…why didn’t the Phillies get both Lee and Halladay last July? If the Phillies had made both moves, I’m pretty sure there would be a good chance the Phillies would be two-time defending World Series champions right now.

And they would probably be in the position they are in right now…signing one of the aces to a long-term deal while trading away the other one. But the Phillies would have had a few months with both Lee and Halladay, and likely would have had another ring to show for it. It would have made losing the prospects more palatable.

But now? What’s the point? The Phillies appear to still be selling the farm for Halladay and sending Lee to Seattle in what is a thinly disguised salary dump. Sure, Amaro may say something like, “The Blue Jays were adamant in their demands so I made the best deal possible with Lee to replenish the farm system and make the deal with Toronto.”

But here’s the thing…the Lee trade — as it appears right now — does not replenish the farm system. The Phillies will be getting second-tier prospects back for their ace while trading their top-shelf prospects for Halladay. I mean, if the Seattle prospects were close to the value of Drabek, Taylor and D’Arnaud, why aren’t any of them going to the Blue Jays? The answer is Toronto doesn’t want them.

The quality of prospects mentioned coming over to Philly from Seattle — reportedly pitcher Phillipe Aumont, outfielder Tyson Gillies (“Gillies the Phillies” must have appealed to Amaro?), and possibly pitcher Juan Ramirez — is not even close to what the Phils’ farm would be losing.

Essentially, if this all goes down the way it is being reported right now, it means the Phils will have given up Drabek (or Happ), Taylor, D’Arnaud, Knapp, Carrasco, Marson, Donald — and CLIFF LEE — for Roy Halladay (through 2013) and two or three second-tier prospects (and cash and payroll flexibility).

That is an awful, awful deal. And the timing makes it even worse.

Again, I would have been OK with trading Lee in a true three-team deal that would have lightened the Phillies’ cost in terms of prospects going to Toronto. But if Halladay is going to cost the Phillies their top prospects anyway, I say just keep Cliff Lee, bite the bullet on payroll in 2010 and beat the freakin’ Yankees in October.

UPDATE: It’s becoming obvious that Amaro is misreading the value of these two deals because he’s not factoring Lee into what is becoming a staggering price to pay for Halladay in terms of prospects. While trading away the farm is never a good idea, keeping Lee while obtaining Halladay is the most beneficial scenario for the Phillies — except from a payroll standpoint. So if that’s the case, why didn’t Amaro simply non-tender Joe Blanton — whose 2010 salary is basically equal to Lee’s — or trade him for a bag of baseballs to create the payroll space needed to keep Halladay and Lee in the Phillies’ rotation in 2010? Maybe the problem is that Amaro is caught between trying to do what Phillies ownership want (keep payroll in line with the budget) and what’s best for the organization (keep the farm system stocked). He’s trying to do both and that might not be the best thing to do. He should be looking at these deals as what would be the best value for the Phillies…and, at this point, acquiring Halladay and keeping Lee for 2010 provides the best value.

Also, Jayson Stark said on ESPN Radio this morning that the Phillies are getting the Mariners’ top two pitching prospects (Aumont, Ramirez) and an outfielder similar to Taylor (Gillies). Well, I saw video of Aumont last night and his mechanics have all the hallmarks of Tommy John surgery in a year or two. Ramirez is supposedly the better of the two pitchers, and Gillies comparable to Taylor? I have seen Michael Taylor play and the kid is a stud so that’s a lot to live up to for Gillies.

Brian baseball, Philadelphia Phillies, Phillies, sports

Vote for Victorino…TODAY!

Vote for Shane Victorino!
Vote for Shane Victorino!

Phillies centerfielder Shane Victorino is in a tight race for the National League team’s final roster spot in MLB’s Final Vote competition. Voting ends today at 4 p.m. ET, so CLICK HERE NOW and vote as many times as you can (there is no limit) before 4 p.m. to send Shane to the All-Star Game.

Last night, Victorino was the hero for the Phillies as he delivered a two-out, RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Phils a 3-2 walk-off win. And, as the official campaign video below shows, Shane has come through time and time again for the reigning World Series champions.

Vote Victorino…TODAY!

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about “Vote for Victorino…TODAY!“, posted with vodpod

Brian baseball, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Phillies, Phillies, Raul Ibanez, sports, video

Beating the Mets sounds great in any language

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Comcast SportsNet-Philly featured a chat with the lead announcer for the Phillies’ Spanish-language affiliate during last night’s Phillies-Mets game, which the Phillies won 6-3 after Raul Ibanez hit a 3-run home run in the top of the 10th inning.

After Ibanez hit the home run, CSN played the Spanish version of the call, which The Fightins has posted online (thanks!).

Brian baseball, links, Philadelphia Phillies, Phillies

Phillies wins are good for my blog

Whenever I look at the stats for my little ol’ blog here, I am amazed at how much traffic I received during the Phillies’ World Series-winning run in 2009.

My blog normally gets a few hundred views per month…I would say in the 600-800 range, typically. But in May 2008, page views jumped from 707 during the previous month to 1,623. The next three months were in the 1,200 neighborhood.

Then, during the final stretch of the Phillies’ season in September, as they made their run to a second consecutive National League East title, views went up to 2,196 for the month. During the playoffs in October, my blog enjoyed its best traffic ever with 3,765 views. After falling to 1,675 in November, the blog has returned to its typical 600-800 views per month.

I don’t want to turn this into a Phillies-only blog, especially since there are so many great ones out there already, like The Good Phight, Phillies Nation, The Fightins, etc. But I should probably write more about the team than I do for the sake of blog traffic.

By the way, the Phillies won their seventh in a row last night with a 3-0 victory over the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Cole Hamels tossed a complete-game, five-hit shutout for the Phils, who now have a four-game lead over the Mets in the NL East race.

Brian baseball, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Phillies, Phillies

Today is my 30th anniversary…as a Phillies (and Philly) fan

Phillies logos during my 30 years of "phandom."
Phillies logos during my 30 years of "phandom."

For the first eight years of my existence, my dad raised me to be a New York Mets fan, believe it or not. Growing up in Brick, N.J., we would make one or two trips each summer to Shea Stadium to watch the Mets play, but I never really got into it. Strangely, though, my favorite player from those awful Mets teams in the mid-to-late 1970s was catcher John Stearns. More on that later.

But my dad grew tired of making the drive up to Shea from our house in Brick, which was located close to Route 70, an east-west state highway that extended all the way to Pennsauken, N.J. From there, one would merge for a short time onto Route 38, pick up Route 130 South, and then head on over the Walt Whitman Bridge to South Philadelphia. In other words, it was an easy 90-minute drive. Hence, my dad decided we were going to see the Mets play the Phillies at Veterans Stadium on Sunday, April 22, 1979.

Initially, I was upset — mostly because I was a temperamental 7-year old (I would turn 8 in July). But Shea Stadium was the only ballpark I knew and that’s where I wanted to go.

However, once we got to “The Vet,” something happened. First of all, compared to Shea, The Vet was spectacular (The Vet may have been a dump in reality, but Shea was — by far — the bigger dump.) Plus, there was the Phanatic! That was fun. And the Phillies had a pretty good pitcher on the mound that day…future Hall of Fame southpaw Steve “Lefty” Carlton. And I remember Pete Rose, in his first year with the Phillies, diving into the first couple of rows of seats along the first-base side to catch a foul pop. And for the first seven innings, Carlton and the Phillies were cruising along with a 2-0 lead going into the eighth. I immediately switched allegiances and became a Phillies fan.

That’s probably where the day went wrong for the Phils, as the Mets went up 4-2 in the eighth, when Carlton surrendered three runs before reliever Ron Reed gave up an unearned run in the frame. That would turn out to be the final score, but it didn’t matter…I had a new team.

(By the way, I didn’t remember all those details…most are courtesy of the great Retrosheet.org.)

And when we left the stadium, we wound up walking next to offices for the Eagles. I asked my dad who they were and he said they were Philadelphia’s football team. I asked about the arena across the street and he told me that’s where the Sixers and Flyers play. So, really, April 22, 1979, marks the day I became a fan of all Philly teams — and of sports, in general.

But Phillies baseball became my greatest passion that day. And, because I was at the game, I hadn’t yet heard the legendary broadcast team of Harry Kalas and Richie “Whitey” Ashburn calling the Phillies games…that was another plus of being a fan of the team.

Although my dad was still primarily a Mets fan, he began to like the Phillies, too, and we went back to The Vet a few more times that year — and for many years after that (my dad has pretty much become a Phillies fan these days…his days as a Mets fan ended when they fired Bobby Valentine as manager). The Phillies — after winning three straight NL East titles from 1976-78 — finished in a disappointing fourth place in 1979. Of course, in 1980, they became world champions of baseball for the first time in the franchise’s long history.

And that brings me back to Mets catcher John Stearns. As I mentioned, he was my favorite Mets player around 1977 and ’78. Since I wasn’t a big sports fan back then, I never looked at Stearns’ career statistics or history. It wasn’t until a few years later that I learned that Stearns was drafted in 1973 by — guess who — the Philadelphia Phillies. In December 1974, he was traded to the New York Mets. The key player the Phillies received from the Mets in that trade? Relief pitcher Tug McGraw, who struck out Willie Wilson in the ninth inning to clinch the Phillies’ World Series title in 1980.

So, before I became a Phillies fan, my favorite player on the Mets turned out to be a former Phillie (Stearns played one game with the Phils in September 1974) whose trade allowed for the iconic image of Tug McGraw’s celebratory leap upon winning the 1980 World Series to become a reality.

I guess it was just meant to be.