aaron Nola – Baseball Betsy

Phillies Finally Sign Baseball’s Premier Catcher, JT Realmuto

January 26, 2021January 27, 2021Baseball BetsyLeave a comment

Let’s be honest, even die hard Phillies fans were sweating this one out, no one knew if the Phillies would cough up the dough to make (in the words of the Inky’s Matt Breen) “Baseball’s Premier Catcher” JT Realmuto stay in Philly.

I know I bit my nails to the quick. I really didn’t think they could come up with enough money to give Realmuto his dream to be the highest average annual value for a catcher in the history of baseball. The “magic number” they agreed upon was $23.1 million per season over five years for a grand total of *drumroll* $155.5 MILLION DOLLARS.

For the next three years, the Phillies look to have a rather beefy team with Realmuto, Bryce Harper, Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler. They also just inked Rhys Hoskins to keep him at first…hopefully, “Rookie Season Rhys” will return and be a bigger contributor this season.

After the abysmal year that was 2020, both on and off the field, may be, just may be, there’s a light at the end of this long tunnel between championship wins. Let’s just hope it’s not the headlight of an oncoming train.

Pictures from Phillies Spring Training 2018-Day 4

February 17, 2018February 17, 2018Baseball BetsyLeave a comment

Today was SOS-Same Old Situation, more of the same PFPs (pitcher fielding practice), catcher drills, bunting practice for the pitchers and batting practice for the catchers.

There was a fairly sizable crowd today. They still haven’t opened up Spectrum Field to the public to watch batting practice for the position players. Baseball Ross is such a dedicated blogger, he had his camera up against the gates to get a few shots.

So I stayed at the Carpenter Complex to get a few shots of my own:

Your 2018 Phillies Spring Training Roster

February 14, 2018February 14, 2018Baseball BetsyLeave a comment

Here ya go!

Phillies vs Blue Jays-March 2, 2017

March 3, 2017March 3, 2017Baseball BetsyLeave a comment

My favorite games are the ones where the Phillies play the Blue Jays here in Dunedin. Even with my bad foot, we live close enough that we can walk to the stadium without any difficulty. (If we don’t go, we can listen to the PA from the front porch!)

I will ALWAYS be a Phillies Girl, but that being said, the Jays are my American League team. I live in Dunedin and am invested in the team staying here in Dunedin. I’ve gotten to love the Jays. Currently, my favorite major league player is Jose Bautista and I was happy to get to see him play.

Aaron Nola was back on the mound for the first time since his surgery. The radar gun in Florida Auto Exchange Stadium was reading that Nola’s top speed was 94, much higher than the 91 we saw him hit in his professional debut when he played for the Clearwater Threshers vs the Lakeland Tigers. (You can read my blog about his debut game HERE.)

The first time Bautista was up, he missed a home run by just a few feet (as you can see below). He settled for a single.

Jose Bautista misses a home run by just a few feet.

Jose Bautista misses a home run by just a few feet, as you can see here.

Later, facing Ben Lively, Bautista would not be denied, he killed the ball and got a three run homer. I was particularly thrilled when I caught the ball going over the fence in right center.

Bautista nails the pitch from Ben Lively

GONE! Bautista's ball clears the fence. — GONE! Bautista’s ball clears the fence. (Upper right-hand corner.)

It was a good day for a game. For someone who loves both teams, it couldn’t be more appropriate that the game ended in an 8-8 tie.

Baseball Ross and I put together a video that we think you’d like, with pictures and video from today’s game as well as our thoughts. You can watch the video HERE.

Phillies Spring Training Day 6-February 19, 2017

February 19, 2017February 19, 2017Baseball BetsyLeave a comment

This is where spring training gets hard to blog about. The intra-squad games have yet to start and basically, you’re watching the same players do the same drills as the last few days. There were a few highlights, however.

The best thing was Odubel Hererra motioning for me to take a picture then giving me the thumbs up sign…as seen above.

Baseball Ross and I have pictures and video of today’s activities and you can watch it HERE. If you like the video, be sure to click subscribe so you will be notified when we post new videos. We hope to post new video every day of spring training.

Phillies Spring Training Day 5

February 18, 2017February 18, 2017Baseball BetsyLeave a comment

It was a cold day, that brought rain to shorten the day’s activities. Today was more drills and live batting practice.

You can watch video of the day’s activities on our YouTube Channel by clicking HERE.

Andrew Knapp throws to J.P. Crawford to catch Nick Williams.

Day 3 of Phillies Spring Training, February 16, 2017

February 16, 2017February 16, 2017Baseball BetsyLeave a comment

It’s day 3 of spring training and the last day of only pitchers and catchers. Tomorrow position players report.

Baseball Ross and I put together a video outlining today’s activities. We have pictures and video of Brad Lidge, Elniery Garcia, Alberto Tirado, Jerad Eickhoff, Tommy Joseph, Roman Quinn, Drew Anderson, Pedro Beato, Mark Appel, Victor Arano, Aaron Nola, Joely Rodriguez and more. We even have a shot of batting practice where Rhys Hoskins took a ball deep into Frenchy’s Tiki Bar. You can watch the video HERE.

The 2017 Philadelphia Phillies Major League Spring Training Roster

February 14, 2017February 14, 2017Baseball BetsyLeave a comment

The 2017 Philadelphia Phillies Major League Spring Training roster was released today. I am including a copy for you.

The 2017 Phillies MLB Spring Training Roster

Scenes From Phillies Minor League Spring Training-March 26, 2016

March 26, 2016March 26, 2016Baseball Betsy2 Comments

Today was one of those days where there was so much going on on three of the four fields at the Carpenter Complex that I could have used a twin or even a triplet to help me try to cover all the action. I’m still stuck using my knee scooter, which has actually turned out to be a help, I can zip around faster than I can walk and when I pick a spot to set up, I can sit on the cushioned seat right against the fence without obstructing anyone’s view.

There was a bit of a kerfuffle trying to get into the parking lot so we were delayed a bit, but as I walked up to Roberts Field in the back, I was pleased to see Cody Asche back at the plate. I was even more pleased to see him smack the ball so hard that it landed at the base of the hill to US 19! It was definitely one of the longest hits I’ve ever seen on that field. You can see pictures of the hit HERE.

Mitch Walding also had a great day, with two home runs, one that I have a picture of and one that Baseball Ross has on video. You can see it HERE.

Dylan Cozens also hit two home runs, I managed to get a picture of one of them.

Here’s some pictures from the rest of the day, my only regret is that I got to Schmidt field in time to see David Buchanan’s last pitch and didn’t have time to get my camera up to get a shot.

The most unique thing I saw today was a true submariner, Ben Rowen of the Jays. I think he has the lowest release point of any submariner I’ve ever seen.

It was a great day for baseball and I can’t wait to do it again tomorrow.

Day 5 Spring Training 2016

February 22, 2016February 22, 2016Baseball BetsyLeave a comment

Today was beautiful, it was 79 and sunny. It was almost hot with how intense the sun was, but if the weatherman is right, by Thursday we will be missing it as it’s expected to only 61.

So I found a few places in the sun and observed today’s action: