We’ll see several former Philadelphia Phillies greats on hand for spring training in Clearwater, as teams prep for workouts next month.
Manager Joe Girardi and his coaching staff will be assisted by former Phillies greats Ryan Howard, Brad Lidge, Pete Mackanin and Dan Plesac. Current Phillies front office executives Larry Bowa and Charlie Manuel will also be in uniform for spring training.
Bowa and Manuel both work on the Phillies’ baseball operations staff as senior advisors to General Manager Matt Klentak and are each enshrined on the Phillies Wall of Fame.
For Howard, the 2006 National League MVP and a 2008 World Series Champion, this marks his first stint in a Phillies uniform since his final season with the club in 2016. With 382 career home runs and a single-season franchise record of 58 in 2006, this spring will mark Howard’s first foray into coaching since retiring.
This will be Lidge’s fifth spring as a guest instructor, as he previously made appearances in 2014 and in each of the last three seasons, 2017-19. Mackanin, who currently serves as a special assistant to Klentak, returns to Clearwater as a guest instructor for the first time. He managed the Phillies for 412 games over parts of three seasons from 2015-17. For Plesac, an 11-year veteran of MLB Network, the 2020 spring will mark his fourth as an instructor with the team (2015 and 2018-19).
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