From Phillies fan to doorstep of MLB debut

This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki’s Phillies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ATLANTA -- Tyler Phillips said more than once on Friday that he could not explain the feelings he felt inside his body.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” he said. “I can’t feel my arms, I can’t feel my legs.”

Phillips felt strange, not only because he got promoted to the big leagues following a nine-year Minor League career, but because he got promoted by the Phillies. Phillips, 26, grew up in South Jersey. He attended Bishop Eustace Preparatory School. Phillips’ late grandfather, Frank, was such a diehard Phillies fan that he called Phillips’ father, Dan, following every victory.

“Did you see Ryan Howard? Did you see that home run?” Frank would say.

The Phillies promoted Phillips from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Friday because they needed somebody in the bullpen who can pitch multiple innings this weekend with rain in the forecast and rookie right-hander Michael Mercado (Phils' No. 30 prospect) scheduled to start on Sunday, but limited to 90 pitches. The team optioned Yunior Marte to Triple-A to make room for him on the 26-man roster. Philadelphia transferred Luis Ortiz to the 60-day IL to make room on the 40-man.

“It’s a huge moment,” Phillips said in front of his locker at Truist Park. “I think my dad is still in shock. I don’t think he understands what’s going on right now. I don’t think he’s really thinking about everything we’ve gone through as father and son. When my grandpa was around, we used to play catch with him in his backyard. It’s just a really special moment to have my son and dad here. I hope [my son] can feel the same things that I felt growing up.”

Phillips and his girlfriend, Richelle, named their three-year-old son Frank after his grandfather.

“He loves baseball,” Phillips said. “He asks to come to the field. He asks to play catch. He eats, breathes, sleeps it.”

Phillips said he attended his first Phillies game in 2001, but based on the score that his father remembers -- a 20-something blowout victory over the Cubs at Veterans Stadium -- it was probably July 3, 1999, when Phillips was just 18 months old.

The Phillies crushed the Cubs that day, 21-8.

“I know my son’s going to be a Phillies fan because we just blew them out,” Dan said then.

Phillips’ first favorite player was Scott Rolen. He turned to Jimmy Rollins once Rolen got traded to the Cardinals in 2002. Phillips remembers playing "MVP Baseball 2005" on his PlayStation 2. He loved waiting for Jim Thome and Bobby Abreu to come around again in the Phillies’ lineup.

Of course, he cheered for the Phillies in the 2008 World Series, although he did not attend the parade because his mother, Roseanna, wouldn’t let him skip school.

All those moments, all those memories, having his parents, girlfriend and son at Truist Park this weekend, has made everything so wonderfully surreal.

“I think I’ve made it pretty known to the world that the Phillies mean everything to me,” Phillips said. “And being able to debut and be here with this squad, I don’t even know what I’m feeling right now. My dad and I, like our love for the Phillies and my grandfather, it means a lot. I get choked up when I think about it.”