Before Chase Utley's heroics and Roy Halladay's dominant start, the Phillies held their annual Wall of Fame induction, adding longtime catcher Mike Lieberthal, who played for the Phillies from 1994 to 2006.
Lieberthal entered the Wall of Fame as, statisically, the best catcher in Phillies' history with the most hits (1,128), home runs (149), and games caught (1,139) of any backstop.
Lieberthal opened his speech, held in front of Hall of Famers Steve Carlton and Mike Schmidt, fellow Wall of Famers like Greg Luzinski and Larry Bowa, and fellow Wall of Fame catchers Bob Boone and Darren Daulton, by thanking the Phillies' organization for taking a chance on him out of high school.
He recalled his first hit, in his home state of California, at Dodger Stadium. It came in front of his family and friends and fulfilled his childhood dream.
Perhaps the most touching moment was when Lieberthal thanked two members of his road with the Phillies no longer with us: Harry Kalas and John Vukovich.
During the video montage played before Lieberthal's speech, one of Lieberthal's greatest Phillies' moments, a walk-off, pinch-hit three-run home run against the Pirates to cap a 7-1 ninth-inning comeback. Harry's voice rang over the PA system. It was a moment that gave you chills.
Lieberthal had his plaque unveiled by fellow mid-90's teammate Kevin Stocker and received his replica plaque from former teammates Pat Burrell, Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley, who also escorted his two children to the stage.
Lieberthal started to get emotional as the speech wore on and he continued to thank the many people in his life who helped him achieve the honor. He concluded by thanking the fans in this way.
“I truly loved every minute that I have spent with this organization. I will forever be grateful for having the opportunity to wear a Philadelphia Phillies uniform and to have played for you, the Philadelphia fans. There is no other place that I would rather be than here tonight with you.”
The last three words he said before the game began, before Roy Halladay's game, before Chase Utley's heroics were simple. "Enjoy the game."
Below are several photos from the night. You can find more of them on the Baseball Talk: Philadelphia Facebook fan page.
At the end of the night, 43,122 fans certainly did.
All Photos by Philliedelphia/Kevin Durso
Kevin Durso is a contributor for Philliedelphia. You can follow him on twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
