Philadelphians everywhere celebrated what would have been Harry Kalas' 85th birthday on Friday, March 26th. The Phillies legendary broadcaster was the voice of the team from 1971 until his death in 2009 and oversaw hundreds of players over the years.
One of those players was future Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. who joined the team in 1992 as a backup outfielder. On Friday, Amaro reminisced about Harry Kalas with the Marks & Reese show and told a great story about a touching moment between them:
"Harry Kalas called my very first home run. It was in Veteran's Stadium and was my first start as a Phillie when Lenny Dykstra went down. I hit a home run to left. He came down after the game unsolicited and handed me a tape of his call. I still have it. Every time I listen to it, I've had my kids listen to it, I've had my nephews listen to it, most of my family… every time I listen to it, it gives me goosebumps. It is the coolest thing I own.
He was just so special. For me to even be in a booth now talking baseball where guys like Whitey [Richie Ashburn], Harry and so many others were, how lucky is that?"
It only took Amaro two games into his Phillies career to his first major league home run. After he debuted with the California Angels, the Phillies traded for Amaro to be their starting In the sixth inning, Amaro got a hold of one off Ken Patterson of the Chicago Cubs. The wild part of the story is Amaro was actually playing against two future Phillies managers that day - Ryne Sandberg, who also hit a home run in that game, and Joe Girardi.
Not only does Amaro Jr. carry on Ashburn and Kalas' legacies in the booth but also in the community. Ruben Amaro Jr. was a founder of the Ashburn-Kalas Foundation, a group that provides free baseball summer camps and winter clinics to more than 1,000 Philadelphia-area children and coaches. It is a connect the former Phillies player and GM will never forget.
