PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — It’s the first sign that baseball season is right around the corner: Truckloads of Phillies equipment left Philadelphia for Clearwater, Florida on Thursday ahead of spring training.
Fourteen workers loaded up three 28-foot trailers early Thursday morning, full of thousands of T-shirts, hundreds of pairs of socks, 2,400 baseballs, 600 batting practice hats, jackets, weights, and much more.
Dan O’Rourke, Phillies manager of equipment and umpire services, recruited a familiar face to help pack up the trucks.
“I recruited my own son from college,” he said, “and there’s three full-time staff members from the clubhouse helping loading.”
When the season ends, O’Rourke said it’s essential to keep everything organized.
“We give the guys, players a couple weeks to clear out, get organized. Then we get organized. What they want to bring to spring training this year will be on this truck. What they don’t want, we will donate it,” he said.
Pitchers and catchers have their first workout on Feb. 14 and a full squad session on Feb. 19. The Phillies play the Blue Jays in Clearwater on Feb. 24.