Morandini, Stairs Added to Celebrity Hitting Challenge
LAKEWOOD, NJ - Two former Phillies have been added to the June 17th Celebrity Hitting Challenge at FirstEnergy Park: BlueClaws manager Mickey Morandini and Matt Stairs.
The two players have some of the biggest hits in Phillies playoff history.
Morandini, in his second season as BlueClaws manager, hit a two-run triple in the bottom of the 6th inning in the series-clinching Game 6 of the NLCS in 1993, chasing Greg Maddux from the game. Morandini hit .268 over an 11-year big league career that included playing with the Phillies from 1990-1997. He helped the Phillies reach the 1993 World Series and was an All-Star in 1995.
While in college at Indiana University, he was a member of the Gold Medal winning 1988 United States Olympic Baseball Team.
Stairs homered in Game 4 of the 2008 NLCS off Dodgers relief pitcher Jonathan Broxton to give the Phillies the lead and turn momentum in a series that the Phillies would win on the way to that year's World Series title.
The Canadian-born Stairs played for 12 organizations. He also holds the MLB record for home runs as a pinch hitter with 23 and hit 265 career home runs between 1992 and 2011, 38 with the 1999 Oakland Athletics.
Morandini and Stairs will be on competing teams in the June 17th Celebrity Hitting Challenge, part of ClawStar Spectacular events at FirstEnergy Park, which includes the June 18th South Atlantic League All-Star Game, presented by Kimball and Community Medical Centers of Barnabas Health, OceanFirst Bank, and Shore Point Distributing.
The event will include various beach-themed targets all over the field, with competitors earning points for hitting each target. There will be two teams of celebrities, with Morandini and Stairs on opposing teams.
Other celebrities in the event include former Giants LB Pepper Johnson and former Jets RB Bruce Harper, who were announced last week. Former Phillies pitcher Mitch Williams and former Mets pitcher Doc Gooden are also among the participants.
Tickets for the event are currently on sale by calling 732-901-7000 or online at BlueClaws.com/AllStar. There is also special VIP seating available on the field, which includes an all-you-can-eat buffet and open bar. For more information about the on-field VIP area, click here or call 732-901-7000 option 2.
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