Phillies Manager Rob Thomson and General Manager Preston Mattingly to Attend Phillies Winter Caravan

Allentown, Pennsylvania (January 8, 2026) – Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson and vice president and general manager Preston Mattingly are scheduled to attend the Phillies Winter Caravan hosted by IronPigs Charities, presented by Air Products, on Thursday, January 22 at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem at 6:30 p.m.

Additionally, local legend Lee Butz will be honored by the IronPigs for his contributions, both on the field and off, to baseball in the greater Lehigh Valley.

Tickets for Phillies Winter Caravan are on sale now and may be purchased HERE.

Thomson has served as Phillies manager since June 3, 2022, guiding the team to the postseason each year he has been at the helm, just the fourth manager in MLB history to reach the playoffs in each of his first four full seasons to begin a managerial career. Thomson oversaw as the Phillies clinched their second straight National League East pennant this past season. Thomson holds a record of 346-251 with the Phillies. Thomson originally joined the Phillies bench coach prior to the 2018 season after 28 years as a member of the New York Yankees organization. Born in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, Thomson played professionally for four year in the Detroit Tigers minor league system after being drafted out of the University of Kansas.

Mattingly just completed his first season as vice president and general manager of the Phillies following his promotion on November 8, 2024. Prior to serving as general manager, Mattingly served as assistant general manager, player development (2023-2024) for the Phillies after having been hired as director of player development in September 2021. In his playing days, Mattingly was a 1st Round Pick (31st overall) by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2006 MLB Draft. Mattingly is the son of Phillies bench coach, Don Mattingly.

On top of appearances by Thomson and Mattingly, the IronPigs and IronPigs Charities, presented by Air Products, are proud to be honoring Lee Butz for his contributions to the game of baseball here in the Lehigh Valley.

Butz was born into the game locally, as his father owned the Allentown franchise in the Blass B Interstate League. Butz played collegiately at Lehigh University where he was a star pitcher, setting Lehigh’s single-season ERA record with a sterling 1.17 ERA as a junior. He was inducted into Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023. Drafted into the U.S. Army following his graduation, Butz played for the Ft. Knox Tankers and following the war continued to play locally, joining the Blue Mountain League where he was eventually inducted into their Hall of Fame.

Butz made waves off the field as well, sponsoring the Allentown franchise in the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League during the late 70’s and later in the Blue Mountain League as well.

Alongside David Jaindl and Kostas Kalogeropoulos, Butz helped found the Miracle League of the Lehigh Valley. The Miracle League of the Lehigh Valley provides sports and social activities year-round for hundreds of children and young adults with special needs. Founded on the principles of inclusion, building self-esteem, and that everyone deserves a chance to play baseball, Miracle League games have become a yearly staple at Coca-Cola Park, involving players from the IronPigs.

Seeing that the Allentown School District did not sponsor baseball programs for the middle schools, Butz founded the Allentown DRIVE, a league consisting of the four middle schools with the championship occurring at Coca-Cola Park.

Chairman of the Board of Butz Family of Companies, Lee was part of the team that managed the construction of Coca-Cola Park, home of the IronPigs.

All proceeds from Phillies Winter Caravan benefits IronPigs Charities which supports educational and recreational opportunities for Lehigh Valley youth, focusing on diversity and inclusion.

During Winter Caravan, the 2026 class of Community Grants will also be announced. In 2025, grants totaled $80,503 and were distributed to 28 different organizations.

Information regarding media availability during the event will be announced at a later date. For all questions regarding media availability and access (and to request credentials), please contact Sam Jellinek, Manager, Broadcasting and Media Relations at [email protected].

Follow the IronPigs on Twitter at @IronPigs and like them on Facebook via www.facebook.com/LHVIronPigs.

The IronPigs are presented by Capital BlueCross.

IronPigs Charities is presented by Air Products.