PBR - Mike Lieberthal paused for a few moments prior to his speech on Friday night to gather his thoughts and reflect on the celebration surrounding his career with the Phillies.
Seconds felt like an eternity.
"I was sweating quite a bit but I made it through," Lieberthal said afterward. "I was kind of getting a little choked up so the speech was a bit harder to get through."
Lieberthal, a two-time All-Star and a fan-favorite, became the 34th member of the Phillies Wall of Fame on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park. A plaque with his name and picture will hang in Ashburn Alley beyond the center field wall.
"I'm not a Hall of Famer, but having an organization that does this,
just to go along with the great players that played here is great," Lieberthal said. "I was a good
player but very lucky to be on one team for that long. There's a lot of
good players that come through Philadelphia that, in the business of the
game, they only stay for two or three years."
A catcher, Lieberthal spent 13 seasons in Philadelphia and won a Gold Glove in 1999. He is the franchise leader in hits (1,128), home runs (149) and games caught (1,139).
"He was a good catcher that could also hit," said former teammate Jimmy Rollins. "He went through those tough years in the late '90s when he made his mark."
Lieberthal joins Bob Boone and Darren Daulton as the only catchers in the Phillies Wall of Fame. From a statistical standpoint he sits among the best in franchise history with Boone, Daulton, Spud Davis, Andy Seminick and Jack Clements. He finished his career with a WAR (wins above replacement) of 13.6 and a 101 OPS+.
- Patrick Gordon is the editor of the Philadelphia Baseball Review. Contact him at pgordon@philadelphiabaseballreview.com or @Philabaseball on Twitter.
