A-Rod No Stranger To Reading

Although his days in the minors never brought him to the Eastern League, Alex Rodriguez was here before.

The New York Yankees third baseman has fond memories of trips to Reading during his childhood.

“It’s a familiar place for me,” Rodriguez said. “I used to come here as a kid to visit family most summers. I never thought I’d come back. I’m excited. It’s been a long time.”

Rodriguez returned Monday as a famous and controversial member of the Trenton Thunder, who defeated the Reading Fightin Phils 6-5 at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=493320

A-Rod To Bring Talents, Baggage To Reading

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Berks County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The circus is coming to town.

In the center ring will be Alex Rodriguez, one of the most prominent, and controversial, players in baseball history.

He is scheduled to play in Reading tonight as part of a rehab assignment with the New York Yankees following offseason hip surgery.

His appearance will be quite unusual – and for Reading baseball quite historic.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=493127

Reading Fightin Phils Set To Make Home Debut

The Reading Fightin Phils are off and running – maybe not quite as fast as last season, when they matched the best start in club history by winning their first five games and seven of their first eight, but they’ve gotten off to a positive start.

The Phillies won four times on a season-opening seven-game road trip to New Hampshire and Portland.  Not bad, considering how young the club is and how badly things started, with a 9-0 loss Opening Night.

Reading manager Dusty Wathan, whose roster includes 10 players making their Double-A debuts and 12 who are 23 or younger, said he likes what he’s seen the first week of the season.

“I think we’ve done a great job of being aggressive on the bases, of putting pressure on the defense,” said Wathan. “We, as an organization, want to emphasize that aggressiveness (this year).  We’ve been taking extra bases, our steal attempts are up.  I like the way we’ve been aggressive on the base paths.”

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=468571

Reading Phillies Fans: Leave Our Name Alone

READING, PA – In a city that has taken to calling itself Baseballtown, the sport is more than a pastime.  It’s become something of a lifeline.

The hometown Reading Phillies have come to symbolize endurance and pride for a community that the 2010 U.S. Census ranked No. 1 in the nation in poverty.  The Phillies remained long after the railroad screeched to a halt and the city’s “Outlet Capital” moniker faded. They’ve provided a welcome diversion from financial struggles and an 8 percent unemployment rate.

Given the 46-year love affair with the Philadelphia Phillies‘ Double-A farm club, there was an understandable citywide gasp when the team announced it is changing its nickname, logo and jerseys.  The move was an unexpected change-up that is testing tradition and the city’s identity and polarizing a fiercely loyal fan base.

Ed Oswald, a retired hairstylist who lives outside the city, is among many who have balked at the idea.

Read more:

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/allentown/mc-reading-phillies-name-change-20121115,0,4165520.story

Reading Phillies Want To Extend Stadium Lease

The Reading Phillies want to extend their lease of the city-owned FirstEnergy Stadium by 16 years to allow the refinancing of a loan that paid in part for the stadium’s recent $10 million makeover.

But City Council first wants to ask R-Phils‘ managing partner Craig Stein if the team is willing to pay more than its current lease that brings the city only $22,000 a year.

The current lease and the loan payments expire in 2021.

Michael Vind, the city’s financial consultant from S&Lutions, told council last week that Fulton Bank had been unwilling to extend the loan beyond the lease, but had to keep the annual payments to what the R-Phils could afford: $278,000 a year.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=390681