The Phillies have answered the bell.
No, not the big, famous one up by Independence Hall.
They’ve answered the All-Star Game bell.
The Midsummer Classic is back in William Penn’s greene countrie towne for the first time since 1996. Back then, the Phillies were a last-place team playing in a much-maligned stadium about to embark on a full rebuild and a decade of free Octobers. They were represented on the National League roster by just one player, closer Ricky Bottalico.
Now, the Phillies are regular NL playoff participants playing in a baseball palace with a roster dotted with stars. Six of their players will stand on the first base line at Citizens Bank Park for introductions Tuesday night. It should be seven. You know the story. Zack Wheeler should have initially been selected. He wasn’t. Major League Baseball realized its mistake and extended the right-hander a late invite. He declined. The Wheeler matter has gotten so much attention, it almost feels like he’s here. You could say he’s answered the bell – in spirit.
When the Phillies arrived in Clearwater five months ago, the goal was winning a World Series. It still is.
But, back in spring training, it was no secret that the All-Star Game was going to be in Philadelphia. The uniform patch was a constant reminder.
There wasn’t a player in the clubhouse who didn’t want to be here.
“It was absolutely a goal,” Kyle Schwarber said during media day festivities Monday. “You always want to represent your organization.”
Schwarber was set to join teammate Bryce Harper and a cast of other sluggers in Monday’s night Home Run Derby. Schwarber leads the majors with 32 homers. Harper has 20. He’s played in every game so far, maintaining good health on his way to what is shaping up to be an elite season.
As much as each man wanted to win the Derby, it sounded as if both Schwarber and Harper were more excited to show off what became known in 2022 as “four hours of hell.”
“This is an opportunity to show what our fans do for us on a national stage,” Schwarber said. “And other players are going to witness that. They’ll see how electric this place is on a nightly basis.”
Harper was with the Washington Nationals when the All-Star Game was played in Washington in 2018. He actually out-slugged Schwarber, then with the Chicago Cubs, to win the Home Run Derby.
“Any time you play in your own ballpark, there’s nothing like it,” Harper said. “Being able to be cheered by your fans and be part of it – there’s nothing like it.
“I hope everybody enjoys this. I hope everyone sees what Philly is all about. Obviously, we’ve seen it in ‘22, ‘23, ‘24, ’25. Every year that we’re getting into the postseason, they see our fans. I think that’s a big look for free agents and possible trade targets and things like that. They see our fanbase and the type of style our fanbase has, how much fun it is and how loud it is. It’s just a lot of fun to be part of.”
Schwarber and Harper are joined at the All-Star Game by outfielder Brandon Marsh and pitchers Cristopher Sanchez, Jhoan Duran and Jesus Luzardo.
They all answered the bell in getting here.
Marsh, who will start in right field for the National League, might be the game’s most improved player since May 2025. He’s the majors’ fourth-leading hitter (.302) since then. He’s transformed himself from a platoon player on the verge of being sent to Triple A to an everyday regular who often hits cleanup.
“To be honest, I’ve always seen it in him,” Schwarber said. “I know a lot of guys have seen it in him. There’s such a high ceiling. He’s tapping into it. And there could be a way better version of this. You never know.”
If Marsh is one of the most improved players in the game over the past year, Sanchez is the most improved pitcher in baseball since the Phillies acquired him in a minor-league trade with Tampa Bay in November 2019. The lanky left-hander from the Dominican Republic will be the NL’s starting pitcher Tuesday night. The place will go bananas when he throws the first pitch to Mike Trout, the South Jersey native who listened to the Phillies win the 2008 World Series in the parking lot because he couldn’t get a ticket. Now, the future Hall of Famer gets whatever he wants.
On Monday, Sanchez spoke about his improvement, his journey from raw talent to All-Star starter in his home park.
“I’ve been working (for) this from the beginning of my career,” he said. “At the early stages of my career, I was just a thrower, you could say. It’s been a lot of work and taking advice from past generations. I took a lot of advice from Pedro Martinez and from other Dominican pitchers. You know, I think it’s just about working, maintaining that throughout the years.”
Luzardo and Duran have little in common as pitchers. One is a lefty starter. One is a righty reliever. But they have this in common: Both have come to the Phillies in excellent trades by Dave Dombrowski.
It’ll be interesting to see what Dombrowski does in a few weeks at this year’s trade deadline. The Phils are two games behind Atlanta in the NL East and in control of a wild-card playoff spot.
Manager Don Mattingly has also answered the bell for these Phillies, presiding over a historic turnaround. The Phillies are the only team to ever be 10 games under .500 and get to 10 games over .500 before the end of June. Mattingly is on the NL All-Star coaching staff.
Mattingly is not interested in the trade deadline. Or so he says.
“I’m not worried at all about it,” he said. “I would go into the second half right now with our club.”
That second half will begin Thursday with a series against the New York Mets.
But for these next couple of nights, the pressure eases on the Phils. The Home Run Derby. The All-Star Game. They are exhibitions. Fun nights at the yard for the players and the fans.
“We’re playing to win a championship and the job is not done,” Schwarber said. “But to be able to have this little break and have the All-Star Game here — we can sit back a little. We struggled early in the season and I think that brought us together as a team. A lot of guys on our team have done a fantastic job to get us back in it. We’re just the lucky ones who get to be recognized at an All-Star Game.”