Florida sunshine awaits the Philadelphia Phillies, but before pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater, a crew of Phillies employees and the Phillies Phanatic back in chilly Philly packed up a semi-truck with all the gear the Phightins' need.
They gathered Thursday morning to load up the tractor-trailer at Citizens Bank Park.
So what exactly are the Phillies loading onto the truck? Here's a breakdown of how much gear is going to be making the 1,058-mile trek to BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater:
- 10,000 cups
- 2,400 baseballs
- 2,000 short-and-long sleeved shirts
- 1,200 bats; 900 pairs of socks
- 600 pairs of pants
- 600 batting practice hats
- 350 pairs of shorts
- 300 batting gloves
- 250 batting practice tops
- 200 fleeces
- 200 light jackets
- 140 batting helmets
- 125 leather and elastic belts
- 75 pairs of assorted spike, plastic and turf shoes
- 40 heavy jackets
- 20 coolers
- Several bikes
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Let's hope the Phils won't really need those heavy jackets outside of pitchers trying to keep their arms warm.
Among some of the other items being loaded onto the truck were weights, duffel bags and even Eagles hats to show support for their fellow Philly squad. They needed a forklift to get all the stuff on there.
The Phillies' 77th spring training in Clearwater officially starts when pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 16, 2023. The truck will be unloaded in Florida on Monday.