Harry Kalas’ widow should be mad at the Phillies. They should pay her $20K for ‘High Hopes’

For the past three decades the Phillies have been one of the more compassionate franchises in the major sports domain. Bill Giles, then David Montgomery, and now John Middleton, the managing partner in recent years, created and cultivated an inclusive culture.

They cater to their ballplayers, coaches, and managers. They generally treat their most important employees and executives like family; dozens of them have turned down better paying jobs with loftier titles to remain as Phillies lifers. Once you’re part of that family, they hold you close to their bosom.

No one represented that ethic or tradition like longtime broadcaster Harry Kalas.

» READ MORE: Harry Kalas’ widow says Phillies ‘betrayed him’ and won’t let them play his song unless they pay

Alas, they are not perfect. The Phils cut personnel and pay during COVID. Until recently, they continued to invite controversial former pitcher Curt Schilling to alumni events.

And now, they’re taking money away from widows.

Literally.

In changing the name of “Harry the K’s” to “Ghost Energy Deck” and eventually cutting off her annual payment next year, the Phils have enraged and offended Eileen Kalas, Harry Kalas’ widow, and one of the grand dames of the franchise.

Eileen Kalas receives $20,000 every year from the Phillies.

By comparison, Bryce Harper makes about $20,000 per inning.

The Phillies are worth an estimated $3.4 billion, according to Forbes, which estimates Middleton’s total net worth to be $4.3 billion.

Twenty grand seems a piddling amount to pay to make this story go away. It certainly doesn’t sound like Eileen Kalas is going to let it fade.

“Taking down that sign takes away everything he did for the city,” Eileen Kalas told The Inquirer. “I think they betrayed Harry.”

In enraging and offending Eileen Kalas, the Phillies have enraged and offended their fan base, one largely dissatisfied with recent playoff collapses despite a rising payroll and the corresponding rising ticket and concession prices. Replies to The Inquirer tweet promoting the story used modifiers such as “pathetic,” and “greed.”

Others were less suitable for print.

Middleton announced last week that the rights to signage in the area that bore Kalas’ name were sold to Ghost Energy Drink, and would become, awkwardly, the Ghost Energy Deck.

Kalas died in 2009.

Harry the K’s opened with the ballpark in 2004. While its purpose and profile evolved over the next 21 years, Harry the K’s served as a comforting reminder of the endless spring and summer nights when, with his silky and sympathetic baritone voice, Kalas would salve the wounds of fans of the losingest professional sports franchise in history.

In 2009, the Phillies began using Kalas’ rendition of “High Hopes” that he sang after the 2008 World Series win in the seventh inning stretch, then began the tradition of playing it after Phillies home wins — a video version that ran on the scoreboard in left field, right above Harry the K’s.

They hope to keep playing the song. It’s gonna cost ‘em.

Since 2009, the Phillies have paid Eileen Kalas $20,000 every year to keep Harry’s name alive in the ballpark.

They will pay her again in 2026, since the deadline to break the contract passed before Ghost Energy Drink came aboard.

They say they will pay her nothing going forward.

That’s what they thought.

She says she’s going to make them pay to keep using “High Hopes.”

Great idea.

Problem solved.

They should pay her the same: $20,000. Every year.

Considering the value Henry Kalas imparted to their franchise during the decades in which it was an embarrassment to the city, $20K is a bargain. To call Kalas “iconic” is one of the few appropriate applications of that overused word.

Kalas called the first game at the Houston Astrodome in 1965, called the first game at Veteran Stadium in 1971, and called the first game at Citizens Bank Park in 2004. He was the voice of the Phillies when they won both of their World Series titles, in 1980 and 2008, but, much more significantly, he was the voice of sympathy when they lost the World Series in 1983 and 1993.

» READ MORE: Ghost Energy founder says Harry Kalas’ legacy is ‘bigger than a concession stand’

That was his gift.

Harry Kalas was an oasis of hope in a desert of despair between 1984 and 2007, when the Phillies missed the playoffs in 22 of those 23 years. His reverent tones immortalized Mike Schmidt and Darren Daulton and Chase Utley as much as their deeds ever did. In his pastel sports coats and his white leather loafers, Harry the K’s was a Philadelphia institution far beyond his 7-foot statue at the Bank, or beyond any concession stand that bears his name.

Eileen Kalas has few such strings attached to her. Harry the K’s was one of the last.

Let “High Hopes” retain that connection between the ballclub and one of its grandest dames.