Charlie Manuel, Cole Hamels, and other former Phillies turn back the clock for a good cause: ‘This is a special group’

Cole Hamels was at the plate and Charlie Manuel was the manager in the dugout, but it wasn’t 2008.

While that was a familiar sight until 2013, it made Tommy Lasorda Field at Meiklejohn Stadium on the University of Pennsylvania’s campus on feel like a time machine on Saturday.

The inaugural Sluggball All-Star Classic featured two teams of former Phillies All-Stars and managers. Manuel managed one team and 1980s World Series Champion Larry Bowa managed the other. There was also Team Sluggball, which consisted of what Ruben Amaro Jr., one of the co-founders of Sluggball and a former Phillies general manager, called “average Joe’s.”

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Along with Hamels, Team Manuel featured six-time MLB All-Star and Sluggball adviser Kenny Lofton, and former Phillies Joe Blanton, Aaron Rowand, and Domonic Brown.

Team Bowa had Phillies Wall of Famer Mike Lieberthal, Mickey Morandini, Milt Thompson, Kevin Stocker, and Randy Wolf.

“This is a special group, a special city, and we shared a lot of moments together, and so when we get these opportunities to to you know reminisce and kind of get back together, we take it,” Hamels said. “It’s supporting each other, and I think that’s what we learned when we came up in the organization. We learned the value of what it is to support and to try to be there and be present.”

The former Phillies were helping support the Darren Daulton Foundation, providing assistance to people suffering from primary malignant brain tumors, and the Ruben Amaro Sr. Foundation, which works to provide college scholarships and make high-level opportunities more accessible. All proceeds from the event benefited the two charities.

The Sluggball Classic was purposely scheduled for the Phillies’ Alumni Weekend following Friday night’s Wall of Fame ceremony for 2008 World Series Champion Chase Utley.

“It’s great to see everybody for Alumni Weekend,” Lieberthal said. “I come every year, and you don’t get to see these guys except once a year, so just to hang out with guys you played with is you know fantastic.”

Sluggball is a baseball inspired game that only includes the offensive part of the sport. Every round features four batters from each team who are given 35 seconds or eight swings in their at-bat. Each round has an objective for where the batters are meant to hit the ball, and points are awarded for every ball hit in that area.

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It was a challenge for players who haven’t picked up a bat in years like Rowand, but Sluggball was designed with that in mind.

“Glad they try to take it easy on us a little bit, but you know, most of us haven’t picked up a bat in so long,” Rowand said. “At least we had to go take a few swings before and try to get it back and not just embarrass ourselves out here.”

Despite any rust Rowand may have been anticipating, he was the only player to have a perfect at-bat by finishing 8-for-8 in the first round of Game 3.

Hamels, the former 2008 World Series MVP, Blanton, and Wolf were all known for their ERAs and not their batting averages, but also found some success at the plate. Wolf clinched Team Bowa’s win over Team Manuel in a sudden death round of the triple-header’s main event.

“For a lot of us, it is funny because hitting was such a big part, and for pitchers, we always tried to brag and always wanted to do our best and see what we could do in the lineup,” Hamels said. “We knew it wasn’t our first sort of job, but it always provided a lot of bragging rights in the clubhouse.”

While the game many brought players from the organization’s history together, it also brought a new group of fans to the game, which co-founder Greg Olenski Sr. said was part of the goal.

“It’s really about the game bringing everybody back together, getting on the field, the camaraderie,” Olenski said. “We thought the best time would be an Alumni Weekend, get them back on the field, get them swinging. Again, nobody’s trying to hit home runs. A lot of these guys probably haven’t picked up a bat in a while, so it’s a great opportunity for them to get back on the field with their teammates and enjoy themselves.”

The All-Star Classic will air broadcast on NBC Sports Philadelphia on Aug. 19 at 10:30 p.m. with Leslie Gudel and Chris Wheeler on the broadcast call.