Chris Wheeler still announcing for Phillies

CLEARWATER, Fla. - It was 1972, and Chris Wheeler was 26 years old at his first spring training as an assistant in the Phillies' public relations department. His boss, Larry Shenk, approached him on the morning of the first exhibition game at old Jack Russell Stadium.

The public address announcer was missing. Overserved the night before, Shenk figured. Could Wheeler do the PA that day?

"Don't ever tell somebody you can't do it," Wheeler said this week.

Forty-four years later, Wheeler is still the man with the microphone at Phillies spring training games. The longtime broadcaster was fired by Comcast SportsNet after the 2013 season, but he remains employed by the Phillies as a team ambassador.

Wheeler, 70, is happy to stay connected with fans as the ballpark voice during Grapefruit League games. So, too, are the people who run the Phillies' operations in Florida.

"They like me to do it," Wheeler said. "It gives them sort of an authenticity or Phillies sound because it's me. Yeah, I enjoy it. It's hectic with all of the [in-game player] changes. And I want to do a good job. I try to have some fun up there."

He's done the stadium announcing for 42 of the last 44 springs; Wheeler likes to say he "Wally Pipp'd" the former PA man. The job, he said, requires a focus that used to prepare him for regular-season telecasts.

Wheeler, after being replaced on TV, has stayed busy.

"During the offseason, I did a lot of speaking engagements," Wheeler said. "I go to every home game during the season. I'll speak to a season-ticket group. Or they'll ask me to go to a suite, mill around, shake some hands. Some nights, I just come watch a game. I just love being around it."