Today is arrival day in Clearwater for the 2019 Phillies Phantasy Camp. The folks attending this year are gonna have a great five days that they will always remember. I’ve attended four Phantasy Camps and one Dream Week, which was the predecessor camp before ESF took over the management of the event.

I was thirty two years old when I went to Dream Week. It was held at Carpenter Complex and Jack Russell Stadium. I was still an active amateur ballplayer, then pitching in a few leagues in Chester County and Delaware and had a really good camp as my team and went to the championship game. My coaches were Greg Gross and Bake McBride and back then the “Commish” was Clint Hurdle who is now the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Twenty two years later I went again, this time to Phantasy Camp. ESF truly upgraded the
experience as each team now had an “agent” and there were more off field events like the opening and closing banquet, “Bull Session” and “Star of the Game” interviews with Scott
Palmer to enhance the experience. Each day there’s now a kangaroo court to start the morning with laughs all around. That year I had finished up radiation treatment for a benign brain tumor and it was a tremendous privilege to meet Darin Daulton and offer encouragement as well as share thoughts

My fondest memories of the Camp came the next two times I attended as I did so with my family. In 2016 nine of us went, my two sons, son in law, two daughters, my wife and two daughter in laws. It was a tremendous week as we fellas suited up as players for coaches Mike Lieberthal and Kevin Stocker and the ladies went as Phans. I’ve never had more emotional or proud experiences on a ball field than playing at Carpenter Complex wearing Phillie’s jerseys
with my kids, baseball bliss for me. It was also tremendous honor to wear my favorite Phillie’s number 15, I proudly took my spot at first base in honor of Dick Allen.

During the two years we attended as a family we were also grateful to win the Tug McGraw Award for inspiration in 2016, the following year my son in law Matt Jones won the Charlie Hustle Award, my son Dan won a game MVP award and my son Nolan Ryan won team MVP in 2016 and the camp Cy Young Award in 2017. I got goosebumps watching him go up on stage to receive the trophy from Phillies legend Steve Carlton, that was tremendous!
So this year I’ll be on hand to watch the 2019 contingent of campers make their own memories. The Phillies legends who attend as coaches also have such a great time as it’s a reunion with their Phillies family for them. It’s just fun all around!

-Steve Potter, life-long Phantasy Camper

Over forty Phillies Phantasy Campers came out on a beautiful night in December for our third batting practice at Citizens Bank Park. Excitement was in the air and everyone’s energy was even more focused on working on their swing and getting any new information about our time in Florida. With Phantasy Camp just under a month away, it was easy to see the determination on everyone’s faces to improve on their skills. Overall, it was another great night of camaraderie and everyone’s looking forward to our final batting practice next month.

Check out the full gallery here: December Batting Practice

Another month closer to being in Florida and we had another successful batting practice at Citizens Bank Park as Phillies Phantasy campers came out for our second of four batting practices this winter. The night was filled with campers stepping into the Phillies’ batting tunnels to shake off the rust and spending time catching up with friends. We even had one family surprise their father with a trip to Phantasy Camp!

Check out the entire gallery here: November Batting Practice

We started off our series of batting practices at Citizen’s Bank Park with a bang. Rookie and Veteran Phantasy Campers alike came out to take some swings and begin to shake off the rust. In between cracks of the bat there was great energy and excitement as everyone exchanged hitting tips, told stories from their Phantasy Camp experience, and enjoyed hanging out down in the official Philadelphia Phillies batting cages. A big thanks to everyone who came out to this great event!

Check out the entire gallery here: October Batting Practice

It was an absolutely perfect September day as Phantasy Campers met up in Wilmington, DE for an evening of baseball. Walking onto the field of Frawley Stadium, home of the Wilmington Blue Rocks minor league baseball team, everyone was split into two teams and after each team got a chance to meet and get reacquainted with each other the scrimmage began. It didn’t take long for many to look like they were ready to play a full game. With a couple cracks of the bat and a few flashes of the leather it was clear that this was going to be a great day of baseball.

Between innings and out in the field, conversations about past and future Phantasy camps could be heard. Vets shared stories as rookies eagerly asked questions about the upcoming camp. Spirits were high and laughter could be heard throughout the evening.

To round out the evening, everyone made their way up into the Diamond Club for some post game hot dogs and hamburgers. Overall, everyone had a great time and why wouldn’t they? Any day on the baseball field is a great day!

Click here to view the full gallery: September Batting Practice in Wilmington

We had a very successful reunion for the 2017 Phantasy Camp at Citizens Bank Park! The day began with a bang as campers enjoyed batting practice on the field and then received a special behind the scenes tour of Citizens Bank Park. After lunch, everyone got a chance to watch the Phillies warm up and take batting practice before their game against the Cubs. The highlights of the day had to be when all the Phantasy Campers were introduced on the field before the game, some campers getting to replace the bases during the game and watching a group dance on the dugout with the Phillie Phanatic. Overall, it was a great day to see everyone from the 2017 camp!

Click here for the full gallery: Phantasy Camp Reunion

Dear Phantasy Camp Player, G.M.’s and Phans,

We were greatly saddened by the news that Darren “Dutch” Daulton passed away. He was a great friend to our program serving as a Legend and with his legendary appearances at our Saturday night cocktail party and banquet.

He was totally accessible and engaging with all of our participants signing autographs and participating in swapping baseball stories. He commanded the room especially with his peer group of Legends. They showed him the respect that all true leaders have earned.

Below is contact information for those of us who want to send a card and/or support The Darren Daulton Foundation. There is a golf tournament being held on Monday, October 9, 2017.

The Darren Daulton Foundation, along with our title sponsors, The Phillies and Yuengling are pleased to announce that we will be holding our annual golf tournament on Columbus Day (Monday, October 9, 2017).   Attendees over the years have included Bill Giles, David Montgomery, Dick Yuengling, Larry Bowa, Charlie Manuel, Mickey Morandini, Tommy Greene, Ricky Jordan, Larry Andersen, Larry Christensen, John Kruk, Jim Eisenreich, Todd Pratt, Rheal Cormier, Ricky Bottalico, Mitch Williams, Ben Rivera, Del Unser, Danny Jackson, Pat Burrell, Gregg Gross, Vince Vukovich, Tony Longmire, Kim Batiste, Steve Jeltz, Jeff Stone, Shane Rawley, Ben Davis, Ruben Amaro, Don Carmen, Milt Thompson, Phillies Manager Pete Mackanin and many more.  Due to popular demand, and having to turn away foursomes each year, please note that we are excited to announce that the outing will be held on 2 great Country Clubs – – – Lulu and Manufacturers’, with the after-golf reception to be held at Manufacturers’.  See http://mg-cc.org  for details on that Country Club.   Foursomes are selling fast so please act now by completing and returning the attached Flyer to me, or by visiting our website at this link:   https://darrendaultonfoundation.regfox.com/darren-daulton-golf-outing.  All money raised goes to support those suffering from brain cancer and brain tumors.

Brett A. Datto, Esquire

The Darren Daulton Foundation

1399 Chestnut Street, Suite 500

Philadelphia, PA 19107

215-738-2013

www.darrendaultonfoundation.org

For more information about the golf outing click here.

Don’t miss your chance to have the experience of a lifetime. Get yourself in the picture and on the roster today! Click here to sign up.

Here’s the recap for day one of the 2017 Phantasy Camp.

With less than two weeks until the first day of the 2017 Phantasy Camp experience, campers were excited to get into the batting tunnels and take a few last swings before heading to Florida.

It was another great night with more than 35 campers coming out to Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday night to join Phantasy Camp Staff members and their fellow campers for the final scheduled Batting Practice Session of the season.

Campers stepped-in and took one swing after another, using all three batting tunnels at the park. It was great to see Rookies and Veterans who first met each other at the opening BP Session back in October now catching up with one another, and trading stories about the upcoming trip.

The 2017 Staff is excited to get down to Florida and get on the field – See you all in Clearwater!

Click here to view the full gallery: January batting Practice