Free Republic

The Philadelphia Phillies are doing more than just competing for a place in this year's baseball playoffs. On Friday, the club filed suit in New York federal court over an attempt to grab ownership to the "Phanatic," the team's mascot. According to the complaint, Bill Giles, Phillies' executive vp, created the vision for the mascot in the 1970s — a green, fat, furry, big-nosed character accessible to children. The team says it worked with a company called Harrison/Erickson to develop the costume for the Phanatic. The firm was paid $215,000, according to the complaint. Dave Raymond, an intern in the...

Are rich people fleeing California to escape astronomical state income taxes? That’s the word. But it’s fake news. In fact, more wealthy people are moving to California than leaving, research indicates. It’s the poor and middle class who are departing. It makes sense. If you’re getting rich in California and can afford to live comfortably here in this balmy climate, there’s little incentive to leave — except to stick it to the tax collector in Sacramento. “If you’ve got your business here and you’re making money, it’s hard to leave,” says Allan Zaremberg, president of the California Chamber of Commerce....

It was finally official -- the Phillies signed Bryce Harper. Even manager Gabe Kapler, who had to answer questions about Harper by hedging his responses with “if the reports are true,” chimed in on social media. With the ball club down the road in Port Charlotte for a spring-training game against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Phillies opted for an outdoor press conference, complete with images from Harper’s first appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 2009 at age 16, to the cover of the MLB the Show video game set to be released this month, all set up...

Donald Trump was wanted by two pro Baseball teams. Not only does Trump know how to play hardball in the business world and as president of the United States, but it turns out he could play with the best of them in the baseball world. President Donald Trump was heavily scouted and wanted by two pro teams when coming out of his high school military prep academy to be a pro prospect. The Boston Red Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies were keen to sign up the first basemen from NY Military Academy before he went off to college at Fordham...

PHILADELPHIA -- Rhys Hoskins mixed it up Thursday night at Citizens Bank Park. He crushed his 18th home run of the season in the second inning against Marlins right-hander Vance Worley, but this one sailed into the stands in right-center field. It is the first opposite-field homer of his career. Hoskins is the fastest player on record to hit 18 homers, needing only 34 games to reach the mark. Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez had been the previous fastest, hitting his 18th and 19th homers in his 45th career game. Hoskins crushed an 0-2 fastball from Worley. The ball left his...

Curt Schilling took on the Internet – and the entire Muslim world – on Tuesday and lost. Badly. The two-time National League strikeout king took to Twitter to voice his concern over Islamic extremism. He posted a photo of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler with the words, “It's said only 5-10% of Muslims are extremists. In 1940, only 7% of Germans were Nazis. How'd that go?” The 48-year-old also tweeted, “The math is staggering when you get to true (numbers).” Schilling, who won three World Series championships during his 20-year MLB career, deleted the post after 10 minutes. Currently working with...

Earl Averill Jr., a Snohomish High School graduate and a seven-year major league veteran, died Wednesday in Tacoma. He was 83. The Mariners scheduled a moment of silence in Averill’s honor just before the start of Thursday’s game against the Red Sox. Averill is the son of Baseball Hall of Famer Earl Averill.

Frank Torre, older brother of Yankees Hall of Fame skipper Joe and former Milwaukee Braves first baseman, dead at 82 Though he was nine years older, Frank Torre, who broke into the majors with the Milwaukee Braves in 1956, served as a mentor to his younger brother growing up on Avenue T in Brooklyn, and later as a father figure after their parents split up.

Jose Antonio Pagan, one of the first Puerto Ricans in Major League Baseball and a hero of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 1971 World Series win, died Tuesday in Florida. He was 76.

...No team in baseball today has a greater number of successful deceptive pitchers than the Philadelphia Phillies. They have brought together four of the best starting pitchers in the game: Roy (Doc) Halladay, a 33-year-old two–time Cy Young Award winner; Cliff Lee, 32, and also a Cy Young winner; Roy Oswalt, 33, with 150 career wins; and the 27-year-old Cole Hamels, a World Series hero three years ago...

All those derisive whistles sounded like cheers to Tim Lincecum. The Freak outdueled Roy Halladay, Cody Ross hit a pair of solo homers and the San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 Saturday night in the NL championship series opener. In a mega-hyped matchup between marquee pitchers, neither starter came close to matching his sensational postseason debut last week. Both gave up homers to No. 8 hitters. "It was big, it sets the pace for the series," Lincecum said. Halladay's bid for a second straight no-hitter lasted until Ross connected with one out in the third. Lincecum, who tossed...

Matthew Clemmens, 21, the overweight and obnoxious Famous Philadelphia Sports Fan who purposely vomited on an 11-year-old girl at an April 14 Phillies game, was sentence yesterday to 30-90 days in jail, two years probation and 50 hours of community service.

Robin Roberts, the Hall of Fame right-hander who won 286 games and pitched the Philadelphia Phillies’ 1950 Whiz Kids team to the National League pennant, died Thursday at his home in Temple Terrace, Fla. He was 83.

Despite being kicked out of last year's inaugural event, Christian activists plan to protest today's "Gay Community Day" hosted by the Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball team. Monday's game in Philadelphia against the Colorado Rockies will feature the Phillies' twelve-game winner Eric Roberts on the mound. It will also feature special recognition of members of the local "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered" (LBGT) community. The second annual "Gay Community day" at the Phillies' stadium is being promoted by the Gay & Lesbian Lawyers of Philadelphia (GALLOP) and the Philadelphia chapter of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA). Before...

<p>FRANKFORT, Ky. — When he was a Major League pitcher, Jim Bunning had more pluck than luck. As a U.S. Senate candidate and senator, the reverse appears to have been true, as we are likely to see again Tuesday, the filing deadline for major party candidates in this year's elections.</p>