Alive and Well

Hello again, fellow Drunk Phils Fans, readers, and the like. Regrettably, it has once again been too long since I made my last appearance in this blog. For those of you not familiar, I'm Ricky Jordan Fan Club, the guy who does those Random Past Phillies posts. This is not one, though I do hope to start doing them again sometime shortly after the New Year, but there are some technical issues I need to get squared away first. Your suggestions and feedback are always welcome when it comes to Random Past Phillies posts.

I had originally planned on making this a simple "touching base" post, to let everyone know I was still a part of the Drunk Phils Fans family and to introduce myself to those of you who may be new to the blog and unfamiliar with my work. But then, an idea suddenly popped into my head, and if you put two and two together, you'll find it has to do with the picture that goes along with this post. So let's get to it.

The picture in question is the Phillies mural that upon its completion will be displayed at 200 South 24th Street in Philadelphia. The mural will be painted by local artist David McShane and will depict 25 of the franchise's iconic players along with Harry Kalas and the Phillie Phanatic. A full listing of who is included can be found at phillies.com. Additionally, there is currently a voting on the site that runs through December 7 to nominate the final player that will be depicted. The five players who receive the most nominations will then be part of a voting from December 8 to 15, the winner of which will become part of the mural.

Personally, I think this is an excellent idea and should look absolutely spectacular once the finished product is unveiled. Nevertheless, I do have some issues with it. First of all, "online voting" in all likelihood means that current players or ones from the recent past will be receiving a vast majority of the votes, though I've been told by people familiar with these events (this mural and the Wall of Fame especially) that the final winners are generally predetermined and the elections are merely for the purpose of sparking fan interest. Also, the 2012 season will be the 130th in the history of the Philadelphia Phillies. Though they've only really had two eras of sustained success, many outstanding players have worn their uniform and there quite a few left out. Among others, Greg Luzinski, Del Ennis, Johnny Callison, Garry Maddox, and Cy Williams are not part of the group that will be depicted. You could make a strong case to include all of them, but there's obviously only so much room. What I wouldn't mind seeing in addition to this mural are other ones made throughout the city, possibly dedicated to different positions and/or eras. I believe they could serve as a useful teaching tool to younger generations about the long history of the Phillies, both good and bad.

I decided to take part in the voting for the final player on the mural, and went with Del Ennis, who hit .286 with 259 home runs and 1124 RBI for the Phils from 1946-56. Those 259 homers were second in franchise history to Mike Schmidt until this past season, when Ryan Howard surpassed him. Ennis, who died in 1996, was also a Philadelphia native who attended Olney High School. That also played into my decision, as I think it would be cool to have a native son on there.

To my fellow DPFs, I ask you: who would you choose to occupy the last spot on the Phillies Mural? Also, if there were to be other Phillies murals throughout the city, who or what would you like to see on them? A Random Past Phillies mural, perhaps? Just don't ask me to paint that one, I can't even draw a straight line. I look forward to your replies, as I'm sure there will be some pretty funny stuff there!