Welcome to the latest edition of the Phillies Beat newsletter. This version was written by Paul Casella, who has been based in Philadelphia since 2019 and covers the team alongside Todd Zolecki. |
PHILADELPHIA -- Aaron Nola is the longest-tenured member of the Phillies -- and that's been a good thing for many in need across the city of Philadelphia. Since making his MLB debut in 2015, the veteran right-hander has dedicated countless hours to raising money and awareness for multiple charitable ventures. Those efforts were recognized on Monday, when Nola was named the Phillies' nominee for the 2025 Roberto Clemente Award. Considered one of the most prestigious honors across Major League Baseball, the Roberto Clemente Award is given annually to the "player who best represents the game of Baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field." Nola was also the Phillies' nominee in 2020. Fans can vote for the overall winner among the 30 nominees (one from each team) until Sept. 28. |
"This one's big, man," Nola said. "My wife and I just love helping out and doing as much as we can outside of baseball. We love it here. We love the city, we love the people. So we just wanted to do something that goes farther than baseball." He and his wife, Hunter, have certainly done that. Nola has long been an avid supporter of Philabundance, the region’s largest hunger relief organization. An ambassador for the "Phans Feeding Families" initiative, Nola has been a vocal and hands-on contributor to a campaign that has helped raise more than $1 million. Aside from that work through the Phillies, Nola has been a constant contributor to a couple of causes important to him and his family: Helping veterans and supporting ALS research. The latter is a deeply personal matter to Nola, whose uncle died in 2021 following a courageous six-year battle with ALS. |
Nola's contributions to those two causes have ranged from hosting charity bowling events over the years to donating money for every strikeout he accumulates over the course of the season. That's added up quite a bit over the years, considering Nola ranks third in franchise history with 1,863 career strikeouts -- just eight behind Hall of Famer Robin Roberts for second on the list. More recently, Nola raised more than $225,000 at his inaugural charity poker tournament for Team Red, White & Blue (Team RWB) -- one of the nation's leading organizations when it comes to helping veterans and service members with both physical and mental health. "It was a good switch up this year, and I think it played out really well," said Nola, who had previously hosted an annual bowling event to benefit Team RWB. "But being able to sit down together at the same table and just visit with everybody and talk to them and meet new people, all while raising money and awareness, was just really special." Similarly, Nola and his brother, Austin, have helped raise more than $250,000 for ALS research via their "Strike Out ALS" bowling events. Since losing their uncle, Alan Andries, in 2021, both Aaron and Austin have been steadfast in their mission to both fund ALS research and support families dealing with the awful disease. |
"That specific area of work with ALS hits a little bit harder to me because of my uncle, but it's not even just him," Aaron said. "Being able to meet a lot of different people who are diagnosed with the disease, you see how much it varies from person to person. So I've met so many people in such different situations, and heard so many stories -- and they're all so moving. "It puts it in perspective for us. Bad days at the field -- obviously it matters, but it doesn't really matter in the bigger picture." The Roberto Clemente Award nominee comes just months after Nola was recognized by The Players Trust -- the charitable arm of Major League Baseball -- as its Most Valuable Philanthropist for the 2025 season. Nola hopes to add one more on-field honor to his resume this year as he looks to help the Phillies win their first World Series title since 2008. Regardless, the significance of the off-field honors he's already received is not lost on him and his wife. "We put [the Clemente Award] on our list as something we take serious outside baseball," Nola said. "This is such a great fanbase and community, and we've been so fortunate to be part of it and start a family here. So anything we can do to give back, it's important for us." |
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SCHWARBER HOME RUN TRACKER |
With 53 home runs through 153 games this season, Kyle Schwarber is on pace for 56 homers -- two shy of Ryan Howard’s franchise record set in 2006. Needing five homers to tie Howard (or six to pass him), Schwarber is still within striking distance with nine games remaining. It’s worth noting that Schwarber has hit five homers over a nine-game span multiple times this season -- and even has two separate nine-game stretches in which he hit six. (Of course, one of those included his record-tying four-homer game on Aug. 28.) |
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