Perfect Game’s All-American Classic brings MLB veterans together to coach future stars

The past and the future met at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday morning for the Perfect Game All-American Classic. Sixty of the top high school baseball players in the country took the field and were coached by former MLB veterans.

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Former Phillies manager Joe Girardi, a World Series Champion as both a manager and player, served as the manager of the West team. Across the field in the first-base dugout former Phillies World Series Champion Shane Victorino was the manager of the East team.

Ultimately, it was Girardi who came out on top with an 8-3 winfor the West team.

Girardi spent 273 games as the Phillies manager, starting in 2020 and earning a 132-141 record and a .484 win percentage before being fired early in the 2022 season. He hasn’t been back in the dugout at Citizens Bank Park since. Instead, he’s been focusing on broadcasting, but said it was great to be back in Philly.

“I enjoyed my time here,” Girardi said. “It’s a great baseball town. People are extremely passionate. Just great to be around these young kids too.”

Victornio, who’s eight seasons in Philly were more favorable, featuring two All-Star game selections, three Golden Gloves, and a World Series, has spent a lot of time back in the city. Recently, during All-Star Weekend, he led Team Victorino to win the first ever MLBx three-on-three tournament against Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, and Andruw Jones.

Also part of both the Perfect Game coaching staff and the 2008 Phillies were Kyle Kendrick and Tom Gordon. Along with, 1993 NL Champions Milt Thompson and Ben Rivera, and former Phillie from 2010-2012, José Contreras, were apart of the coaching staff. Former manager Charlie Manuel was in attendance as the Honorary Chairman of the game for the first ever Perfect Game event held at Citizens Bank Park.

With so many players back and involved in the event, Victorino said it’s a testament to the “Philly way.”

“There’s something special when I came here, and I learned that through the years that there’s a way that they do it here,” Victorino said. “To be a part of it, to be called back, and to be a part of this organization still, [with] five, six people involved in this [event] it’s always amazing.”

Former MLB Vets Mo Vaughn, Trevor Hoffman, Ryan Klesko, Todd Coffey, Denard Span, and Jason Phillips, and Girard’s son Dante Girardi were also on the coaching staffs.

For Dylan Seward, a shortstop from Corona, Calif., who was projected to be the top pick in the 2027 MLB Draft by MLB.com and is committed to Tennessee, the opportunity to play and learn under these veterans was “a major blessing.”

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“Joe’s managed some of the best players ever, so just getting to pick his brain a little bit, to me, that’s how you get better,” Seward said. “Just always [having an] open mind and ask a lot of questions from guys with a lot of knowledge and just really listening.”

In line with the rest of the big-names surrounding the game, Daron Sutton and former Phillies outfielder Hunter Pence called the game on PGTV.

Pence’s nephew, Striker Pence, a 6-foot-6 two-way player also from Corona, pitched the first inning of the game. The right-hander maxed out at 99 mph with the rest of his pitches sitting in the high 90s.

In the bottom of the fourth, Pence, who bats left-handed, hit a two-run doubleto centerfield, bringing in the first two runs of the game.

On the East team, Brue Milner, a catcher from Tallassee, Ala., who is committed to Georgia Tech, went yard in the top of the sixth to bring in a run for Victorino’s team. Later in the inning, a base-hit from Harry Chubb Jones Jr., an Alabama pledg from Douglasville, Ga., tied the game.

A sacrifice fly out to center from Max Hemenway, a native of Puyallup, Wash., who’s another Tennessee recruit, gave the East a one-run lead in the top of the eighth, then a single from LSU recruit Sebastian Castillo of Justin, Texas, in the bottom of the frame tied it up. Pence walked, bringing Castillo to second before hestole third. A single from Ontario’s Jalen Jacobs brought Castillo home to give the West the winning run. A grand slam from another LSU pledge, Koa Romero from Des Allemands, L.A., ended the game.

The talent displayed on the field is something both Victorino and Girardi said they don’t recall possessing at 17 years old, but says a lot about the direction the game is heading.

“It’s amazing the size, one first and foremost, and then two, the ability to play the game at the level at such a young age,” Victorino said. “I think it’s pretty impressive, but again, there’s so much more for these kids to learn, so much more ahead for them.”

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