PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays will start the best-of-seven 2008 World Series Wednesday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. The first two games will be played there before shifting to Philadelphia for the middle three games and then back to Florida for the final two games, if needed.
There have been several local ties to the Phillies throughout the years.
Former Phoenixville star Andre Thornton signed with the Phillies as a free agent and proceeded to have a successful major league career with several teams, mainly the Cleveland Indians in the American League, in the 1970s and 1980s. He played first base and was used as a designated hitter.
Bullpen coach Ramon Hernandez formerly lived in Phoenixville and is married to a Phoenixville girl. They now reside in the Birdsboro area.
Longtime advance scout Hank King lives in Limerick Township and formerly lived in Audubon. King, who started his career as a left-handed batting practice pitcher with the Phillies, is also a PIAA basketball official.
On a side note, King used to author a column about spring training in Florida for Phoenixville Newspapers back in the 1980s.