Phillies clubhouse hosts sleepover for children's hospital patients

Mike Oz

Here's something you don't expect to hear about the Philadelphia Phillies: There was an infusion of youth in their clubhouse.

But we're not talking about baseball players, rather patients from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia who attended a special sleepover inside the home team's clubhouse at Citizens Bank Ballpark. The clubhouse sleepover — a first of its kind for the Phillies — was sold as part of the team's Phantastic Auction in May.

The winner of the auction then anonymously donated it to the local children's hospital, so four patients and their families had the awesome experience of spending the night where Chase Utley and Cole Hamels get ready for ballgames. Among them, according to WPVI-TV in Philly, was 4-year-old Grayson who just finished 18 months of chemotherapy and 10-year-old Brooke who's fighting cancer for the second time.

(MLB.com)
(MLB.com)

The kids got their own lockers, took batting practice, had a pillow fight with the Phillie Phanatic, ate pizza, watched a movie and signed their own one-day contract to join the Phillies. The offer came from Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr., who can now say, no matter what else happens this offseason, that he made one great move.

This was a win all around, especially by the anonymous donor who figured a group of kids who had spent too much time in a hospital might love a night in a big-league clubhouse.

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Mike Oz is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!