Cliff Lee leads the Phillies to a win in Game 3 of the NLCS against the Dodgers on October 18, 2009. Today is also the birthday of a utility player better known for his choice of plants than for his offensive skills.

Events in Phillies history on October 18

  • Oct 18, 1983 — Willie Jones, the former Philadelphia Phillies third baseman best known for his role on the 1950 Whiz Kids, died on this date. Jones was also known as “Puddin’ Head” Jones with the nickname coming to him at a young age because of a popular song in the 1930s.
  • Oct 18, 2009 — The Phillies routed the Los Angeles Dodgers 11–0 in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, a night when Cliff Lee tossed eight shutout innings and Philadelphia took a 2–1 series lead.

Phillies players, managers, executives, and broadcasters born on October 18

  • Brad Miller — Born October 18, 1989; a switch-utility bat who appeared with the Phillies during multiple big-league stints and is listed with a birthplace of Orlando, Florida. Miller became known as “Bamboo Brad” for bringing a bamboo plant into the clubhouse for luck; it worked.

A DEEPER DIVE… “Bamboo” Brad Miller

Brad Miller earned the nickname “Bamboo Brad” during a June 2019 stretch when the Philadelphia Phillies were mired in a losing streak and the clubhouse needed a spark. Miller, a newly acquired utility infielder, bought a small lucky bamboo plant from Chinatown, brought it into the Phillies’ clubhouse, and placed it in his locker believing it might help change the team’s luck. That night the offense erupted for a 13-7 win highlighted by a season-high run total and a flurry of hits. The timing of the breakout attached a playful superstition to the plant and drew immediate attention from teammates and local media.

The next day Miller returned to the same shop and purchased a much larger bamboo plant to put in the middle of the clubhouse. The Phillies then followed with consecutive wins, including dramatic late-game heroics and a walk-off victory, and the bamboo became a visible talisman for the small hot streak. Teammates began to treat the plant as a clubhouse mascot, fans started bringing bamboo to games, and social media embraced the moment with memes and the hashtag #BambooBrad. The plant’s rapid ascension from a private charm to a public phenomenon is what turned Miller’s casual good luck gesture into an enduring nickname.

Miller amplified the narrative by gifting a bamboo planter to manager Gabe Kapler, which reinforced both the team-wide buy-in and the media storyline. Local outlets ran features celebrating the coincidence of wins and the bamboo’s presence, and the nickname stuck because it captured a lighthearted clubhouse culture moment that coincided with tangible on-field success. The phrase Bamboo Brad proved to be a succinct, catchy label that fans and reporters could use to identify Miller’s role in that mini-era of optimism for the club.

Beyond the immediate results, the Bamboo Brad episode resonated because it combined superstition, personality, and a clear before-and-after moment in the schedule. The image of players and staff surrounding a conspicuous plant created an appealing visual narrative that local writers and broadcasters amplified, which cemented the nickname in local baseball lore. The story remained part of Phillies season highlights and was revisited in later coverage whenever the team experienced sudden offensive upticks, demonstrating how a small, human moment in a clubhouse can translate into a lasting piece of team folklore.