The Main Event

  • May 22, 2014 – After pitching in a day game at Double-A Reading, 2010 first round draft pick Jesse Biddle was caught in a severe hail storm. The hailstones broke the back window of his car and gave him a concussion, which led to his missing almost two months of playing time.

For a Phillies fan base that had watched the franchise’s golden era begin to fade, Jesse Biddle represented something rare and hopeful — a local kid with a big-league arm. What followed was one of the most star-crossed developmental journeys in recent Philadelphia baseball history, punctuated by an injury so bizarre it deserves its own chapter: a hailstorm in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Jesse Biddle attended Germantown Friends School, a Quaker institution in Philadelphia, where he starred as a left-handed pitcher. His high school numbers were staggering. As a junior, Biddle went 5–0 with a 0.64 ERA, striking out 61 batters in 33 innings. His senior season was even more dominant — 9–2 with a 1.06 ERA and 140 strikeouts in 59.1 innings, helping lead the Quakers to their seventh consecutive Friends Schools League championship. Those performances earned him recognition as a Perfect Game Preseason All-American in the Atlantic Region and a spot on the MaxPreps All-Americans First Team.

Pre-Draft Buzz and Prospect Pedigree

Biddle first rose to scouts’ attention during the 2009 Area Code Games, where he showed a fastball sitting 90–93 mph with above-average movement and late life, along with a developing curveball and a changeup. Heading into the draft, Baseball America ranked Biddle the third-best prospect in Pennsylvania and 116th-best in the nation. ESPN’s scouting report noted his excellent downhill plane but flagged the need to develop his secondary pitches, projecting his ceiling as a number-two starter. The Phillies were enamored with two high school players in the 2010 draft — California outfielder Christian Yelich and local lefty Jesse Biddle. When the Marlins took Yelich four picks earlier, Philadelphia happily landed their man.

The Phillies sent multiple scouts to every one of Biddle’s starts in 2010 before drafting him 27th overall and signing him away from an Oregon commitment for $1.16 million. He was the first high school pitcher from the Northeast taken in the draft. The minor league climb was encouraging. In 2011, pitching for the Lakewood BlueClaws, Biddle went 7–8 with a 2.98 ERA in 25 games, and Baseball America named him the number-two prospect in the Phillies organization. By 2012, he had ascended to the top spot, spending the year with the Clearwater Threshers where he posted a 10–6 record and 3.22 ERA in 26 starts.

On May 22, 2014, after pitching a day game for the Double-A Reading Phillies, Biddle was caught in a violent hailstorm just before boarding the team bus for a road trip. As Biddle ran to his car from the team bus to retrieve his pillow, which he had forgotten in his car, hailstones shattered the back window of his car. Biddle himself was hit in the head by hail, causing a concussion that cost him nearly two months of the season. It was, remarkably, just one entry in a long injury log. His minor league career was repeatedly derailed injuries and health issues: There was the hailstorm concussion in 2014, whooping cough the year before, and Tommy John surgery the following season. Throw in multiple elbow issues and Biddle’s career seemed doomed before it really got underway.

Making the Majors — At Last

Biddle struggled between Double-A and Triple-A in 2015 and required Tommy John surgery following that season, missing all of 2016. He was eventually traded and claimed off waivers, landing with the Atlanta Braves. He made his MLB debut on April 21, 2018, at age 26, earning a win with a scoreless ninth inning. That rookie season he struck out 67 batters, just two behind teammate A.J. Minter for the most by a rookie left-handed reliever in the National League. In parts of four MLB seasons with the Braves, Mariners, Rangers, and Reds, Biddle compiled a 5.07 ERA across 103 big-league innings, his control issues ultimately limiting what he could accomplish. The hometown kid reached the show — just not the way anyone in Philadelphia had imagined.

Philadelphia Baseball Events for May 22

  • May 22, 1890 – Phillies manager Harry Wright is inexplicably struck blind. Catcher Jack Clements took his place as the first of three interim managers, earning a 13-6 record. The blindness was reportedly caused by the constant strain of reading detailed box scores and statistics. Wright was blind for a period of time, but did return to having partial vision.
  • May 22, 1895 – George Hodson completes the seventh inning on only three pitches. Chicago’s leadoff batter hit the first pitch for a double, but was called out after overrunning second base. The next two batters grounded to first on the only pitch they saw.
  • May 22, 1930 – In Philadelphia, the Yankees and the Athletics continue the home run barrage as the Yankees take both games of a second straight doubleheader, 10-1 and 20-13. Babe Ruth hits a pair of home runs in the opener, as does Ben Chapman and winning pitcher George Pipgras. The Yanks score nine runs in the first two innings of the second game, but the A’s come back to tie it at 12 apiece. The Yanks win the assault, 20-13, as Tony Lazzeri is 4-for-4, scores five runs, and knocks in four. Ruth hits another in the second game, while Lou Gehrig powers three round trippers to drive in eight runs. On the A’s side, Jimmie Foxx has two homers to drive in six runs. For the afternoon, the teams combine to hit 14 round trippers, with 10 of them coming in game two of the twin bill.
  • May 22, 1936 – Bucky Walters throws a four-hit shutout against the Giants and hits a home run. Pinky Whitney adds a grand slam in the 15-0 drubbing.
  • May 22, 1952 – Pitcher Curt Simmons hits an inside-the-park home run against the Pirates, the last time a Phillies pitcher accomplished that feat.
  • May 22, 1956 – Signed free agent Elmer Valo, an outfielder and pinch hitter, who played for the Athletics from 1940 through 1954, missing the 1944 and 1945 seasons for military service. He played in 148 games with the Phillies over two different stints in 1956 and 1961.
  • May 22, 1959 – Released Jim Hearn, who spent the final three seasons of his MLB career with Philadelphia. In five starts and 76 relief appearances, Hearn had a 10-6, 4.04 ERA with the Phils.
  • May 22, 1976 – Reggie Smith homered off of Tug McGraw to break a 6-6 tie with two outs in the ninth, giving the Cardinals a 7-6 victory over the Phils. Smith hit three homers (two right-handed and one left-handed) and drove in five in the game.
  • May 22, 1983 – Traded Sid Monge to San Diego Padres Joe Lefebvre. Monge had been acquired from Cleveland in February of 1982 in exchange for Bake McBride. Lefebvre played for the Phillies from 1983-1986, but missed the 1985 season with a torn cartilage and ligament in his right knee.
  • May 22, 1983 – Traded Dick Ruthven and Bill Johnson to the Chicago Cubs for Willie Hernandez, who pitched in 63 games with the Phillies and posted a 3.29 ERA, helping lead the Phillies to the National League championship. Hernandez would sign with Detroit following the season and pitch in a major league leading 80 games with a 1.92 ERA. His accomplishments led him to win the 1984 AL Cy Young and MVP Awards.
  • May 22, 1992 – Signed free agent Don Robinson, who had been released by California. Robinson was best known to Phillies fans for giving up home run number 500 to Mike Schmidt.
  • May 22, 2002 – Traded John Mabry to Oakland for Jeremey Giambi, who hit 12 home runs in 82 games with the 2002 Phillies before becoming a free agent at the end of the season.
  • May 22, 2010 – Daisuke Matsuzaka and Daniel Bard combine on a one-hitter as Boston defeats Philadelphia, 5-0. The Phils’ only hit comes with two out in the eighth, when Juan Castro drops a pop-up just beyond the reach of shortstop Marco Scutaro.

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Philadelphia Baseball Birthdays for May 22

  • John Thornton (born 1869) – Pitched two seasons for the Phillies (1891, 1892). Went 15-18, 4.07 for the Phillies.
  • Jose Mesa (born 1966) – The Phillies closer from 2001-2003, he saved 111 games with the Phillies and would return for the 2007 season, posting a 5.54 ERA in 40 relief appearances.
  • Corey Dickerson (born 1989) – Played in 34 games with the 2019 Phillies as a left fielder. Hit eight home runs and drove in 34 runs while hitting .293 that season. In 11 MLB seasons, Dickerson hit 136 home runs, drive in 465 and batted .280 with eight different teams.

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