Jeff Hoffman’s bond with Phillies endures: He’ll always have a piece of Philly — literally

TORONTO — This is Jeff Hoffman’s home now, the result of a $33 million deal he scored after resurrecting his career as a late-inning revelation with the Phillies. He golfed with some of his former teammates Monday afternoon before they all took their wives to a sushi dinner. The Phillies miss Hoffman, and he misses them, too. That’s how it works. So, as he strolled into the luxurious Blue Jays’ clubhouse Tuesday afternoon before facing the Phillies, he laughed. There it was — a ragged, green Philadelphia street sign. HOFFMAN AVE. It had hung for months in a hallway adjacent to the Phillies’ clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park. It was still there last weekend, long after Hoffman had departed via free agency. No one from the Phillies said a word about the street sign during their daylong reunion with Hoffman. He assumed it was gone. “It was in my locker this morning,” Hoffman said. He grinned. “I don’t know.” Hoffman has said he’ll always carry a piece of Philadelphia with him — he holds no grudges for the Phillies never coming close to the various contract offers he received last offseason — but he meant that figuratively. Not literally. The
Read More