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David Dahl gets full Phillies experience on ‘surreal’ first night with team

Bryson Stott douses David Dahl after he homered in his first game with the team. (Grace Del Pizzo/Phillies Nation)

David Dahl was a non-roster invitee to Philadelphia Phillies Spring Training. He homered twice and drove in seven runs, but ultimately was lost the in battle for the final bench spot that saw Cristian Pache edge out Jake Cave.

To his credit, Dahl — an All-Star in 2019 for the Colorado Rockies — went to Triple-A and raked for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. In 147 at-bats, Dahl hit .340 with 12 home runs, 26 RBIs and a 1.076 OPS. He was the ideal candidate to opt out of his minor-league deal on June 1 given that he didn’t appear to have a path to promotion with the Phillies.

The problem? As Anthony SanFilippo of Crossing Broad reported in Spring Training, Dahl was six days short of having five years of MLB service time, meaning he wasn’t eligible for an opt out. So as the Phillies soared to the best record in baseball over the first two months of the season, Dahl seemed doomed to spend the entire year at Triple-A, a level he was clearly overqualified for when healthy.

But injuries to both Brandon Marsh and Kody Clemens Sunday evening opened up the door for Dahl to have his contract purchased and be added to the 40-man roster Monday. He was immediately inserted into the lineup as the starting left fielder Monday against the Milwaukee Brewers, and hit the ground running.

Wearing the No. 35 — most associated with Cole Hamels, but more recently worn by Óscar Mercado and Drew Ellis — Dahl made his presence felt from the word go. Hitting seventh in Rob Thomson’s lineup, Dahl singled in his first at-bat, later scoring on a Johan Rojas RBI single. Dahl stepped up with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning, and hit a 362-foot home run.

“I’m just super excited, super grateful to be here, and just trying to take advantage of the opportunity,” Dahl said postgame. “Had a good game and we got the win. Wheels dominated tonight as usual and relievers did a great job, defense did a great job, so it was a great team win and excited to be here.”

If you were trying to show a new player how magical it can be to play in Philadelphia when you are winning, it’s hard to imagine coming up with a better exhibit than Monday evening’s scene at Citizens Bank Park.

Rhys Hoskins received multiple standing ovations in his first game in Philadelphia as a visitor. Dahl’s head may be spinning as he tries to get adjusted to his new surroundings, but it was impossible for the 30-year-old not to take notice of the king’s welcome Hoskins received.

“For it to be my first game with this organization and see how much they care about their guys and how passionate they are about the game, it was definitely surreal,” Dahl said.

Dahl, albeit on a much smaller scale, got an ovation of his own.

“After I hit the home run and went out to left field, they gave me a standing ovation out there, and that was probably the coolest thing I’ve experienced on a baseball field.”

Who knows what Dahl was thinking about his path to the majors a week ago. It would be hard to blame if he was pessimistic about getting an opportunity with the Phillies because of how well the team was playing.

But Dahl is now here, and got a crash-course in Phillies 101 Monday. This season has had a special feeling for the Phillies for a while now, and without any minor-league options left, perhaps Dahl will now be a part of the remainder of the journey.

“Yeah, [it] worked out,” Dahl said. “I’m just happy to be a part of this team and win as many games as we can and get to the playoffs.

“When I signed here, this is where I wanted to be. I know this team wins. They’ve got a great fanbase, it’s a great clubhouse, great organization, so happy to be here.”

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Tim Kelly

Tim Kelly has been the Editorial Director for Phillies Nation since June of 2018. He also currently writes for Bleacher Report and Just Baseball. Previously, Kelly has done work for Audacy Sports, Sports Illustrated, SportsRadio 94 WIP and FanSided. Kelly is a graduate of Bloomsburg University.