The Phillies are making a polarizing change.
Harry the K’s, an area in left field at Citizens Bank Park that opened with the stadium in 2004, had been serving as a tribute to longtime announcer Harry Kalas. But, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the team has sold the naming rights of the area to Ghost Energy.
His widow told the outlet that her late husband, who called Phillies games for almost four decades, was “betrayed.”
“Taking down that sign takes away everything he did for the city,” Eileen Kalas told The Inquirer. “I think they betrayed Harry. It’s not about me. It’s about what they’re doing to Harry. I think they betrayed him for everything he did for them.”
According to the Philly outlet, the team declined to comment on the controversy.
Eileen Kalas told The Inquirer that the Phillies paid her $20,000 a year to use Kalas’ likeness.
She will be paid once more this season, since the Phillies missed their deadline to break the contract for 2026, but she will not be paid in 2027.
Per The Inquirer, the Phillies will continue celebrating wins by showing a clip of Harry Kalas singing “High Hopes” on the stadium video board, though Eileen acknowledges that the Phillies will not be able to play the song unless she is paid for 2027.
“They’ll say, ‘Eileen Kalas got rid of it. She’s money hungry,’” she said to The Inquirer. “That’s what they always said. Flip it on me … I don’t mind if they have things. They just have to pay for it. It’s intellectual property. They know that.”
She later added: “They go, ‘Oh, we’re still going to have the statue.’ What are they going to do with the statue? I’ll take it. I’ll send in a truck, pick it up, and get it out if they want that out, too.”
Harry Kalas was the team’s long-time play-by-play announcer from 1971 to 2009 until his death on April 13, 2009, months after the Phillies won the 2008 World Series.
About the Author
Discover more from USA NEWS
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
