Pence and Phillies fans love each other back

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There was another love fest at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday night.

Like Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt before him, Hunter Pence felt the affection of 45,000 Philadelphians who are crazy about their baseball team.

And that was just during warmups.

Pence, acquired in a trade with Houston on Friday night, got the full youre-one-of-us-now treatment as he ambled to the plate before his first at-bat as a Phillie. The place went bonkers for the 28-year-old outfielder, who general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. called the missing piece in what he hopes will be a drive to the World Series.

Pence, of course, had been prepped for the loud, standing-O reception by Oswalt and Brad Lidge, who had previously escaped rebuilding efforts in Houston for contention in Philadelphia.

Roy and Brad told me that theres nothing like itthe crowd, the fans, Pence said before the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Theyre extremely passionate. Its a packed house every night. They told me, Youre in for a treat.

Pence showed some Philadelphia passion and heard a little more of it, as well, when his first at-bat as a Phillie ended in a ground out to second base in the second inning. Pence actually beat the throw and should have had an infield hit. Umpire Angel Hernandez blew the call and ruled Pence out. Pence reacted by yanking his helmet from his head and laughing as he trotted back to the dugout. Manager Charlie Manuel waddled out of the dugout and gave Hernandez and earful in support of his new rightfielder. It was the start of what the Phillies and Pence hope is a beautiful and successful relationship.

The Phils had long been looking for a right-handed bat to balance out the lefty-heavy middle of their order and provide an upgrade in right field. They will end up sending four prospects to Houston for Pence, a two-time National League all-star who hit .309 with 26 doubles, three triples, 11 homers and 62 RBIs in 99 games for Houston this season. Top pitching prospect Jarred Cosart and top hitting prospect Jonathan Singleton, a first baseman, were sent to Houston along with Double A pitcher Josh Zeid. Houston has until the end of August to select a fourth player from an agreed upon list of Single-A prospects.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the Phillies picked up 2 million from Houston in the deal. That means they are only paying about 250,000 of the less than 2.3 million that remains on Pences contract for this season. Pence is arbitration eligible the next two seasons and his salary is expected to climb into the 10 million range in 2012.

Pence went from the team with the worst record in the majors to the team with the best record in the majors, a team cutting salary to a team that for several years has shown a willingness to do almost anything it takes to win.

Im telling people I jumped up 62 games, said Pence, exaggerating slightly for effect. Its a pretty big swing. Im really happy to be a part of a team that is in a playoff race. A lot of players never get this opportunity. I've never been a part of it. I would sacrifice a lot for this. I'm thrilled to be in here and ready to go.

Pence is an energetic, excitable chap. He speaks fast and has big blue eyes that widen as words rush out of his mouth.

There was little doubt he was thrilled to be in Philadelphia late Saturday afternoon. He touched down at the airport after a flight from Milwaukee (with a connection in Detroit) at about 3:30 and was whisked to the ballpark, where he was given the locker that used to belong to Jim Thome, Brett Myers and most recently Danys Baez. Pences old No. 9 is assigned to erstwhile rightfielder Domonic Brown, who is now sharpening his game at Triple A. Pence requested a single-digit number and was assigned 3. He slipped into his new uniform and headed to the field for batting practice. He was immediately greeted by a smiling Jimmy Rollins then pounded a ball into the second deck above left field during BP. Balls dont often go up there.

Early arriving fans gave Pence a nice greeting during batting practice. By the time he emerged to run wind sprintsin borrowed red spikes; Reebok is rushing him a few new pairsthe stadium was nearly full. Fans cheered Pence as he loosened up down the right-field line. He waved to them and flashed them the thumbs-up sign. As he sprinted to his right-field post in the top of the first inning, he received a loud ovation from the fans in the right-field seats. He responded with eye contact, a wave and other gestures of appreciation. He waved to the Phanatic as he sped by on his scooter. It was cool to see the fans welcome Pence so enthusiastically and impressive to see a player engage the fans and make them feel part of it.

Pence praised the Houston organization and his former teammates. He said he cares about people and wanted to make sure that the folks who helped him in Houston knew he appreciated them. But the Arlington, Texas native made it no secret that he was eager to begin a new chapter of his baseball life in Philadelphia.

I'm in a place where they really want me and we have a chance to do something special, to create some historic moments for Philadelphia and for the game of baseball, he said. It's an unbelievable opportunity and I couldn't be more grateful.
E-mail Jim Salisbury at jsalisbury@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow him on Twitter @JSalisburyCSN.

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