Scrapbook Sunday: February 23, 1992

1992 Fleer ProCards #2462 Lee Elia

It's cold and gray in New Jersey. There has been snow on the ground for about a month. To counter this, I'm going with a scrapbook page from Spring Training 1992, featuring palm trees and two former Phillies managers in shorts.

Lee Elia managed the Phillies in 1987 and 1988, but new general manager Lee Thomas fired him with 9 games to go in the 1988 season. In 1989, Thomas brought in Nick Leyva who was only marginally more successful than Elia at the helm. Jim Fregosi was named the 44th manager of the Phillies on April 23, 1991, replacing Nick Leyva 13 games into the season.

After being fired from the Phillies, Lee Elia coached with the Yankees in 1989, managed the Class A Clearwater Phillies in 1990 and 1991, and entered Spring Training 1992 as the new manager of the Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes Barre Red Barons. (During his short tenure as a Yankees coach, the manager of the Yankees was none other than Dallas Green.)

All three men are still in baseball today. The Phillies fired Lee Thomas following the 1997 season and replaced him with Ed Wade. In 2009, Thomas served as a scout for the Houston Astros, reporting to Wade. Fregosi was fired by Thomas following the 1996 season. He interviewed for the Phillies managerial vacancy in late 2004, but Charlie Manuel would eventually win the job. Fregosi is currently working as the top advance scout for the Atlanta Braves. Finally, Lee Elia, who most recently served as a bench coach for the Seattle Mariners in 2008, is now serving as a special assistant to Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti.

I can't wait to wear shorts again.