Daily News | 30 years after Macho Row, former Phillies slugger Pete Incaviglia is enjoying the journey as indie-ball manager
The game was finished but the night was far from over when the Phillies players filtered into the tiny trainer’s room at Veterans Stadium. Darren Daulton iced his knees, Mitch Williams iced his arm, Lenny Dykstra sat in a chair, Pete Incaviglia lay on a table, and John Kruk and Dave Hollins each found a spot. It felt like the whole team was stuffed in there.
The conversations — win or lose — went on and on. Soon it was 6 a.m. and the sun was rising in South Philadelphia.Darren Daulton’s family believes his struggles and cancer were linked to the Vet’s turf The guy who bypassed the minor leagues to begin his pro career in the starting lineup on opening day now works every day with players who are on baseball’s fringe, hoping for another chance. And he does it because he’s obsessed.
Montville had entered Macho Row. Daulton’s locker at the back corner of the clubhouse was next to Dykstra’s. “I think the fans really appreciated the way we played the game. We ran hard to first base, we ran over catchers, we ran into walls. We battled at the plate. We understood that winning the game was more important than our own personal numbers.”
The Phils used platoons at multiple positions and nearly every hitter produced career-best numbers. The pitching staff was just as solid. The clubhouse may have felt like walking into a motorcycle gang’s clubhouse but there was something hiding under those mustaches. The ‘93 Phils played with a sense of selflessness and weren’t only brawn.
Incaviglia has been an indie-ball manager ever since, helping shepherd players from teams like the Sugar Land Skeeters and Laredo Lemurs to the major leagues. Incaviglia has had success — he’s won three championships — but he’s not spending his summer in towns like Paterson, N.J., and Trois-Rivières, Quebec, because he’s vying for a job in the majors.
Incaviglia didn’t get his first minor league assignment until he was 34. The Astros called him after he was released by Detroit in April 1998 and offered him a spot in triple A. There was no path to the majors, they told him, but Detroit needed an everyday outfielder in the minors. The former major-league star took the spot.
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