Beloved Phillies Slugger Homers in Return for First Time with Brewers

Rhys Hoskins has been with the Milwaukee Brewers since he signed with them earlier this offseason. He’s played more than two months worth of regular season games.

In many ways his return to Citizens Bank Park against his former team, the Philadelphia Phillies, was as if he never left.

When Hoskins headed to the plate for the first time in Monday’s opener, he was greeted with a warm standing ovation from the crown. But, the Phillies also played his old walk-up song, Calvin Harris’ “Slide.”

Before the game he said he didn’t quite know what to expect.

"I don't know if I'm expecting anything except for it to be loud,” Hoskins said. “I've been in this place many, many times before when guys that have played here and gotten great receptions back. So, you know, I'm hopeful that that's in the cards."

According to The Athletic, it was just the second time Philadelphia had done that for a former player when he returned with another team. The other was Chase Utley, who used “Kashmir” as his walk-up song.

Welcome back, Rhys. 🤍 pic.twitter.com/AqTgLrC7Dd
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) June 3, 2024

He admitted there would be plenty of emotion attached to his return.

“I’m a crier,” Hoskins said. “I’ll probably cry at some point tonight.”

There were no tears later in the game when Hoskins hit a home run, something quite familiar to Phillies fans. Some cheered, some booed.

Hoskins saluted the fans.

In his old stomping grounds, doing what he does best@rhyshoskins https://t.co/VLT893VYIm pic.twitter.com/Oy7uxZzvSy
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) June 4, 2024

Entering the game, Hoskins was slashing .239/.339/.465/.804 with nine home runs and 27 RBI for the Brewers, as the 29-year-old right-handed hitter is serving mostly as their designated hitter.

Hoskins was unable to play last year after he tore his ACL during spring training. While he was rehabbing his injury, the Phillies moved Bryce Harper from the outfield to first base as a strategy to get the former MVP — who was still recovering from Tommy John surgery — on the field.

Harper took to the position and Philadelphia informed Hoskins that he would not be the first baseman if he stayed.

Hoskins was well-liked by Phillies fans for his bat and his work off the field.

He and his wife, Jayme, raised more than $1 million for the Muscular Dystrophy Association while they connected with Philadelphia-area children who suffered from the disease.

Supporting MDA was a long-term proposition for the pair. Hoskins worked at an MDA camp when he was a teenager and it’s also where he met Jayme.

The Phillies selected their former slugger in the fifth round of the 2014 MLB draft out of Sacramento State and he made his MLB debut in 2017.

Hoskins hit 148 home runs and drove in 405 runs in six seasons with the team.