The last player to retire as a Phillie in this manner was outfielder Doug Glanville in 2005.

Selected by the Phillies as the third overall pick in the 1990 draft behind Chipper Jones (Braves) and Tony Clark (Tigers), Lieberthal holds the franchise record for most games caught at 1,139, despite seven trips to the disabled list.

"Philadelphia has always been a second home to me, so I'm really looking forward to this," Lieberthal said in a statement. "I spent half my life there and still follow the team closely on television."

In his 13 seasons with the Phillies (1994-2006), Lieberthal hit .275 with 150 home runs and 609 RBI in 1,174 games. He spent the 2007 season – his final season as an active major league player – with the Dodgers. He hit .234 with one RBI in 38 games.

A two-time All-Star (1999-2000), Lieberthal became just the sixth catcher in major league history to hit .300 with 30 home runs in a season.

He was the first Phillies player to reach those numbers in the same season since Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt did it in 1981, a span of 18 years. Lieberthal also set a Phillies record in 1999 for fielding percentage by a catcher (.997), committing just three errors in 946 total chances, en route to a Rawlings Gold Glove Award.