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Phillies Notes: Phillies to honor Burrell with Wall of Fame

Pat Burrell, the longest tenured player on the 2008 World Series team, will be inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame on July 31. Burrell, 38, played nine seasons for the Phillies after the team selected him No. 1 in the 1998 draft.

Pat Burrell, the longest tenured player on the 2008 World Series team, will be inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame on July 31. Burrell, 38, played nine seasons for the Phillies after the team selected him No. 1 in the 1998 draft.

The leftfielder's 251 home runs are fourth in team history. Burrell's seventh-inning double of Game 5 of the 2008 World Series set up the series' winning run. He led the championship parade down Broad Street in a carriage drawn by Clydesdale horses. Burrell's selection was determined by fan voting on the Phillies website.

"I think people in Philadelphia were excited about him his whole career and they stuck with him even sometimes when he hit some slumps or didn't do so good," said former manager Charlie Manuel. "He became a big leader on our team. . . . I felt like he did a tremendous job for us, not only on the field but in the clubhouse, too."

Herrera impressing

Odubel Herrera, who joined the team in December's Rule 5 draft, has played exclusively in the outfield this spring. He spent most of his career as an infielder in the Texas Rangers minor-league system.

Herrera played center field this winter in Venezuela and finished as the league's MVP. He said his transition to the outfield is coming "little by little."

"The first day, I wasn't feeling that good, but it wasn't bad," he said through a translator. "With practice every day, I'll get better."

Herrera said he was surprised Texas left him unprotected in the Rule 5 draft by not adding him to their 40-man roster. He hit .321 last season in 96 games at double-A Frisco and was the Texas League's batting champion. He learned the Phillies had selected him while he was in his hotel room in Venezuela with his family.

"I was surprised to leave. But I'm here, and I'm going to keep going," he said.

Manager Ryne Sandberg said Herrera has a lot of energy and is swinging the bat well, which he attributed to his strong offseason.

"He's shown some good skills in the outfield, I'd say in all three outfield positions," Sandberg said. "He's moving good out there. He's shown a lot as a young player. He's opening up a lot of eyes."

Schmidt and Galvis

Mike Schmidt is working this spring with Freddy Galvis and the Hall of Famer is displaying his skills with speaking Spanish. Schmidt tells Galvis to keep his swing "abajo," which is Spanish for down. He instructs him to stay "suave," which means he wants Galvis to take it easy.

"When he swings easy, the ball jumps off his bat," Sandberg said. "I think just taking it easy and putting a consistent bat on the ball and a short swing for Freddy that will help him."

Extra bases

The Phillies play their first game on Sunday when they host the University of Tampa in an exhibition at Bright House Field. The starting pitcher should be announced Friday. . . . The Phillies uniforms were voted the league's second best by Uniwatch.com, trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers.

- Matt Breen