In what could be his final game as a part of the Philadelphia Phillies organization, Darick Hall capped off the Lehigh Valley IronPigs' season on a high note.
Phillies Triple-A slugger Darick Hall ends the IronPigs’ season in style
On Sunday, the IronPigs played host to the Worcester Red Sox in their season finale at Coca-Cola Park. Down 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth, Hall delivered a clutch walk-off grand slam, his 16th home run of the season, to give the IronPigs a memorable 7-4 win in front of the home crowd. The ball traveled 418 feet at a blazing speed of 114.8 mph off the bat.
LONG BALL HALL calls curtains. pic.twitter.com/mmRB4Ocg9J
— Lehigh Valley IronPigs (@IronPigs) September 22, 2024
It was a full circle moment for the team as they kicked off the 2024 campaign on March 29 with a 7-4 win over Worcester that was also won on a grand slam in the ninth inning — this time by Rodolfo Castro.
2024 was an eventful year for Hall as he became Lehigh Valley’s all-time home run leader on June 21 when he hit his 71st as a member of the IronPigs. At the same time, he was officially removed from the 40-man roster this year, which puts his status as a big league contributor for the Phillies in doubt.
With Bryce Harper taking the reins at first base and Alec Bohm the primary backup on Harper’s off days, Hall’s bat became expendable which led the Phillies to make the tough decision to designate him for assignment this summer, keeping him at Lehigh Valley for good.
During parts of two seasons with the Phillies, Hall hit 10 home runs in 190 at-bats and added nine doubles, mostly during Harper's absence in 2022. He made the Opening Day roster ahead of the 2023 season. However, this stint was short-lived after he suffered a thumb injury just six games into the season. He was never able to find his footing and only played 13 more games with the club before being optioned to Triple-A for good in July 2023.
Even though Hall’s time with the major league club was brief, he became a fan favorite due to his impressive power and spark that he provided in the middle of the lineup. Since being drafted in 2016, Hall has clobbered 160 home runs in 849 games and has a solid .340 OBP and .813 OPS across all minor league levels. This power gave him the nickname Long Ball Hall, a compliment to his ability to drive the ball out of the park.
At 29 years old, Hall still has the chance to contribute in the big leagues even if he does not find that opportunity in Philadelphia. His power, combined with his ability to get on base, should generate interest on the free agent market as a potential spring training invite as a left-handed bench bat.
If this is indeed the end of Darick Hall’s time in the organization, he undoubtedly made a big impact during his tenure with the team, and he certainly went out with a bang on Sunday.