Don Money had to wait to applaud grandson Buddy Kennedy for his Phillies moment. But he knew he’d call.

Kennedy had a "moment you can’t ever take back,” and his former Phillie grandfather missed it live. But Buddy “calls every day,” and Tuesday was no different.

Buddy Kennedy is batting .295 and slugging .513 with 10 homers and a .910 OPS in 63 games at triple-A Lehigh Valley.Read moreJonathan Tenca / AP

by Scott Lauber

Published Sept. 10, 2024, 6:11 p.m. ET

A few hours after Citizens Bank Park woke up with the rhythmic chant of his grandson’s name, Don Money awoke, too.

Money, 77, went to sleep early Monday night because the cable feed at his South Jersey home froze in the sixth inning of the Phillies-Rays game. But by about 2 a.m., Money was restless, so he flipped the TV back on and found NBC Sports Philadelphia’s replay of the game.

And after the Rays tied it on a home run in the top of the ninth, Money figured he’d stay up for the bottom of the inning.

“I didn’t know what happened,” he said by phone Tuesday.

What happened was that the Phillies called on infielder Buddy Kennedy, recalled from triple A three days earlier, to pinch hit with two outs and the winning run on second base. And as the Millville, N.J., native got in the batter’s box, nearly 40,000 fans stood up and sang.

“Bud-dy! Bud-dy! Bud-dy!”

Phillies manager Rob Thomson called it “awesome.” From the on-deck circle, Kody Clemens said he got chills. What, then, must have gone through the mind of a proud grandfather, who just so happens to also be a former Phillies infielder and four-time All-Star in the ‘70s with the Brewers?

“It was very neat. It really was,” Money said. “I mean, the fans don’t know him. They know of him. I think they know he’s from Millville. I played with the Phillies way back when. But he got an opportunity to play in front of Philly, and I think the fans starting that chanting — and it just picked up — that was very nice. It was really great.”

The outcome didn’t turn out so bad, either.

A first-pitch fastball from Rays lefty Garrett Cleavinger was high. Kennedy took the second pitch, a slider at the knees, for a called strike. He laid off the next two pitches before fouling back a 98-mph fastball. With the count full, Cleavinger tried to get Kennedy to chase a dirt-diving heater. He didn’t bite, working a two-out walk.

Two pitches later, with the bases loaded, Clemens shot a single through the right side to cap a 2-1 victory and kick off a Phillies celebration.

And in his third plate appearance of who knows how many (Alec Bohm is eligible to come off the injured list Friday), Kennedy had his Phillies moment in their 86th win of the season.

“[Bryce] Harper came to me afterward, all the guys said, ‘Just a great at-bat. You did your job,’” Kennedy said. “I passed the bat to Kody and he came through. I was just so excited. It was just a moment you can’t ever take back.”

If it wasn’t the middle of the night, Money would have called Kennedy right away. Instead, he waited until the morning — “He calls every day,” Money said — to relive each pitch of the at-bat.

And if you think it’s patronizing to lavish praise upon a major-league hitter for drawing a walk, well, try living out every child’s backyard Wiffle ball fantasy without giving in to the impulse to swing from your heels on every pitch.

“First of all, pinch hitting is difficult as it is,” said Money, a .261 hitter with 176 homers in 16 major-league seasons. “And then now you’re going up there, ninth inning, game-winning run at second base, two outs, and all of a sudden, they start hollering, ‘Bud-dy! Bud-dy!’

“He told me, ‘I wasn’t really nervous. I heard ‘em. I stepped out for a split second, got back in there, and thought about what this pitcher was going to throw me.’ He wasn’t overaggressive. Sometimes, you’ll get so excited that you go out of the zone a little bit more than you should. But he had his composure. Mentally, he was ready to go.”

Kennedy, 25, was drafted out of high school by the Diamondbacks in the fifth round in 2017. He made his major-league debut in 2022 and pingponged on waivers from Arizona to Oakland to St. Louis to Detroit in a five-month span before this season.

The Phillies acquired Kennedy in June for cash. In 63 games at triple-A Lehigh Valley, he’s batting .295 and slugging .513 with 10 homers and a .910 OPS. He got called up two weeks ago when utility man Weston Wilson went on the paternity list, but didn’t get into a game.

Wherever his career has taken him, Kennedy knows where to go for hitting advice. When he went into a mini-slump a few weeks ago, after setting a Lehigh Valley franchise record by reaching base in 40 games in a row, he sent along video to Money to compare at-bats earlier in the season with the previous day.

“I said, ‘Buddy, look at them pictures. They’re not even close to being the same,’” said Money, who managed in the Brewers’ farm system after his playing career. “His hands were too far back. I said, ‘Spread your feet 3 or 4 inches further apart. Your stride will be 3 or 4 inches shorter. Maybe that’ll be enough to get you through the zone earlier. And then when you feel better, go back to normal.’”

The language of hitting doesn’t change from generation to generation. Neither does the appreciation for what it takes to play at the highest level. Money was the 12,660th player to reach the majors; 39 years after his last game, Kennedy was only the 22,704th.

So, Money encourages Kennedy to ask the coaches for extra grounders or more swings in the batting cage and to be ready whenever he gets a chance.

Like Monday night.

“I was rooting for a base hit there, I’ll tell you that, because you don’t get many walk-offs in your career,” Money said. “That would’ve been a great one. But he battled. He’s been up and down a few times. He doesn’t get to play that much. But he was ready to go.

“It’s your grandson, and you’re sitting there watching him play in the major leagues, which you did 40-something years ago or more. I’m very honored. It’s just a great thing.”