New Phillie Venable has Princeton pedigree in baseball, hoops

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Will Venable was at the Palestra for one of the more memorable nights in the arena's storied history.

Penn rallied from an 18-point second-half deficit in February 2005 to defeat rival Princeton. The Palestra rocked and fans stormed the court. Quakers guard Tim Begley called it the favorite win of his career. Penn clinched the Ivy League title two weeks later.

Venable, who joined the Phillies on Tuesday, was on the losing end. He was a senior for Princeton, as the Tigers unraveled under the pressure of Penn's full-court defense and raucous crowd.

"Not good memories," Venable said. "But a great venue."

Venable flew into Florida on Monday night and emptied his belongings in the Phillies clubhouse the next morning. He batted leadoff, played left field, and went 1 for 2 before the Grapefruit League game was called in the fourth inning with the New York Yankees leading, 7-1. It was the first audition in a week that will determine whether Venable starts the season in the majors or triple A.

The 33-year-old played basketball and baseball at Princeton. He was recruited out of northern California to play basketball and did not join the baseball team until his sophomore year. It had been two years since he even swung a bat.

Aside from his disappointment at the Palestra, Venable helped the Tigers reach the NCAA tournament in both basketball and baseball. He was drafted by San Diego in 2005 and has played eight seasons in the majors, proving to be a strong defender and base runner.

Venable will compete this week with Cedric Hunter and Emmanuel Burris for the two reserve outfield spots on the Phillies roster, which must be finalized by Sunday afternoon. Burris also can play the infield - he played second base on Tuesday - and that could provide him an edge, leaving Venable to vie with Hunter for the final spot.

Hunter has 15 hits in 58 spring at-bats. Eight of his hits have been for extra bases. Manager Pete Mackanin said Hunter has had the best at-bats this spring by a Phillies player besides Maikel Franco. Venable said he is willing to go to triple A if he does not win a roster spot.

"I would do whatever," Venable said. "Obviously, you want to be in the big leagues. But I understand that I'm showing up with a couple days left in camp. I'll leave those decisions to them, but I'm happy to do whatever."

Cleveland released Venable on Sunday and the Phillies quickly called his agent. He had just four hits in 30 Cactus League at-bats. Venable struggled last season, batting .244 with San Diego and Texas. He hit just .182 with Texas in 37 games after being traded in August. The Phillies hope Venable can return to the form he showed in 2013, when the righthander registered a .796 OPS, hit 22 homers, and stole 22 bases for the Padres.

"In his career, he has been a pretty professional hitter," general manager Matt Klentak said. "I know he didn't have a great spring training out in the Cactus League, but we like what he's been able to bring to the table throughout his career."