PHILADELPHIA — Preston Mattingly walked into the Phillies’ clubhouse at about 6 p.m. on Oct. 15. With an 8-3 win over the Braves, his team had just clinched a spot in the National League Championship Series. Few expected them to be here. The postgame celebration was bound to be rowdy and Mattingly, the Phillies’ director of player development, was excited to be a part of it.
But something was nagging at him. Two days earlier, Phillies minor leaguer Corey Phelan passed away from T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a very rare and aggressive type of cancer. Phelan was only 20. Mattingly had stayed in touch with the family, and suddenly felt the urge, as champagne and beer sprayed around the room, to FaceTime them.
His call failed on the first attempt. But on the second, the Phelans picked up. They’d been following the Phillies since their son signed a minor league contract in August of 2020, and had been following them even more closely this year. Baseball sustained Phelan, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in April of 2022. The Phillies, and their improbable playoff run, sustained him more.
