"I'd been a part of this organization for a long time," Ibanez said. "I was here for a long time. I made some amazing friendships here, great people, great fans. One of my daughters was born here, so my kids still have ties here. Their friends are here. In that way, it was definitely hard. But when the defending world champions call you and say we want you to be our leftfielder, as a player, you are hungry to win, you are completely flattered by it and you want that opportunity. So, coming to Philadelphia, it became much easier . . . Being a Phillie has been great."
Manager Charlie Manuel decided to start Ibanez in leftfield last night, the first game of a three-game interleague series that will be played using the American League's designated hitter rule. Manuel used righthanded hitting outfielder Ben Francisco at DH against rookie righty Michael Pineda, saying he liked Ibanez' experience playing in Safeco Field's cavernous outfield.
Ibanez started 153 games in leftfield in his final season in Seattle. He was the designated hitter in nine games. In 881 plate appearances as a DH, he has hit .273 with a .342 on-base percentage, .428 slugging percentage and 22 homers.
Francisco, who began his career in the AL with Cleveland, has logged 79 plate appearances as a DH, hitting .243/.308/.443 with three home runs.
"He's played here before," Manuel said. "He's played a lot of games in this yard. I thought about putting Francisco out there, but I liked Ibanez because he's played here a lot."
"It's a big ballpark," Ibanez said. "It's wide open. That gap in left-center is big. It's definitely a big ballpark. There's a lot of room out there."
Manuel opted for Francisco over lefty Ross Gload for a couple of reasons.
