Jonathan Storm: Mitch Williams pitches in on a Phillie fan-cave makeover for 'House Crashers'

With his Lugz work boots and T-shirt with the sleeves cut off, Mitch Williams looked like a construction guy. Turns out he is. "My father taught me, you never pay someone to do something you can do yourself," the legendary Phillies closer said.

Hard to believe, but one of the living symbols of Philadelphia sports history was only a small part of the package when cable's DIY channel came to town to shoot an episode of House Crashers that will be seen in the fall.

As crazy construction and reality television swirled all around last week, Wild Thing was anything but. He lent a hand wherever needed, working to transform part of the home of Johnny McDonald, whom the show had decided was one of the world's biggest Phillies fans, into the ultimate baseball spectator environment.

Mitch moved furniture. He helped install a 10-square-foot photo of Citizens Bank Park over a sectional couch in McDonald's new man-fan cave, with the Phillies barstool and a load of baseballs mounted under Plexiglas on the bar. He wielded a 10-pound hammer to knock out a brick wall.

As he often has, the Phillie Phanatic one-upped the ballplayer, doing similar work with a Louisville Slugger, then hanging around to chat, his giant head set aside to reveal Tom Burgoyne inside. "I don't know how he got in the house," McDonald said (the Phanatic appears to be much wider than the doorways), "but he was just chilling on the couch in his suit with no hat on. It was awesome."

House Crashers redid a non-descript office on the first level of McDonald's Center City rowhouse. In the creepy sub-basement, it installed a beer-keg refrigeration unit and tubing for an eight-tap dispenser on the floor above. It refurbished the tiny backyard, complete with six-burner gas grill, nine seats (on wheels) from long-gone Veterans Stadium, and real turf from Citizens Bank Park. Decorations included a Phillies jersey worn and signed by the team's greatest player during McDonald's lifetime (and his favorite), Mike Schmidt.

Indoor and outdoor TV sets almost completed the package, a garden-variety 50-inch flat-screen in the fan cave and a goliath 80-inch rear-projection unit in the garden.