Lucky Stars

Lillian Santiago stands outside the first-base gate at Citizens Bank Park with a red, white and blue sign that reads "Philadelphia Stars ’04" on the top and "Proud mom of Brian" on the bottom.

She is excitedly awaiting the arrival of her 13-year-old son, who spent three weeks on the road with his baseball team on his first-ever trip away from home.

"I desperately want to see him because I miss him dearly," Santiago said last Thursday as she received word that the 1947 Clipper bus on which her son was riding was approaching South Broad Street. "It’s an experience he’ll never forget. He loves it."

Brian’s teammates have memories just as indelible after reliving baseball history and even seeing it made. The multiethnic Stars — comprised of five Latin, five African-American and five Caucasian 13-year-olds — visited 15 cities in 20 days during their Throwback Tour ’04.

Organizers billed the trip as a tribute to the diversity and history of the game, and most baseball fans would have given up a lifetime of catching foul balls to tag along.

In the bus donated by Mitchell and Ness Sporting Goods, the players stopped at the Babe Ruth Museum in Baltimore and Jackie Robinson’s grave in Brooklyn. They saw future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 500th home run in St. Louis and met former Negro League players Buck O’Neil, Hubert Simmons and Herb "Briefcase" Simpson at the Negro League Museum in Kansas City, Mo.

Most all of the towns on the tour once played host to Negro League teams, which dissolved more than a half-century ago as Major League Baseball slowly integrated.

The athletes also played ball — lots of it. The Stars, who are named for Philadelphia’s Negro League team, won 13 of 14 games played.

The incredible odyssey came to an end as the Clipper bus approached the ballpark’s first-base gate area. The honking horn could be heard several blocks away.

Mike McGuoirk’s parents were beyond excited when they saw their son would be the first off the bus. Scott and Stephanie Bandura, ages 3 and 5, sang and danced to celebrate the homecoming of their daddy, Coach Steve Bandura. Hugs and kisses went all around, including, of course, to Bandura’s wife, Robin.

The Stars’ trip had sparked so much interest that the team arrived to a press conference.

Before meeting the media, though, the players presented their coach with an official thank-you memento — a wooden bat with all 15 of their names engraved on it. Shawn O’Neill, of Northeast Philadelphia, said the team had it made on a visit to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., on June 29. Bandura shed a few tears during the presentation.

"I am so proud of those guys," said the coach, who noted the gift was a complete surprise. "I should be getting each of those guys a bat. I will have to find a special place for it on the wall."

The Phillies hosted the welcome-home press conference in the same room in which manager Larry Bowa delivers his post-game talks. One by one, each of the 15 youths stood up and named what he liked best about the trip. Outfielder Keith Brown, of 19th and Montrose streets, said visiting the Negro League Hall of Fame was his favorite stop.

"I got to meet Buck O’Neil," Brown said of the former first baseman and manager. "A lot of people don’t get to meet Buck O’Neil."

Several of his teammates agreed that the June 22 visit to Kansas City was by far the best on the tour.

North Philadelphia’s Giovanni Morales said visiting Robinson’s gravesite was his most memorable experience. At this stop, each of the players received a baseball on which to write a message to the man who broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier. The baseballs were placed by Robinson’s tombstone. Morales wrote, "Some people come and go, but legends live forever."

Last April 15, to commemorate Jackie Robinson Day, the Phillies honored the Stars — a team whose diversity is still rare among youth baseball teams — and awarded the players $10,000 to help finance their tour.

Not all of the excitement on the trip came courtesy of baseball’s old-timers. The squad witnessed Griffey’s milestone home run on June 21. No one was close enough to catch the ball, but the players still appreciated the good fortune of being in St. Louis for the historic event.

"I am just going to tell everyone it was great," said McGuoirk, a third baseman.

At the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa, players had the chance to walk through the storied cornfields — which weren’t as high as they looked in the movie, the youths said.

The trip also included exhibition games against other all-star teams. For pitcher Jonathan Etheridge, a Germantown resident, the trip to Omaha, Neb., was the highlight, especially after picking up a win against a nationally ranked Amateur Athletic Union team. He pitched seven strong innings while striking out three and walking one. Call him the ace.

"My coach said to me before the game that this AAU team was really good and he was depending on me to bring the team to victory," Etheridge said before grabbing a slice of pizza that the Phillies provided for the team. "I just concentrated on my mechanics."

The Stars’ only loss came against a team of 15-year-olds in extra innings.

After three long weeks on the road, the players and coaches were happy to be home. Some mornings, the group had left hotel rooms in the wee hours to get to the next stop on schedule, while other nights were spent sleeping on the bus.

"The hotel beds were hard," McGuoirk said. "I liked sleeping on the bus better."

Bandura was thrilled to be reunited with his wife and kids.

"I just missed them so much," he said. "I don’t think I could go away this long again. Thank God for cell phones."

The team didn’t get much time to rest, returning to Ashburn Field at The Lakes last Friday afternoon for a league game.

But they did take the time to savor their homecoming.

"It’s good to be home," Etheridge said. "I am going to talk about the trip with my family."

First, he and his teammates settled in for one more baseball game, watching the Phillies beat the Expos, 10-5.