Before Trout, Scioscia had Philly homecoming

PHILADELPHIA -- Mike Trout grew up rooting for Phillies second baseman Chase Utley.

Mike Scioscia?

"Willie Montanez," Scioscia said of the Phillies outfielder and first baseman from the early 1970's, known mainly for a flamboyant style of play that irritated opponents.

Tuesday was all about Trout's first Major League game in a city just 45 minutes away from his hometown of Millville, N.J. But Scioscia grew up in Upper Darby, Penn., which sits only about 10 miles from Citizens Bank Park.

"It's changed over the years," Scioscia said before the Angels' first visit to Philadelphia since 2008. "I remember coming back over the years and playing in The Vet. I had been to so many games as a youngster. You get a chance to see it from a different perspective."

While with the Dodgers, Scioscia first played here in early May of 1980, two weeks after his Major League debut. He went 0-for-3 in the first of two games, hitting a triple in the second.

"Garry Maddox was playing center, and he twisted his ankle on the turf getting the ball in right-center," Scioscia said. "I ended up on third base."

Safe to say there weren't thousands of people from his hometown to watch him play that day, as there were for Trout on Tuesday night.

"It's not even in the same scope, but for me it was important because I had all my family and friends there," Scioscia said. "It was a [fraction] of what Mike is going to get, and deservedly so. You don't see guys who are 22 years old do what he does on the baseball field. That's why he gets so much attention."