BRADENTON, Fla. -- Dallas Green's presence could fill a ballpark.
Green, who died March 22 at age 82, helped build the Phillies' farm system in the 1970s, nurturing some its greatest stars in one of its greatest eras and then managed the organization to its first World Series championship in 1980. The Phillies will honor one of the most influential figures in franchise history by wearing a patch on their uniforms this season.
• Baseball renaissance man Green dies at 82
The patch will debut April 7 for the home opener against the Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies declined to discuss the patch's design, but it is likely to be placed on the jersey's sleeve.
"There's very few people who were more synonymous with the Phillies than Dallas, and yet for 15 years he went elsewhere," Phillies chairman Dave Montgomery said last week. "The first time you meet him, I mean, what a presence. He filled the room with his presence."
Green spent 46 of his 62 years in professional baseball with the organization that signed him as a right-handed pitcher in 1955. After stints with the Cubs, Yankees and Mets, he rejoined the Phillies as a special assistant to the general manager in 1998.