PHILADELPHIA — Even though the Phillies fell far short of their goal to win the World Series in 2024, their home runs are impacting the city in a very green way.
Home Runs for Trees, a 13-years-and-counting partnership between Asplundh, the Phillies organization and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS), plants one tree in the Greater Philadelphia region for every long ball the Phillies hit.
To kick off and celebrate this autumn’s tree planting weekend on November 16–17, PHS hosted Tree Unloading Day on November 13. A total of 1,200 trees were distributed to the many Tree Tenders programs across the city for planting, with PHS volunteers, Phillies Ballgirls and — of course — the Phillie Phanatic on hand to help.
Two hundred and one of the 1,200 trees handed out by the Phanatic and friends corresponded to the 201 home runs that the Phillies slugged during the year’s regular season and their achingly short postseason run. Thirty-nine of the trees were thanks to Kyle Schwarber, who led the Phillies in total home runs over the course of the 2024 season. Other Phillies players were represented too: 31 trees for Bryce Harper, 24 for Nick Castellanos, 21 for Trea Turner, 16 for Brandon Marsh, 15 for Alec Bohm.
The players’ dedication to obliterating baseballs — Schwarber alone has hit 131 home runs in his three years with the Phillies — translates to expanding Philadelphia’s tree canopy, which the city wants to grow from 20% to 30% within the next 10 years. Home Runs for Trees has planted more than 2,000 trees so far.
This spring, throughout the city, trees planted in homage to Schwarber’s and Harper’s homers will bloom just in time for the Philadelphia Phillies to get hot, not long after baseball kicks back into gear and an improved Philadelphia tree canopy gets its first taste of another beautiful, green summer of World Series–caliber baseball and refreshing shade.
