Phillies reliever honors players who homer off him in an unusual way

When showing respect for an opponent, a kind word, a handshake, or a nod of approval usually does it. Still, Philadelphia Phillies reliever Matt Strahm takes it a bit further. 

An avid collector of baseball cards, Strahm revealed to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki that there's space reserved for players that have taken him deep—an homage if you will. 

"If you hit a home run against me, you're good enough to collect," Strahm said. "That's kind of my arrogance, my personality." 

Since rediscovering the hobby five years ago, Strahm's collection has grown to around a million cards, including the tiny portion containing the roughly 30 or so cards of players who've homered off the 31-year-old. 

Strahm says he doesn't have the cards of all 39 players to homer against him, but he's hoping to keep that number from growing too much, if at all, in his first season with the Phils. 

Strahm signed a two-year, $15M free agent deal with the Phillies this offseason after going 4-4 with a 3.83 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 50 appearances for the Boston Red Sox in 2022. 

Entering his eighth Major League season, Strahm is 17-28 with a career ERA of 3.81 over 207 games with the Kansas City Royals, San Diego Padres, and Red Sox. 

Strahm was one of several significant additions by the Phillies to their bullpen ahead of the 2023 campaign. Along with Strahm, the Phillies acquired Gregory Soto in a trade with the Detroit Tigers, added free-agent reliever Craig Kimbrel and signed lefthander Jose Alvarado and righty flame-thrower Seranthony Dominguez to extensions. 

Only a few seasons removed from fielding one of the worst bullpens in the game's history, relief pitching is now a strength for the Phillies as they look to defend their National League crown.