Obama Hosts the Philadelphia Phillies @ The White House

President Obama hosted the 2008 World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies at the White House this afternoon.

The President said the Phillies were "an underdog team that loved to prove the prognosticators wrong. And so we share something in common there, because nobody thought I was going to win either. "

Hmmn, I think that might have been true in the fall of 2007. But that certainly wasn't true in the fall of 2008.

But yes even when the Phillies reached the postseason no one expected them to go all the way. They certainly weren't favored against the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series much less the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS.

Obama was presented with the Phillies jersey with the number 44 on the back. Hank Aaron and Reggie Jackson also wore the number 44 in their playing days.

It turns out that Phillies shortstop and 2007 NL MVP Jimmy Rollins made calls on behalf of Obama.

The Phillies were originally scheduled to meet with Obama last month but the sudden death of broadcaster Harry Kalas caused the ceremony to be postponed until the Phillies next visit to Washington. The defending World Series champions begin a four game series against the Washington Nationals tonight.