Prolific Philadelphia Phillies Closer Has New Job as Ancient Roman Archaeologist

A former Philadelphia Phillies closer now has a new career working as an ancient Roman archaeologist in Italy.

Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

It's not everyday you're throwing the final pitch to win a World Series for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Perhaps just as uncommon is excavating ancient Roman archaelogical sites in a small town in Italy.

But both? The odds have to be astronomical.

And yet, here is former Phillies closer Brad Lidge, living his best life in Murlo, Italy doing just that after earning his master degree in Ancient Roman Archaeology in the midst of pursuing his PhD.

Lidge actually began pursuing his bachelors degree from Regis University out of Denver while playing baseball. After he retired, Lidge went on to complete his graduate program.

“The first site I ever excavated was Carsulae, in 2014,” Lidge told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “The first day, I’m digging around the complex, and within probably five minutes, I scraped some soil off, and bang! There’s two Roman coins there. And I was just like, ‘Oh my god, this is incredible.’ Just kind of a lucky, lucky deal.”

Lidge is now getting a rush out of unearthing history. Speaking with the Denver Post over two months ago about this very same subject, the former Phillies likened it to being like Indiana Jones.

“It was the most Indiana Jones-like week I’ve ever spent in the field,” Lidge said. “We were climbing up and down the sides of mountains and going into caves. It was really fun. It was awesome.”

As for Lidge's current work in Italy, it is being led by a Philadelphia-native, Dr. Anthony Tuck the chair of classics at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

“I grew up in Philadelphia, so I was pretty psyched to meet someone who was part of the Phillies’ 2008 World Series championship,” Tuck told the Denver Post. “Brad first came to Poggio Civitate in 2022 and already had a pretty deep foundation of experience. He instantly fit right in with our team.

“It’s not surprising to me. He’s somebody who grew up in an environment with the mechanics of a team-based environment. It fits perfectly with what we do with an archeology field project.”

It truly is never too late to change your career path and follow your dreams.