Derek Hill Came
Out of Nowhere.
South Jersey Noticed.

PHILADELPHIA — Two weeks ago, most South Jersey baseball fans couldn't have picked Derek Hill out of a lineup. Today he's the talk of the Delaware Valley — and the timing could hardly be better, because in just over two weeks the entire baseball world is coming to Citizens Bank Park.

Hill, acquired in a quiet trade with the Chicago White Sox barely a fortnight ago, has done nothing but make highlights since he arrived. The signature moment came Friday night at Citi Field, when he climbed the center-field wall and stole a would-be two-run home run from the Mets' Juan Soto in the very first inning — a catch that instantly entered the conversation for the best defensive play of the season. Zack Wheeler took it from there, and the Phillies walked off with a 2-1 win over their division rivals.

The glove is only half the story. In back-to-back wins in Washington earlier in the week, Hill came off the bench and launched a pair of ninth-inning, two-run home runs — the kind of late-inning thunder that flips a clubhouse and a fan base in an instant. For a player who landed in Philadelphia with almost no fanfare, he has very quickly looked like an answer in an outfield that needed one.

It fits the larger arc of the Phillies' season, which has become one of the better turnaround stories in baseball. This team stumbled out of the gate at 9-19 in April and looked like a disappointment in the making. Then came a managerial change — and with it, a different team. Since the switch, the Phillies have gone 38-18 with a run differential north of plus-56, climbing all the way to 46-37 entering the weekend. That puts them just three games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves in the NL East, with plenty of summer left to run them down.

And then there's the main event. The 96th MLB All-Star Game is coming to Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday, July 14, with first pitch set for 8 p.m. on FOX. It's the centerpiece of a full week of baseball in the region, with All-Star festivities running July 10 through 14 across Citizens Bank Park and the Pennsylvania Convention Center — the T-Mobile Home Run Derby, the All-Star Futures Game, the HBCU Swingman Classic and the Capital One All-Star Village fan festival among them.

For South Jersey fans, the math is simple: the biggest night on the baseball calendar is happening a quick PATCO ride or a drive over the bridge away. Tickets are scarce and pricey, as they always are for an event like this, but the buzz is free — and a contending Phillies club playing host makes it that much sweeter.

If Derek Hill keeps robbing home runs and hitting them, don't be shocked if a few more red jerseys are in the building for the main event. This city loves a player who shows up out of nowhere and starts making plays. Right now, that's exactly what it's getting.

Based on reporting from NBC Sports Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Inquirer, MLB.com, Press of Atlantic City and Visit Philadelphia. The Neighborhood Gazette covers South Jersey at neighborhoodgazette.town.