April 19, 2024
Nick Tricome/PhillyVoice
Beth Overmier with a sign for Kyle Schwarber during Wednesday night's game at Citizens Bank Park. Overmier is leading the Bette's Triples initiative with the Phandemic Krew to the benefit of the PSPCA and in honor of her late mother.
Bette Overmier loved animals, and loved the Philadelphia Phillies.
So when she passed in November at the age of 80, after a five-year battle with cancer, her daughter Beth and grandchildren Nolan and Daniel wanted to find a way to honor her interests, and ultimately, her legacy.
It started simply with a donation to the PSPCA (the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) in Bette's memory, but Beth and Nolan regularly attend Phillies games too as part of the Phandemic Krew out in the right-field seats at Citizens Bank Park.
So, with the rest of the Krew, they went a step further into a bigger idea: Bette's Triples – A Cause for Paws, where for every triple the Phillies hit in 2024 – both in the regular season and the postseason – the group will donate $100 to the PSPCA, well, except if Kyle Schwarber hits one. Then they'll donate $500 for that one.
They're already up to two thanks to Alec Bohm and Brandon Marsh, and have a banner to keep track behind them along the back-fencing at the top of Section 301 as the season goes on – a sign for Schwarber, too.
"It kind of blew up into 'Let's have fun with it,'" Beth said. "Let's incorporate the Phillies into it since we come to a lot of games, and that's when we came up with the idea to donate $100 for every triple the Phillies hit this year."
They hit 29 last year.
Beth and the Krew said they're hoping for at least 30, and when Bohm notched the first out in St. Louis a few weeks back...
"I was at home watching the game, and it was loud," Beth said. "There was a lot of screaming going on in my house. My phone started blowing up, I had everyone from the Phandemic Krew calling me, so it was real exciting. Sorry it happened on the road, but it was still exciting."
Daycare comin' thruuuuu pic.twitter.com/6ewZUblEUE
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 9, 2024
The gates have since opened back up, fans were allowed back in, and the Krew stuck together, now occupying Section 301 through two incredible postseason runs, and during road playoff games, watch parties right where it all began.
And now through Bette's Triples, they're trying to help give back and honor a devout fan's memory too.
The Krew also set up a webpage for Bette's Triples, where fans looking to help can also make one-time donations. They're up more than $2,500 already with an end goal of $10,000 raised for the PSPCA.
They designed a Bette's Triples t-shirt for sale, too, where the proceeds from those will also go toward the PSPCA, and plan to help pitch in on the foundation's efforts at the Phillies' Bark at the Park night on May 6.
"It's been incredibly overwhelming," Beth said of the support. "We're up to around $2,500 in donations right now, public donations, and that doesn't include the $100 per triple that my family and the Phandemic Krew are donating, so it's exciting."
Follow Nick on Twitter: @itssnick
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
