Happy Wednesday! We didn’t necessarily realize it at the time but a decade ago Tuesday the future fortunes of the Philadelphia Union were changed in an instant with the announcement that they had selected Andre Blake with the No. 1 pick after trading up from the second pick with DC United.

In the email today:

1. 🇯🇲 A Decade of Andre Blake

When the Philadelphia Union traded up to select Andre Blake with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft it sent shockwaves through the Union fanbase and the league.

It was a surprising move for an organization that had Zac MacMath as a promising young returning starter and a local kid named Zack Steffen training with the reserves. The mess with bringing in Rais M’bohli as a designated player was still six months away but it was the first in a series of moves involving the goalkeeper position in what was later dubbed “the year of the goalkeeper.”

A decade later the goalkeeper wheeling and dealing of Nick Sakiewicz and company is long in the rearview mirror and Blake has proven himself several times over more than deserving of the distinction of being the first and still only goalkeeper taken first overall. Looking back now it was a stroke of genius that has defined the organization ever since. While star players have come and gone, Blake has been a constant whose rise to the league’s best goalkeeper coincided with the Union’s rise to being among the league’s elite.

He’ll likely reach 300 appearances in all competitions this season and is in line to also hit the century mark in clean sheets.

There probably should already be a statue for him outside Subaru Park.

2. ⚾️ José Bautista buys Las Vegas Lights

A former Major League Baseball player who retired in 2018 after a short stint with the Philadelphia Phillies is the latest athlete to buy into a professional soccer team.

The United Soccer League announced Monday José Bautista's purchase of the USL Championship team Las Vegas Lights.

“As a soccer fan and former professional athlete, I am excited to be involved with the world’s game,” Bautista stated in a news releasse. “Since my retirement from professional baseball, I have witnessed the incredible growth of soccer in the United States and particularly with the USL, which I’ve been following closely for a couple years. I look forward to sharing my love of sports with the Vegas soccer community. Vegas is the place to be and has emerged as a big professional sports town, and I will do everything I can to push this club forward.”

Over a 15-year career in Major League Baseball, Bautista was one of the most feared sluggers of his era, with 344 career home runs. He played for eight clubs, most notably the Toronto Blue Jays, who recently awarded him the “Level of Excellence” to recognize his outstanding achievements over his ten seasons in Toronto. He was named an MLB All-Star six years in a row from 2010-15 and twice led the majors in home runs, in 2010 and 2011, the same years he won the Hank Aaron Award.

He played 27 games with the Phillies after being traded in August 2018. He hit 2 home runs and knocked in 6 runs in 45 at bats.

3. 🧱 Tweet of the Day: The Wall Between

4. 💧 Water Cooler: Biggest Need

5. 🔗 Link Roundup

• Philadelphia Union director of soccer analysis Dean Costalas is featured in the Pathway newsletter talking about his career transition from working in finance to working for the Union.

• Ten years later this behind-the-scenes of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft in Philadelphia is even more interesting to read.

• The Philadelphia Union media community suffered a great loss with the sudden passing of Gustavo Seminario, a host of the Edge of Philly Sports podcast The Attacking Third.

• Manchester City is reportedly leading the effort to land local wonderkind Cavan Sullivan.

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