This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki's Phillies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
Even today, people send Matt Strahm the meme.
It’s Nicolas Cage’s face Photoshopped over his body in a powder blue Phillies uniform. It has circulated online for nearly two years because some people think they see a resemblance between the “National Treasure” actor and the All-Star left-hander.
But Strahm has a good sense of humor about it, so he remembers immediately accepting an offer from Victus Sports last year:
Can we make you a “National Treasure” glove?
“Yeah, we’ve got to get that one,” Strahm said.
Strahm has had the Cage-movie-inspired glove since the spring, but it went viral on Wednesday. It is brown and white with the Declaration of Independence printed on the back. There is the “Eye of Providence” triangle, with Victus’ ‘V’ replacing the eye. There are other Easter eggs from the movie, too.
It blew up, not only on social media, but People, TMZ and other media outlets wrote about it.
“I had no idea it would be so big,” Strahm said. “They did an unbelievable job with it.”
Strahm’s relationship with Victus Sports in nearby King of Prussia dates to 2023, when he joined the Phillies. His agent, Allan Donato, lives in Newtown Square and has ties with Victus, which is an official bat manufacturer for Major League Baseball. Many Phillies, including Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, Max Kepler, Brandon Marsh and Kody Clemens, use Victus bats.
Donato brought Strahm by the facility one day. Strahm connected with the folks there, including founder and CEO Jared Smith, who shares a common love of baseball cards.
Strahm often kidded Smith that he needed to be more than a bat company.
Victus needed to make gloves, too.
“If we ever do gloves, you’re our first guy,” Smith said.
Well, Victus is making gloves now. Strahm has a slew of Victus gloves in his locker, including a couple that his daughter Wren designed.
And, of course, it includes the “National Treasure” glove.
“We just like being creative, we like having fun,” Smith said. “So, the Nicolas Cage thing was out there. We’re big fans of the ‘National Treasure’ movies. We were just like, ‘Hey, we should do this glove.’ With the technology we have, we can print onto the leather directly. So we just took the white background and printed that actual Declaration script on it. Then we added a few little nods to ‘National Treasure.’
“We talked about it like, hey, we would love to see you walk up, look at the Declaration of Independence and say, ‘I’m going to steal it,’ just like the movie and then have it go on the glove. So, he already had it in his mind when he dropped that quote the other day. It was perfect.”
Victus will begin selling its gloves to the public for the first time in June. It will release the “National Treasure” glove around July 4.
It was Strahm’s first of two Victus happenings last week. Strahm and his wife Megan on Friday presented custom Victus gloves and Pioneer belts to every member of the Newtown Edgmont Little League Challenger Angels, a special needs program that plays every Sunday in Delaware County.
Strahm discovered the squad a couple of years ago. He attends games as his schedule permits.
“Their perspective on life is just joyful,” Strahm said. “I could blow the game in the eighth inning on Sunday, and there’s one way to feel better: It’s [to] go watch those guys play baseball. They make my day every day I’m around them.”
The Strahms and Victus presented their gloves to the Angels on Friday at the ballpark. The players couldn’t have been happier.
“It’s special,” Megan said. “Honestly, this group is incredible. They’re just so caring and inviting. They’re truly a light in our lives.”