Former MLB Pitcher Brad Lidge Transitions to Professional Archaeology Career

Brad Lidge, the former Major League Baseball pitcher who secured the Philadelphia Phillies' 2008 World Series victory, has established a second career as a professional archaeologist specializing in Etruscan civilization. After retiring from baseball, Lidge pursued his academic interest in religious studies, which led him to archaeological fieldwork in Italy. He began as a volunteer at the Roman site of Carsulae in central Italy, where discovering a bronze coin solidified his passion for archaeology. Lidge earned a master's degree focused on ancient Roman studies and later shifted his research focus to Etruscan sites. He now works primarily at Poggio Civitate in Murlo, Italy, under the direction of Dr. Anthony Tuck from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he serves as an in-field supervisor. Lidge also collaborates with a local team in southeast Tuscany during winter months. His archaeological work involves studying mysterious Etruscan symbols called sigla found on ceramics and artifacts, and he utilizes advanced technologies including drone surveys, Lidar, and ground-penetrating radar. Beyond fieldwork, Lidge is a significant donor to the Penn Museum's excavation projects in Abydos, Egypt, and serves on the museum's Board of Advisors. He first connected with the museum's Egyptian curators Jennifer Houser Wegner and Josef W. Wegner in 2010, which helped transform his archaeological interest into a professional pursuit. Lidge views his transition from athletic pressure to archaeological research as a healthier professional environment, though he continues to apply his coaching experience by mentoring students in field schools.