Philadelphia fans are among the most loyal in sports. Though if you cross them, they will never forget it and make sure you won’t either. But Philadelphia Phillies‘ GM Ruben Amaro Jr. won’t ever have to worry about this. Amaro has been the catalyst behind the Phillies’ reign and has continuously put them in a position to succeed. That’s right, year after year the Phillies are contenders and build upon the previous season. A lot of this credit deservedly goes to Amaro, the conductor that steers the Phillies to league supremacy.
But why exactly do fans tend to put all their trust into this man?
Certainly, his efforts to keep the Phillies’ window open are admirable, but Amaro’s impact goes beyond this. During his tenure as Phillies’ GM, they have become the face of the league and synonymous with the “team” dynamic. Not only has Amaro created a top contender in Philadelphia, but perhaps equally as important, he’s formed the closest team in all of sports.
The idea of “team” was what mattered most to Amaro in terms of building the Phillies. He didn’t just go out and look for talent, but also role players that add to a championship team atmosphere. With a homegrown mind like Amaro in the fold, Philadelphians feel comfortable with the direction of thier Phillies.
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Ruben Amaro Jr. hasn’t been held under any type of serious microscope as so many sports personalities are in Philadelphia. The way fans see it, Amaro extends his freedoms as GM to make the team better, even if it means raising ticket prices annually. One thing is for certain though, without Amaro, the past few years wouldn’t have been as successful.
Even though Pat Gillick laid out the groundwork for Amaro beforehand, Amaro’s responded swiftly. He’s taken the ball and sprinted with it. Amaro’s ruthless pursuit of talent has gotten them into the exclusive elite club of MLB.
It’s clear that Philadelphia fans want a winner and so does Ruben Amaro Jr. With Amaro at the helm, fans are safe in their feelings that he knows what it takes to produce a winning product year in and year out. The trust that they have instilled in Amaro has become more than just from a fan standpoint though. Most of these fans have a vested interest in this team.
As stated earlier, the Phillies raise ticket prices every year and fans expect a better product because of this. It’s no secret that the Phillies have ruled over the NL the last few seasons and look to continue to do so in the future. Without Amaro’s gutsy efforts through free-agency and in-season deals, this wouldn’t be possible.
The Phillies now look to continue to go to work with their gunslinger GM. Whether you agree with some of his deals is up to you, but Amaro’s ballsy approach can’t be denied. The Cliff Lee deal was one thing. Highway robbery was just about the only thing that could describe that. However, when he followed it up by moving Lee to get his original Plan A Roy Halladay, Amaro had done the unthinkable. Though he’d traded a fan favorite in Lee, and a top-of-the-rotation ace to boot, he acquired an even better pitcher in Halladay.
Halladay, a man who pitched nearly two perfect games this past season, is in a prime position for an even better 2011. Amaro wouldn’t stop there though. By the 2010 trade deadline, he would acquire another ace from Houston in Roy Oswalt. This gave him the fantastic H2O trio that we know today. These were all steals in one way or another at the time in which they happened and have helped Amaro’s legacy grow.
Agree with him or not, Ruben Amaro Jr. is the best GM this town’s seen in quite some time. There are so many reasons to trust him with the Philadelphia Phillies.
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