Ryan Edmund is a scholar, Phillies fan, The Fightins dot com reader, and recent attendee of the Phillies 2nd annual Phantastic Voyage cruise. I asked Ryan if he would do me the solid of summarizing his trip for us and toss in some pictures, and he kindly obliged. These are his words, which thankfully contain ZERO lame “I’m on a boat” mentions:
My girlfriend Kerri is a bigger Phillies fan than you. Let’s just make that clear. It’s not a boast or anything, I’m not bragging here. It’s the goddamned truth. She’s obsessive, actually. She could go a month (probably two) wearing nothing but Phillies shirts before having to repeat one. It’s not just her though, it’s her entire family: Mom, Dad, grandparents, brother. The yearly family vacation is to Clearwater. They have a room in the house where every inch of the walls are covered in Phillies merch. This past Christmas, every gift was Phillies related and at the end of the night, we all gathered around the TV to watch the 2009 season recap DVD. I’m saying all this to put you in the right frame of mind. I’m saying it all so you understand that when the second annual Phillies Phantastic Voyage cruise was announced it was really just understood that we’d all be going along. It was unsaid that in the beginning of January, we’d all be vacationing in the Caribbean with Shane Victorino, JC Romero, Ryan Madson, Greg Luzinski, Scott Palmer and the Phillie Phanatic. My ticket was already purchased for me before I even said I wanted to go.
The package, put together by AAA and on Holland-America Lines, was a regular cruise with special Phillies events included for the around 250 fans who booked the sold out cruise. The Phillies themed events included cocktail parties, Q&A and photo sessions, and trivia contests. But to us, the most exciting part was being able to rub elbows with Shane and Co.
The trip was from January 9th to the 16th with stops in Turks and Caicos, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, and the Bahamas.
Reality set in before the ship even left its dock in Fort Lauderdale when at lunch I literally bumped into JC Romero. I turned around and ran right into the dude. I wish I would have been able to say something witty or clever but I was so taken aback that I just kind of stammered and said something like “what’s up man?” and proceeded to IMMEDIATELY tweet about it like the geeky shithead I am. A little while later, Kerri and I were walking to her brother and his girlfriend’s room when we met Ryan Madson. Ryan was with his wife and when he saw my Phils had, shook my hand, asked our names, and said he was happy to meet us. Madson actually remembered our names a few hours later when he saw us again during a safety drill. I was floored.
We recorded most of the Q&A session, but I don’t know if it’s interesting enough to post in its entirety. When we have more time, we’ll try and chop it up and post the more interesting bits. That said; here’s video of the question I asked.
We were fortunate enough to get to talk to Ryan Madson quite a bit over the course of the week. Ryan was very accessible and we spent a few minutes the one day picking his brain. Among other things, here’s what we learned:
- Madson wants to close. Maybe not this year, maybe not next year, but he wants to be a closer. “I don’t know if I’m ready yet. I will be someday soon though.” I asked him if he thought he’d be the closer at the start of the season with Lidge looking like he’s going to start on the DL and he gave a pretty diplomatic answer: “If Chuck wants me to close, he’ll tell me that day. If not, he’ll pick somebody else. He’s loyal to his guys and he won’t want to name somebody else the closer while Brad’s hurt.” I love that he calls Charlie “Chuck”.
- It takes him the better part of the season to learn a new pitch. “We start experimenting with it in Spring Training and work on it all season long. And then I just start throwing it during the season. I kind of test it out during games and get comfortable with it.”
- How much does he keep up with off-season news? “Not much.” His brother-in-law fills him in on the news as it happens.
- On his nickname: “I don’t really like Mad Dog. There’s too many Mad Dogs already. I like ‘Doggie’ better.” That’s right, he wants to be called Doggie. Get on it, Fightins readers.
- Most importantly, he said he reads The Fightins. Ryan Madson reads the Fightins. In case he’s reading this now, I want to take this moment to say “What’s up, man? Thanks for letting me try on YOUR MOTHERFUCKING WORLD SERIES RING.”
- When the ship docked in Puerto Rico, JC went to visit his old elementary and high schools in addition to his childhood home.
- JC on Philly fans: “They alright.” Fair enough.
- We heard some pretty awesome stories from the Phanatic about press box shenanigans by the radio and TV guys. Basically, it sounds like one big party after the games. Everybody has their own mini-fridge in the broadcast area. I FUCKING KNEW IT.
- Tom told an awesome story about getting hammered one night at his house and putting on the Phanatic costume. “I ran out into the street and started directing traffic. I basically caused a traffic jam.” For some reason, they don’t let him keep the suit at home anymore.
Kerri’s brother and his girlfriend spent more time with JC and the Phanatic. Here’s what they learned:
You may have noticed that I haven’t said a lot about Shane. Well, there isn’t much to say. Shane didn’t make himself very accessible to us fans. JC, Ryan, Tom the Phanatic, and to a lesser extent Greg Luzinski were all very friendly to people on the ship and on the shore. We hung out and drank with the other guys. Hell, the Phanatic bought us round after round. Shane was MIA for much of the cruise. The first night he was seasick and the last night of the cruise he gave a brief speech and literally RAN out of the room with his entourage afterward. He made it pretty clear that he wanted to be left alone unless it was a designated “talk to the players” time and he was the only one. I don’t think I’m the only one who left the cruise thinking somewhat less of the guy because of it. On the other hand, I have a big old man-crush on Madson. For fuck’s sake, the dude gave me a code-word to yell out to him when I see him in the future. That’s fan service.
The Phantastic Voyage is yet another example of why this organization is one of the best in the game. The event was tailor made for fans and yet struck a great balance between an awesome baseball experience and a really kick-ass vacation. The players were cool, the events were fun, and the other fans were great. If you get a chance to go next year, do it.
Requisite High Hopes singalong:
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Good stuff Ryan. Very cool. That’s a shame about Shane. I met him at a Meet the Phillies taping in 2008 and he seemed like a really cool guy that would be a blast to hang out with. The Shane we see on TV goofing around and having a good time seems like the Shane you would get in real life.
What’s Madson’s code word? Is it ‘Gingerbread’? It’s ‘Gingerbread,’ isn’t it? I knew it!
Good post, man.
I am also convinced that Scott Palmer does not own a t-shirt. All he wears are collared hawaiian shirts or Phillies collared shirts.
Very cool. I really hate to say this… but I had a gut feeling about Shane. I didn’t want to believe it, but you just threw a big old victory shaving cream pie in my face. He’s epitome of cool. Maybe one day I’ll be as cool as him and get a t-shirt line with skulls and snakes and shit made for me.
What’s up, Shane’s rasta hat?
I bet Cliff Lee would have personally hugged each and every fan *sigh*
I’m just thinking about how awesome it would have been to go on a cruise with the ’99 team. What a fucking blast that would be. You’d be getting shitfaced with the likes of…
Scott Aldred
Joel Bennett
Jeff Brantley
Billy Brewer
Paul Byrd
Wayne Gomes
Mike Grace
Joe Grahe
Carlton Loewer
Steve Montgomery
Chad Ogea
Yorkis Perez
Robert Person
Cliff Politte
Jim Poole
Ken Ryan
Curt Schilling
Steve Schrenk
Anthony Shumaker
Paul Spoljaric
Amaury Telemaco
Randy Wolf
Gary Bennett
Bobby Estalella
Mike Lieberthal
Tom Prince
Marlon Anderson
Alex Arias
Rico Brogna
Domingo Cedeno
David Doster
Kevin Jordan
Torey Lovullo
Desi Relaford
Scott Rolen
Bobby Abreu
Rob Ducey
Ron Gant
Doug Glanville
Wendell Magee
Kevin Sefcik
I bet Paul Spoljaric would have had some wild stories to tell.
Awesome tale, thanks for sharing with us dude. Made me feel as though I was actually in attendance for the event. Your the second person I know, to have worn “Doggie’s” Ring, the guy must be, and sounds like an incredibly good guy.
Breaking down the photo at the top:
Scott Palmer is midway through ripping a moped fart.
Luzinski is far from amused as he is the first seat downwind.
JC Romero can’t believe what he is watching unfold and shares an awkward chuckle.
A cunty Victorino looks away with disgust.
Madson can’t contain his laughter like kid in church.
Burgoyne smiles with relief as the attention is now focused away from his lime green shirt/shoe fiasco.
Good stuff, Ryan. I’m glad Doggie was able to remember your/his name.
Me and Madson also have a code-word for when I see him at games. The code-word is: “Are-you-gonna-jizm-on-my-tramp-stamp-after-the-game-?”
I had a similarly underwhelming experience with Shane at the Phillies Phestival two years ago. Now, I know that it can’t be fun signing your name for 2 hours straight, but everyone there paid a good amount of money to help ALS so I would like to think that they would at least fake being happy to be involved. When I gave Shane my ball to autograph, I told him I was a big fan and to keep up the good work (I know, standard fan talk). He never looked at me, never said a word and then rolled the signed ball to the opposite end of the table so I would have to move away from him to get it before it hit the ground. He did that with everyone else that I saw in line as well. I was really surprised considering every other player/coach that was there was genuinely nice (including Doggie).
Nice story, I can’t wait to get down to Clearwater in two months.
Is the codeword “Tyler Walker?”
Jealous.
What does a cruise like that cost a man?
-boo to goofing high hopes, still cool though
-nice to see St. Paulies Girl behind Victorino
-shame about shane, players who dont have time for fans slowly fade into obscurity. he couldn’t be liked any more than he already is.. why mess with it?
-It’s cool ‘doggie’ reads the fightins.. and you know hes not the only one.
-reader ryan seems like a good fella, although he got to wear the ring so damn him. no not really
-envisioning the phanatic story makes me laugh the more i think about it. truly classic
i know what the code word isn’t: brianroberts
keep rippin that cutter to lefties, dubes will show you the way
Great article man! You really did justice to how cool the cruise was without going into the details of some of the crazier shenanigans we heard about. I completely agree about Shane. It’s hard to say anything bad about him because he is a great player and seems to have a cool personality on TV, but he really just didn’t seem to want to have much to do with the fans. On the last night he said he was sorry he was sick the first night and glad he could make it, but yet as soon as he was done talking he was out. All the other players stuck around for an hour or so taking pictures and talking with everyone. For a guy who was the headline player of the cruise, he should have been more accessible. Despite that, it was an incredible experience and I hope I get to do it again next year.
Gaze_NJ- I am Ryan’s girlfriend’s brother (also Ryan….got all that?). The cruise was about $800/person for the cheapest stateroom and the flight to Ft. Lauderdale was about $200. So for $1000/person you can get this incredible fan experience coupled with an awesome Caribbean vacation.
Uhhhhh, believe it or not, I’m leaving for a Star Trek cruise.
/Takei’d
@meech
Oh myyyyyy…
That’s not terribly more expensive than a typical Carribean cruise would cost. I think my honeymoon cruise was around $650/person and it was mostly old folks playing shuffleboard and penny slots.
warp speed, 21 knots
When do we replace Cole’s picture on the top of the website to a sweet, bearded Halladay one?
When do we replace Cole’s picture on the top of the website to a sweet, bearded Halladay one?
I met Madson at a bar 1 night after the 2008 season. Bought him a shot, shook his hand and said “Thank you, you’re the man.” He seemed like a really cool guy for that brief moment.
Joe D., shame on you for idolizing these pro athletes and wanting to be friends with them or some shit. The are pro athletes, they aren’t living in the same world that we are…what we might refer to as, “reality.”
Quite frankly, I don’t want or need to know that these guys are decent individuals but that they win more games than they lose. You are the only one on here that thinks that way about the Phillies and their players and you should be ashamed to look at the world through the rose colored glasses of an adolescent.
The players are players. They are not there to be your TV friends or to pander to your idea of what they should be.
* can U believe that shit I just wrote? Bullshit, huh? Yeah, but that’s about what I got from a frequent Fightins poster last year when I wrote a similar post to yours. Like that’s what the world needs; yet another collateral damage inducing bottom line asshole.
Who the fuck wants to pull for a team of jack asses? I guess depending on one’s answer, you’ll know what kind of perosn is answering.
God damn, I wish I was upper-middle class.
Burgoyne’s story takes it. I can see that dude doin’ it, too. I mean, anyone that is gonna be able to do THAT job with aplomb like it he does on a weekly basis, would clearly end up doing something like that eventually. >>only a matter..o’..time.
“Doggie” might be OK in the clubhouse and the bar, but on the mound and from the phans in the stands?;……err….No.
+ whatever amount you care to place upon Burgoyne.
biggermyc, I think there’s a time and a place for everything.
If you’re on a Phillies-sponsored cruise or a once-a-year ALS benefit at Citizens Bank Park, I don’t think it’s crazy to expect some sort of interaction with the players. Fucking humor me, Shane. I didn’t fork out a grand just to hang with other Phillies fans.
But if you see these dudes at a bar/club/restaurant, you’re better off not even saying anything to them if you’re gonna get your feelings hurt when they tell you to scram.
seriously, how much for the code word? couple hundred? 4 digits?
biggermyc: I don’t give two shits about the players as people. I can be turned off by some things I hear or see but I’m always going to root for them. Hell I’ve been a big Myers supporter and the guy is an absolute scumbag…but from what I could always gather from him I know that he wanted to win and do whatever it took to win. I met him at the same Meet the Phillies taping and he was a dick but who gives a shit. I just told him that I wanted him to K Willy Mo with heat so that he could have blown the ball through Coste’s chest.
lmao @ Ken Ryan and Rob Ducey
I remember being at a game that year and just absolutely ripping on Ducey and how terrible he was. Sure enough he came up and hit one out in his first AB. I laughed and then he just went back to being terrible.
I think that biggermyc was trying to point out that fans who don’t care what kind of players make up the rosters of their favorite teams are probably the same type of people who feel free to cruise the passing left lane on a freeway or put their hands on the glass part of a a door in an an office, bank, restaurant, etc.
I believe he was saying that a fan should care what kind of people play for our teams. Not asking for a bunch of Patron Saints, just reasonable guys who give a fuck.
Who wants to root for Barry Bonds? ..roids aside?
they never even called me about this……
“put their hands on the glass part of a a door in an an office, bank, restaurant, etc.”
I do this every single time to avoid the nasty ass germs the rest of you handle using barbarians decide to leave for everyone else.
do not portray this as a bad thing.
I wonder if Cliff Lee reads the Fightins. God I hope so.
@Bobby Payne: Me too, brother. Me too…
The Phillies stuff was secondary to all this for me. I hate to say it, but I looked at this as a vacation with some Phillies related events. We were conscious of the fact that it was pretty much the same thing to the players that were there; this was a vacation for them but they had to do some “work” to do and there was free time after that. Madson, JC, Palmer, and Burgoyne were cool as shit in their downtime. We’d say hey to everybody as we passed in the halls, just being friendly and all. The one morning I got up early to go read while I ate breakfast and was so buried in my book I didn’t even notice Madson sitting behind me until I was there for fifteen minutes but he was by himself and we struck up a conversation. We’d let the guys alone when appropriate, not everybody did but I never saw anybody be outright rude to any of the players by interrupting them or anything. But it’s like Madson told me, they’re on the cruise to meet fans. Why wouldn’t they be cool to us?
Shane was the exception to the rule. It occurs to me now that we never even saw him around the ship. I don’t know where the hell he was but I think it’s fair to say that if there were people around Shane was hanging with his posse. That’s right, Shane had an entourage with him. In addition to his wife, he also brought who we’re pretty sure was his cousin and one other guy. They were inseparable. Hey, fuck it. It’s his vacation. He wants to hang with his boys? Be my guest. Knock yourself out. But that doesn’t mean you can ignore the people who paid for this experience.
But like I said, it was a vacation for me and not everything revolved around the Phillies for us. Kerri and I got a pass, an expensive pass, to the on-ship spa where we spent a lot of time. I was in the men’s locker room changing for the spa when Shane and his posse walk in. They were laughing and having a conversation which stopped dead when they saw me. I wasn’t wearing any kind of Phils gear, I doubt he recognized me or anything. They just stopped talking and were whispering to themselves. They acted like I was intruding on them. In a locker room. That I was in before them. The third guy gave me this look like “What the fuck are you doing in here?” And I mean this guy was the Turtle of this Entourage; just some random friend of Shane’s. I walked out of the changing room so pissed off. I basically got attitude from Shane and his crew for daring to occupy to same space they did. Whatever. Assholes.
Oh, and Shane was wearing “Flyin’ Hawaiian” swimming trunks. Who does that?
Woah. That had line breaks in it before I copy/pasted it from Word.
Does ANYONE have a redeeming story about this Centerfielder who is quickly becoming some sort of dickhole-ish spunk bucket. Please. Remember; NQA and all it’s nostalgia might be riding on this.
@lilmyc. I get that’s what biggermyc was saying I’m just saying that I can’t expect all these guys to be model citizens just because they are Phillies. Everyone has their flaws. Do I wish Shane was more personable? Sure but no one is on the level of a Bonds on this team. For the most part they are all likable guys.
I hope Madson is reading this so he can tell Shane about the hate brewing for him.
Petzrawr, were you by chance, nude in this locker room as the Victorino Entourage rode in?
And now that I think about it…at that meet the phillies taping my dad and I asked to get a photo with Shane while he was at the table. We just wanted to kinda lean and get a quick shot and he responded with “Whoa whoa you can’t come behind here.” My dad and I were confused because we didn’t want to go behind the table anyway and if we did what the hell were we going to do to him? It’s not like we’re menacing people.
Now I’m pissed I remember that because with these other stories as a backdrop that now looks dickish of him.
He’s nice when hes baked, that’s all i know…
He’s probably the kinda guy who’ll pack a bong load and burn the fresh one before he passes it.
Damn.
I guess The Fightin’s Victorino shirt “No Questions Asked” really makes sense now. Shane doesn’t want you asking him any fucking questions, okay?
I remember as a kid, I was a big Dykstra fan, but then I met him on one of those fan nights at the Vet, and he ended up being a total douche. After all the revelations involving him in recent years, it’s not surprising anymore, but at the time…I was CRUSHED. Anyway, Ryan Madson really sounds like one hell of a guy both on and off the playing field. Would be nice if more Baseball players were as nice to fans as he is.
Sounds like a lot of fun, Ryan!
Ryan Madson seems like an awesome dude. I hear how great he is with the fans all the time. And he reads the Fightins?! That’s sooo sweet!
Spring Training 07, when J.A. Happ was awful (he’s still not THAT good), against Houston in Clearwater:
Shane was one of the few players to actually stop along the sidelines and sign tons of autographs and take pictures. Rollins did a few, but Howard, Utley, and I think even Werth, ignored everyone and just kept right on walking. I appreciated Shane for this, but something has always told me he’s kind of standoffish.
Is that a redeeming story for you guys?
moose, is it possible people change after 3 seasons? maybe hes a great guy and had a bad week. maybe he was being the young guy and donig his duty in 07. maybe we dont know a thing about him other than what cruise-goers tell us.
I had a friend who used to hook up with Victorino, for a year or so. They actually posted a picture of her with the rumor on 700 level or Deadspin one time, I remember seeing it. Anyway, her friends always told me that he was kind of a jerk, and that he smoked a ton of reefer. A negative and a positive.
Here’s a picture (technically, its a picture of a picture… don’t ask.) of us with Shane while I’m wearing my NQA shirt.
http://twitpic.com/yzdwd
Like I said before, I was on the cruise too. I think the Victorino is a dick talk has gotten a little out of hand. While he should have been more accessible, I never saw him being a dick to anyone. My girlfriend and I saw him walking in the halls a few times and he did say hi. He also tapped my dad on the back and said nice shirt (he was wearing a Flyin Hawaiin shirt) when we were in the Bahamas. The more I think about it, the more I think is just the kind of person that can’t sit still for long. I saw him a few times in the casino bouncing from table to table watching people play. He also came into the one bar one night and came and sat with a group of phillies fans. He didn’t say much and left after 5 minutes, but he wasn’t rude or anything. He also said a few times that he hopes to be able to do the cruise over and over. I talked to a few people who had been on the cruise last year and they said he was out and about much more. That was before he was married, so maybe he just felt like he couldn’t be out partying all night now that he’s a married man. I wish he would have been around more, but I’m still fan of the guy.
For real, Ryan. I’m not hating on the guy. I had two bad experiences with the dude but I’m keeping it in perspective, you know?
on second thought, maybe he was nervous
Yea you had a few awkward interactions with him, but its good to keep it in perspective. I’m gonna stick with the theory that he’s a decent guy, just not real outgoing with people he doesn’t know.
One guy that I wouldn’t really expect to be a dick is Cole Hamels believe it or not. While I wouldn’t expect him to be as fan-friendly as Ryan Madson, I could see him as being polite and shy.
I was in Chicago last year, and I spotted Jimmy Rollins. I didn’t want to bother him, he was with his fiance, and having a good time. Nobody realized it was him, until my mom went up to take a picture with him. My mom went up for a picture, and Jimmy basically ran away after that. My mom said that he wasn’t the nicest, maybe because his girlfriend was there, but whatever.
So abou an hour later, we were eating lunch in Shane Victorino’s five tables away. With my mom telling her experience with Jimmy, I didn’t want to bother him either. We were getting ready to leave, and we had to exit in the direction of his table anyway. So we decided to quickly walk by and say “good luck tonight!” Well, we did that, but it was Shane who stopped us and stuck out his hand to shake and we had a quick conversation. He was really nice to us and seemed really cool (my mom even had the nerve to say Shane, tell Jimmy you’re nicer than him!)
So, in my experience, Shane was cool, but Ryan, your story of Shane being not-so-nice isn’t anything new. I’ve heard numerous stories about him being rude and just blowing fans off.
I think everyone is taking the Shane thing a little too far. He was never really outright rude to anybody as far as I saw. He mostly kept to himself and it came off as him not wanting us around. Basically, he was friendly when he had to be but a little inaccessible otherwise. This impression was probably heightened by Ryan Madson making himself SO accessible from the very start, we just assumed they’d all be like that.
Really great article! Classic Fightins.com material!!
My impressions of Shane is that he is really cut out for stuff like this, or he would not have done it. Maybe he was really seasick. I for one can tell you being seasick is probably one of the worst things in the world. Just trying to think of some sort of excuse for him….
Anyway, great stuff! THanks!
I’m not sure if this has been mentioned yet but how was Larry Anderson not on this cruise? Maybe the Phillies were just avoiding embarrassment becase of how hammered he would get.
I think I told the story before, but I had a crazy good time in Clearwater with a uber-drunk LA and Franzke when he had just joined the broadcasting team. He let me try on his 93 NL champ ring and all that. I can’t imagine why they wouldnt let him go along and get slaughtered on the open seas.
PS- Hilarious comment about the code word will.h
LA was there last year and quite a few people I talked to said they had a great time drinking with him. Scott Palmer said LA unfortunately couldn’t make it this and that he would hopefully be there next year.
@bigmyc & others:
Here’s my somewhat-redeeming story on Shane.
Last year, I was out in Pittsburgh with family for one of the Phils/Bucs games. Afterward, we hung out on the other side of the bridge as players and personnel came across. We got snuffed by Cliff Lee and Queen Hamels, amongst others. Shane was the only player to sign for us. He didn’t really stop and chat, but he did sign the ball. He and Muffin Wheeler were the only ones.
It would be fair to point out that this was after what was perhaps Lidge’s worst unraveling of the year, blowing the game on (I believe) 7 pitches, capped with a walkoff homer to McCutchen (spurring this memorable Fightins post: http://www.thefightins.com/meechone/r-i-p-brad-lidge-phillies-closer-april-6-2008-august-25-2009/) – but you could argue that this bumps up the credit Shane gets for giving a shit about us.
Also, it’s worth noting that this was the first of two times I was snuffed by Cliff Lee. He’s not as much of an angel as people think. I actually think he’s sort of a secret dick.
Cole is a complete douche. Some friends and I were walking near Rittenhouse park last winter and saw Colbert in the park with his dog (no backpack) and my friend went up to him and said, “Hey don’t want to bother you, just wanna say thanks for this year, blah blah” and Cole was just like “Well what do I care?” And stormed off like a queen I’ve since seen him with that dog walking around and am so tempted to point and scream so fans that actually like him will annoy him. How hard can it be to say thanks, shake a fan’s hand and go along your way?
These are pretty entertaining, and I can totally picture Cole saying “Well what do I care?” in that nasally, bitchy voice of his.
Hopefully one of these comment threads will break into Pat Burrell stories. I got like 4 really good ones.
…and that’s what that picture you cocktease’d us with is about, innit? I swear to god I’m going to hold you to the “I’ll show you if you run into me” thing on that.
A friend of mine went to college with Victorino and said he was a total dick. Obviously second hand info but it seems to agree with everything else reported here. Lot of coincidences.
meech, please share. I miss Pat Burrell stories.
It doesn’t bother me at all if a player on his own personal time snubs an adult. But if you volunteer to go on a team-themed cruise or are participating in a team-related or sponsored function, then you really ought to know making yourself accessible is part of the deal
Doesn’t make me think any less of Victorino, but if he didn’t want to be bothered, he should’ve stayed home
The random, complete-BS Burrell stories people send to Deadspin are always good for a laugh or two. Anything like that, meech?
My godfather was at the same hotel as the Phillies after the first game of the playoffs in LA this year and since his job is basically to network he ended up spending basically $1,500 dollars on drinks for a ton of the players he said Amaro is the a good guy, Howard drinks alone and doesn’t talk, Cole Hamells asked the people in the elevator if anyone was a Phillies fan none were except my uncle then he told them apologized for what he was going to do to the Dodgers, and he said that Jason Werth is the nicest of the bunch he even bought my uncle coffee from Starbucks the next morning and talked to him for another half hour before he had to leave. Ahh the joys of a company credit card…
@meech – I’ll break out my 2 Burrell stories, gladly, the guy is a tool.
Outside of the 20o3948723098433489057wer3089 trillion “Pat banged my sisters, friend, and declared himself the warrior king” stories I’ve heard about him, I have two personal interactions.
When I was in college we played tournaments over spring break in Sarasota and Clearwater. Every year I would sneak in as many Phils games as I could around our games. My junior year I head over to one of the first ST games of the year, the starters played maybe 2-3 innings, and then many of them signed and took off. I had to leave in the 7th to get back in time for a game. As I’m leaving with my family (including my 12 yr old step brother) we walk along the sidewalk that runs next to the parking lot. Here comes Pat, his blonde arm candy, walking into the lot to get to his white Hummer H2 (really pat? a white h2? thats the best you could do). As we see him coming, we are literally like 10 ft away from him. My stepbrother, very calmly for a 12 yr old, tells him he played a good game (k’ed and walked once) and asks him if he will sign a baseball for him. Pat doesn’t even look at him. He didn’t turn away, he didn’t run to his car, he didn’t react AT ALL. Not even a flinch. He looked right past him, got about 2 feet away, at which point my bro repeats the request, pat gets in his hummer, my step bro starts tearing up, I start yelling at Pat for being a douche, and… he gives us the finger and drives off…
The next year I got tipped off to where most of the players stay. I don’t think it is a secret, but I didn’t know which hotel they used. I went over to see what it was like/if anyone was around, and I walk in a full out SCREAMING MATCH between a fan and Pat. Apparently the fan had asked for an autograph, Pat told him not to bother him at the hotel, and the two escalated from there which resulted in Pat threatening to kick the guy’s ass just as I walked into the lobby. They had to be separated, and a teammate eventually came and took Pat out the front door and over to the stadium. It was both wildly entertaining, and fairly appalling, only, it didn’t shock me in the least bit.
Fire away meech!
Slomo, it’s “snubbed.”
Cliff Lee “snubbed” you.
What you said would lead people to believe Cliff killed you twice.
bigmyc, maybe he played him 1 on 1 and got rejected?
Drunk LA stories never get old.
I was out in St. Louis in 2008 for the Phillies road trip and heard the players tend to hang out at the club/bar right next to their hotel. I walked in and scoped out the joint but only found LA and Franzke at one of the bars. Some drunk dude was hanging from their jocks, going on and on about how much he loves them and misses them since he moved out to the midwest. The drunk dude offered to buy us all Patron shots. LA, Franzke and I downed a few. LA spent the rest of the night trying to pick up the bartender who was way out of his league. Franzke and I spent the rest of the night talking about how easy his gig is. He was bitching about having to be awake at 11am the next day to get to the park – that they made him walk to since it was 4 blocks from where they were staying. I don’t know how LA does it but I think he left with the bartender.
Will H., that would be, “stuffed.’
As in; Clifford Phifer Lee and I played a shirts vs. skins p/u b-ball game and he “stuffed” me twice…like..uh…as in a blocked shot.
Pat Burrell stories? Like the one when he brought some bar stool to a hotel room, banged out, shit the bed and snuck out while she slept? Her wake up face must’ve been priceless.
I met someone who went on the previous cruise and says Shane was much like Doggie* was on this trip. Partied with them, remembered their names…even got ‘em a bday cake. So, you never know what the deal was. My season seats are in the outfield and I see Shane’s interaction with the fans (especially kids) all the time. He’s a stand-up guy. But maybe all that Silver Star money has gone to his head.
* Gay nickname.
Let me say this cruise was only fun because of the phillies events. My aunt brought me and im only 15 but i had a blast even without many kids there. I 100% agree with you about each of the players considering i held J.C.’s world series ring and Ryan Madson bought me a shirley temple. Just like he had breakfast with my aunt as well as you telling you both about his theory on the umpires! Ill deffinatly be going back if they do it again next year, hopefully Shane gets more fan friendly before then!