Philadelphia Phillies: Remembering and Missing the Legend Harry Kalas

On April 13, 2009, Harry Kalas went to a better place. The voice of the Philadelphia Phillies died at the age of 73.

It has been two years and 730 days since Harry the K passed, but it still feels like yesterday.

I am only 23 years old, so Harry Kalas and his voice were Phillies baseball to me.

A lot of the articles I write contain a lot of facts and statistics, but this article quite simply will be one fan honoring one of his heroes. I hope I can do the man justice with this piece. 

He will forever be my all-time favorite Phillie.

He loved Philadelphia and he loved all of the Philadelphia fans. His delivery and signature “Outta here!” home run calls provided the soundtrack to Philadelphia baseball for nearly four decades. His voice will never be replaced and it will never be forgotten.

The love story between Kalas and the fans continues to this day with the Phillies announcing that they have gratefully accepted the gift of a bronze statue of Kalas, for placement outside their home stadium. The statue was completely funded by the fans who loved and cherished Harry Kalas.

Harry Kalas will always stand guard outside Citizens Bank Park.

You can be sure that Harry and Whitey are looking down on the Phillies with a smile because of the sell-out crowds and winning baseball since their passing.

It is still hard to turn on the television or radio and not hear Kalas’ voice calling the Phillies game. Kalas quite simply, was Philadelphia.

He even was the voice of so many famous football clips, joining NFL Films as a narrator in 1975. He did the voice over for “Inside the NFL” from 1977 through 2008.

If you have ever met the guy (I was lucky enough to meet him) only complimentary things could be said of him. He was the most genuine, charming man I have ever met.

It was only fitting that he passed after watching his beloved team win one more World Series. He was found unconscious in a broadcast booth, and it was later determined that he died of heart disease.

Kalas was unable to call the Phillies World Series in 1980 and there was such outrage by the fans of Philadelphia that the rule was changed by Major League Baseball the next season. He will forever be the voice of the Phillies and at least he got to call one World Series.

I come from a huge family of Phillies baseball fanatics and his calls still reign throughout our household. We always thought of Kalas as a member of our family. Gathering around the television or radio as a family listening to Kalas is one of the fondest memories of my childhood. He called games for the Phillies since 1871, but every game seemed to endear him more and more to Philadelphia.

He became known for many things as the announcer of the Phillies.

The sound of Harry leading the clubhouse (and now stadium) to the tune of “High Hopes” by Frank Sinatra will be forever a part of Philly as the E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES chant.

He would call homers by a certain Hall of Fame third baseman by noting the player’s full name: “Michael Jack Schmidt.” I never was able to watch Schmidt live but because of Kalas I feel like I had.

He was even known for leaving voice-messages on answering machines for fans. My uncle was lucky enough to have the following voice-mail recorded by Kalas personally:

“Sorry Joe can’t reach you right now, but he’s on A LONG DRIVE AND WAY OUTTA HERE!!!”

It is selfless acts like that will forever make Harry Kalas one of the most beloved figures in Philadelphia sports history.

Kalas was nationally recognized as well. He was a recipient of the Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award for his contributions to the game, and was inducted in the MLB Hall-of-Fame in 2002.

Do you still find yourself watching or listening to old Harry Kalas clips? What was it about this man that enabled him to connect so to the city of Philadelphia? Is it because in baseball, it seems you are listening to the announcers every night? Then why aren’t all baseball announcers as loved as Harry the K?

It has been two whole years since Harry passed, and I still get a little choked up every so often when I don’t hear his voice or see his smile when I turn on the game. He seemed to find the good in everybody and was loved by his colleagues and the players as much as the fans.

As mentioned earlier, I was fortunate enough to meet Harry Kalas when he came to my high school before our state championship football game (to wish us good luck of course.) Hundreds of people flocked around him as soon as he entered the gymnasium and it seemed as if everyone in attendance, young and old, referred to him simply as Harry (first name-basis with a legend was the type of man he was.)

I sat patiently while the festivities ensued not thinking about the biggest game of my life to that point, but if I was going to have the opportunity to meet my idol. A whole hour of speeches, drums, cheerleaders (you get the picture) played out in front of me and I became content with the fact that I had at least seen Harry up close and personal.

When I was leaving the gymnasium with the team, I saw my opportunity when he was walking to his car with his son. I ran over to him and called out, “Harry K!” He turned around with that same smile that I’d seen on TV a million times before and my nervousness and awe turned into comfort and relaxation. 

I will never forget what was said that day:

“Mr. Kalas, I just wanted to let you know that you have been like a father figure to me and even though this is the first time we have ever met, I feel like I have known you for years. Thank you so much for everything you have done and you will always be my favorite Phillie.”

His reply was simply, “No, thank you young man. It is incredible comments like those that make me feel like the happiest and luckiest man in the world.”

And he embraced a 6’2″,  210 pound, 17-year-old strong-safety like he was a young child.

And that same teenager who is now 23 years old, can still admit that he gets as choked up now thinking about that moment as he did when it first happened.

For all of the deserving and astounding accomplishments Harry Kalas received during his time as an announcer, his greatest feat is that of a human being that so loved his city, the fans, and his team.

Cheers Harry. We will never forget you and thank you for being such an incredible part of our lives. Our hearts and prayers continue to go out to the Kalas family, and we thank you for allowing this great man to be apart of our family for so many years.

You will always be our favorite Phillie.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Harry Kalas May Be “Outta Here” but His Legacy Is Forever

**This is an article I wrote after Harry Kalas passed away on April 13, 2009.**

Things certainly will not be the same in the Phillies’ press box this 2009 season; despite the following-up of a most memorable championship campaign. Philadelphia, a city which has been gifted with the greatest of voices the world has seen, now have lost quite possibly the best of them all: Harry Kalas.

Truly an icon in the booth, yet a much, much, MUCH bigger person, Kalas’ “golden” voice will truly be missed by a city that’s notorious for falling in love with its broadcasters—but Harry was different.

Harold Norbert Kalas wasn’t just the voice of the Philadelphia Phillies, he was this organization. He bled Phillies red through and through in good times and in bad as we can clearly see beings that the team has celebrated two World Series titles in their 126-year history. This is the loss of a family member; he was one of us all the way through.

But, Harry was by no means just the voice, he was someone the people loved, and he loved us back and understood us better than any player ever could that’s donned those red pinstripes. Harry wasn’t one of them—he wasn’t an adopted son—he was one of us. He’s our voice of the summer and one with us and will remain so forever, truly the best ever in my heart. All we can now say is “Thank you, Harry!” You are an inspiration to all of us Philly fans, as we often see with the imitation of his signature call of, “It’s Outta Here!!” 

He’s left his mark on the city of Philadelphia and its residents forever, engraving a piece of himself into our hearts. Harry Kalas is the first thing people from everywhere think of when they hear Philadelphia Phillies. He’s the reason people sat in those blue seats at the Vet back in the day through the “dog days.” 

Kalas was as much of an icon in this organization as the signature “P” that sits above the bill of the red cap. He wasn’t supposed to go out this way, for that matter, was he really ever supposed to go out? To a kid, or any Philadelphian, he was untouchable. Absolutely bulletproof. Kalas was a man’s man. 

No matter how bad the team was, Harry was always our one constant. He was always there for the ride along with us. It wasn’t just “the voice,” but the character of the person in which it came from. The professionalism and the class in which he always conducted himself in, whether he was calling a world champion or a cellar dweller, Harry was always there, like clockwork, each and every summer for the past 39 seasons.  

Kalas will be truly missed, but will now be reunited with long-time broadcast partner, Richie “Whitey” Ashburn. An endless supply of Celebre’s Pizza and a big box of stogies will be needed for these two. “The Master of Ceremonies'” love for this city, the team and the game will never be duplicated and will always be remembered, very much so like his memorable calls from the press box. We love you, Harry!! “Harry Kalas, you are the Man!!” 

You did it all Harry! From Michael Jack to Steve to Tug to Garry to Curt to Mitch to Scott to Bobby to Jim to Billy to Ryan to Chase to Cole to Brad. We Thank You Harry!!! 

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Philadelphia Phillies: So Far, Ben Francisco Replacing Jayson Werth with Ease

Last night may have been a little different for the Philadelphia Phillies, and for a certain slugger playing right field for the Washington Nationals. After all, it was the first time in four years that said slugger was sitting in the dugout opposite of the Phils’, and for last night’s Phils’ starter, Joe Blanton, it was the first time that he was facing his former right fielder after donning a Phillies uniform.

Of course, that slugger was none other than Jayson Werth.

The former Phillies’ right fielder laughed first in this series, going 2-for-3 against his former club, slugging a home run and a double, scoring a couple of runs and drawing a walk against former mate Blanton and the Phils’ relievers that followed. The staggering question remaing, however, is who has the last laugh?

Werth was the center of a bit of controversy in the city of Philadelphia this winter, when he turned down an offer to remain with the Phillies and instead took the seven year, $126 million offer to play right field for the Washington Nationals. That is, until top prospect Bryce Harper forces him to left field. But hey, who can blame him? If I were in his shoes, and boy do I wish I was, I would have looked at the deal the Phillies offered, which guaranteed him $48 million over three years with an option for a fourth year, bringing the total value of the deal to $60 million, and laughed at it in comparison to the deal the Nationals were offering.

As Phillies’ beat writer Todd Zolecki pointed out on his blog the other day, it is crazy for fans to think that he was being greedy for taking the better deal. A lot of people around the city of Philadelphia who are hard working, blue collar fans of the Phillies questioned Werth’s loyalty by taking the bigger deal over playing for the Phillies, and it’s an understandable viewpoint. However at the same time, the difference between the two deals was $78 million—an amount of money that I find it hard to believe any of Werth’s critics would pass up, given the opportunity.

That said, Werth signed with the division rival Nationals, and the Phils’ decided to spend their money elsewhere, nabbing free agent lefty Cliff Lee. In doing so, they made an interesting choice. Though many wouldn’t admit to it at the time, the Phils’ were ready to hand over their starting right field job to one of (or both of) Ben Francisco and Domonic Brown. Brown’s spring injury made the decision easy, but was Francisco ready?

In the beginning of the offseason, I took a look at some of the reasons that Francisco could share the same success that Werth did early in his Phillies career. A lot of readers who commented on that article expressed the same concern—Francisco simply doesn’t have the same level of talent that Werth does.

While that may be the case, I wasn’t ready to rule the possibility of Francsico having a breakout season out then, and after a hot start to the 2011 season, I’m certainly not ready to rule that possibility out now. In fact, Francisco’s been swinging such a hot bat that Charlie Manuel hasn’t found a place to take him out of the lineup. He’s played in all 10 of the team’s games to this point in the season.

That forced me, out of curiosity, to take a look at Werth’s numbers at this early stage of the season. Through 10 games, I was curious as to whether or not Francisco has shown a glimpse of his potential with the Phillies, and whether or not he truly could “replace” Werth in right field. The results were interesting, to say the least.

	G	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	RBI	R	SB	E	Salary
Ben Francisco	10	.308	.386	.513	2	7	7	1	2	$1.175M
Jayson Werth	10	.237	.370	.500	2	2	6	1	1	$10M

 

The table above shows an interesting trend—Francisco is out-hitting Werth in just about every facet of the game. Of course, a lot of that has to do Nationals’ manager Jim Riggleman’s decision to hit Werth second in his order, which is now an obsolete fact, as Werth moves down to replace the injured Ryan Zimmerman.

Even still, the question has to be asked—are the Phillies better off with Ben Francisco in right field? Looking at last season’s numbers, the answer would be a resounding no. However, if the Phils’ would have taken a chance on Werth in free agency, he would have been paid around $16 million this season. While the fans may (or may not) miss him now, they’d certainly be very outspoken about his lack of production for a hypothetical $16 million a season.

The Nationals, who decided to back-load most of Werth’s deal into the final years of his contract (a questionable decision in and of itself, but a topic for another debate), will be paying their star right fielder $10 million this season. The Phillies, through ten games this season, have gotten better production out of their own right fielder—a former everyday outfielder-turned bench player-turned every day outfielder—just over one-tenth of the salary that Werth is being paid this year.

Even further, according to FanGraphs statistical analysis, Francisco has already been worth the Phils’ money. Through just ten games, he has accumulated 0.4 Wins Above Replacement, the same amount Werth has accumulated for the Nationals. In terms of dollars, FanGraphs estimates that Francisco’s 0.4 WAR is the equivalent of $1.6 million in salary—$425,000 more than what the Phils’ will pay Francisco for the entire 2011 season.

In the long run, 10 games is a very, very small sample size, and over the course of even the first month, both players’ season could change drastically. However, if these first few weeks are a preview of things to come, letting Werth walk was more than the right decision.

Ben Francisco is playing better than Jayson Werth, at just a fraction of the cost.

*All statistical data compiled was received courtesy of FanGraphs.com.

 

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MLB Contender or Pretender: Taking a Look at 10 Teams Off to Hot Starts in 2011

While baseball is a long, 162-game journey, it is never too early to take a look at teams that have gotten out of the gates quickly.

Whether they are teams that were expected to lead their divisions or teams expected to dwell in the basement for the length of the season, certain teams will either remain contenders or look like expected pretenders.

Let’s take a look at 10 teams that are either at the top or near the top of their respective divisions very early in the 2011 season.

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Philadelphia Phillies vs. Washington Nationals: Jayson Werth Wins Round 1

The endless string of opinions and predictions after Jayson Werth departed from Philadelphia last December were finally given some answers Tuesday night. In the first meeting between the Phillies and their former right fielder, Werth and his Washington Nationals got the upper hand and bested the first place Phils, 7-4. 

Werth, who had been struggling so far this season, went 2-3 and sent one over the left field fence off Joe Blanton in the fifth. I’m sure it was a tidbit of satisfaction for Werth, who was met with a mix of boos and cheers from the Philly fans who made the trek down to D.C.

The Nats had slid Werth from second to third in the line-up to replace the injured Ryan Zimmerman and it paid immediate dividends. He looked more patient at the plate in Tuesday night’s game than he had at any time in the young season. 

Joe Blanton, the “forgotten man” in the Phillies’ starting rotation, was shaky for the second straight start, coughing up five runs in six innings of work. Joe was fine through three innings, but he ran into trouble in the fourth, giving up hits to Jerry Hairston and Wilson Ramos. This allowed the Nationals to grab the lead, and they held on in the later innings to secure the victory. 

No one is hitting the panic button because of Blanton’s struggles just yet. After all, he has the least amount of pressure on him. The fans in Philly are so focused on the top four, Blanton can fly under the radar for now. However, if Big Joe does not produce a quality start soon, the boo birds will be calling for Kyle Kendrick before you know it. 

Ryan Howard snagged his third home run of the season, but the Phils offense never found a rhythm, despite out-hitting Washington 10 hits to nine. Shane Victorino’s five game hitting streak also came to an end tonight. 

Roy Halladay will look to stop the bleeding tomorrow night, as he faces lefty John Lannan. Werth’s knowledge of the Phils gave him the edge tonight, we’ll see if Doc has Jayson’s number Wednesday night. 

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MLB: Jayson Werth Homers, but Booed in Reunion with the Philadelphia Phillies

There were many empty seats at Nationals Park as the Philadelphia Phillies arrived in D.C. to begin their first series with the Washington Nationals this season.

The absence of fans wasn’t due to an uninteresting matchup, but the threat of rain, even though the game did start on time.

In fact, the faceoff between these two teams was much anticipated because of the offseason arrival of the Phillies‘ former slugger, Jayson Werth, to a lowly Nationals club.

Now that Werth has taken the field against his old team, maybe the hopelessly cliché headlines with annoying puns can finally be put to rest. Many of you know what I’m talking about, so I’m not going to further sicken myself by repeating them.

It was not a surprise that a large number of fans who did attend Tuesday night’s NL East matchup were supporters of the Phils and as expected, reacted harshly to the reunion with their former right fielder.

One fan proudly raised a sign that read, “Hope the money was worth it!” Okay, I said I wouldn’t repeat any puns, but at least I spelled “worth” the correct way.

Werth is definitely rolling in the cash after signing a $126 million contract with the Nats, but he better hope his new team improves, or it will be a long seven years in the nation’s capitol.

Every time the Phils flied out to right and Werth secured the out, a chorus of boos resounded in the chilly night air. This occurred several times in the early innings and also when he stepped to the plate and grounded out in his first at-bat.

On the other hand, Werth did receive cheers from his new fans as he hit his fourth double of the season and recorded a run in the fourth inning.

Later in the fifth, he smashed a homer in the face of Joe Blanton and the Phillies amid even more praise from the home team supporters.

Now we’ll just have to wait and compare the fan reaction upon Werth’s return to Citizen’s Bank Park in early May. At least he can take comfort in knowing that Philly fans aren’t known to be the nicest around.

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Is Werth A Hero or Villain for Taking the Money?

Tonight the Phillies will square off against former teammate and fan favorite Jayson Werth. On their way back home to Philadelphia, they stop off in the nation’s capital for a three-game set against the annual basement dwellers in the National League East, who shocked the baseball world last December by inking Werth to a mammoth contract.

How will the fans respond to Werth and this unique situation? Is Werth the villain?  What about the hero? He probably isn’t either, but somewhere in between—the average Joe who left one job for another worth more money.  

Can anyone really fault Jayson Werth for signing with the Nationals? It’s not very likely he’ll see another World Series or championship parade any time soon, nor will he have the same protection in the lineup as he did with MVPs Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins.

But playing in Washington gives Jayson Werth two things he never had in Philadelphia—the chance to show off his talents without limits and buckets full of cold, hard cash.

In Philadelphia, there were many times it seemed Werth was pressing, swinging too hard trying to hit the ball a mile when a single would do. He struck out far too often, killed many a rally and hit for a near-record-low batting average with runners in scoring position.

For a player with better than 650 plate appearances and an average just shy of .300 in a lineup that scored more than 750 runs, his 85 RBI were an embarrassment. But fans will never forget the player who swiped second, third and home in a single inning, or the one who made outstanding defensive plays in the outfield, saving runs and games many times. He was a sometimes brilliant player who, more often than not, was mind-bogglingly frustrating.

It’s a double-edged sword for fans: Do we root and cheer for what he did for the Phillies for four years or do we boo the player who turned won tens of guaranteed millions of dollars and left to play for a division rival (if the Nationals can actually be called that)?

It’s not exactly a situation the Phillies—or any other baseball team—haven’t faced before. Free agency has brought the era when players stayed with one team for life to a screeching halt. We watch our favorite players leave for greener pastures all the time.

I remember being at the Vet the day Darren Daulton (my favorite player at the time, who had been traded away) returned and hit a home run with the Florida Marlins on his way to a World Series championship in 1997.

Curt Schilling was also dealt away during the summer of 2000, after nine years of being unable to help make the Phillies a regular contender. Pat Burrell and Aaron Rowand left as free agents after successful stints with the team.

However, none of those players’ departures, nor any other in the free-agency era, ranks with Jayson Werth’s. The Phillies wanted to keep Rowand—they offered him as much as they felt he was worth and Rowand turned it down for two more guaranteed years in San Francisco. At the time, the Phillies had an abundance of outfielders, even if they weren’t sure any of them would be a suitable replacement in center field.

When Burrell left, he was riding high. His hit leading off the seventh inning of Game 5 of the 2008 World Series produced the game-winning run that propelled the parade down Broad Street. But we all knew the end was near.

After nine years of mostly underachieving seasons and with a fanbase that treated Burrell differently than any other player in its history, Pat Burrell had run out gas. He could still hit home runs but he just wasn’t the same player he once was.

All of last season, the question of whether or not Jayson Werth would return to the Phillies was on every fan’s mind. Would they be willing to hand out a contract that would suit Werth, or was the bank closed after all the deals and extensions they had given over the past few years?

They were willing to pay him a substantial amount of money—a reported guaranteed offer of $48 million over three years with a fourth-year option that would have brought the total package to over $60 million. Over $60 million. That’s an awful lot of money, more than enough for most of us to live on comfortably the rest of our lives.

However, we are not all professional baseball players, people who live a high-class and expensive lifestyle. When Jayosn Werth hired Scott Boras last year, it was a sign that he was looking for the biggest deal, even if it wouldn’t happen in Philadelphia.  When the Nationals came in and offered $126 million, all guaranteed for seven years, for a player who’s never really been a superstar, it would have been foolish to turn it down.

It’s difficult for most of use to understand what $60 million is—it’s near impossible to completely understand what more than double that is. We all have dreams. A vacation home in Hawaii, private jets and more. But for the majority of us, they’re still dreams, while for major league players they are attainable options.

And while Werth could have lived off the $60 million the Phillies offered him, that extra $66 million will come in handy. Maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow, but 10, 20 years after he’s retired he can still live the high lifestyle he’s become accustomed to. 

For for the record, his $60 million contract would have, at the end of the day, put about half that in his pocket—taxes and commissions to Boras. His $126 million contract will put in his pocket what the overall Phillies offer was.

I don’t know how most Phillies fans will react. Werth has been booed and cheered in the game so far. When he caught the fly ball off Placido Polanco’s bat he was booed, and when Polanco returned the favor and threw him out at first base in the bottom of the first inning, the fans cheered.  

Personally, I will miss Jayson Werth in a Phillies uniform. He was the most talented player on the team, even if the production didn’t always say that. However, I will never fault Werth for taking the money, and no one should. Any of us would have done the same, given the circumstances. 

An extra 10 or 15 percent and you could make the argument that Werth should have stayed—he could have potentially made a lot more money in World Series shares with the Phillies.

But with a guaranteed contract of better than twice what the Phillies offered, there is no way to reasonably turn that down, even if he’ll spend the majority of those seven seasons playing for a team that loses 100 or more games a year. The odds are the Nationals won’t be baseball’s worst team much longer however.

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Philadelphia Phillies: This Season Is Getting Harder and Harder to Predict

So far this season, the Philadelphia Phillies have been good. Great, in fact. For some people, this isn’t a surprise. After all, they have some of the best starting pitchers in the league. They also have some great hitters. This was all expected. So why am I writing this article?

The Phillies were predicted to win, but the way they are winning isn’t exactly how everyone thought they would. In fact, they seem to be playing the exact opposite of what everyone expected. Let me give you some examples.

With some of the Phillies’ hitters slumping last season, and with rookie Domonic Brown and All-Star second baseman Chase Utley both injured, their hitting wasn’t expected to be as good as past years. But not so.

They have averaged 6.5 runs a game so far this year. They won one game 11-0 and another 10-2. The Phillies’ run production has still been high without Chase Utley.

The funny thing is that it isn’t as if one player is carrying the team. It seems like each game is won by a different player. The Phillies have had some key pinch hits, and the players filling in for Utley have been playing very well.

Another example is their pitching. Their starting pitching was supposed to be their main strength this year. It is still early, but some of their aces haven’t exactly been aces in their first couple games. Cliff Lee has a 7.84 ERA, Cole Hamels has a 5.59 ERA and Joe Blanton has a 14.54 ERA.

One of the Phillies’ supposed main weaknesses this year was their bullpen. The Phillies bullpen was not great last year. It was not expected to be much better this year, especially with Brad Lidge injured. So far, their bullpen has been great.

Danys Baez had a very bad season last year, but seems to have bounced back, giving up no runs over 5.0 innings. Ryan Madson and Jose Contreras have each pitched three innings without giving up a run.

So what does this show? To me, this shows that the Phillies are very unpredictable. When they are doing poorly, they can turn it around. In 2007, they came back in the last month of the season to win the NL East title. In 2010, they fought through their injuries to win the NL East title again. 

We should know by now that it is extremely hard to predict the Philadelphia Phillies. 

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Philadelphia Phillies: 10 Bold Predictions for the Rest of the Team’s Season

Well, we are nine games through the season for which we all waited for so long.  As we stand right now, the Phillies are 7-2 and in first place in the National League East.  Having said that, after all the buzz that soaked Philadelphia since that cold winter night they re-acquired Cliff Lee, their record and standing is of little surprise.  They became the odds-on favorite to win the 2011 World Series that night and, even with injuries to Chase Utley, Brad Lidge, and Dom Brown, are still most people’s pick to be triumphant in the Fall Classic. 

It is for this reason that none of my ten predictions will concern overall wins and losses in the standings.  In contrast, my list will address some twists and turns I can see happening throughout the season (Don’t worry, though…I will put my guesses for the playoffs and World Series in my epilogue for the final slide). 

Some of these are wilder than others, but anybody who has been around this wonderful game long enough knows that the only guarantee is that there are none.  So sit back and enjoy the ride.  It should be a good one.

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What Reception Will Werth Get from Phillies Fans?

Much has been made out of Jayson Werth‘s offseason departure from the Phillies after accepting a huge $126 million, 7-year deal from the Nationals. 

On Tuesday night, Werth will face his former team for the first time as the Phillies travel to D.C. for a three-game series.

Some fans have expressed their disappointment that Werth chose a big paycheck over staying with a winning team.  After all, Cliff Lee gave up more money from the Yankees to come back to Philadelphia.

But in the same circumstance, most people would take the money.  And the offer Werth got from the Nats was significantly more than the Phillies offered.  So, can you really blame him?

Money aside, there may be other reasons that Phillies fans feel the need to boo Werth.  For example, this past February, Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post quoted Werth as saying, “I hate the Phillies, too,” in response to a comment made by Washington GM Mike Rizzo.

Then in late March, an interview with Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. by Nick DiUlio of Philadelphia Magazine revealed more angry words by Werth.  Amaro stated he received a text message from Werth after the Lee signing that said, “BOOOOOOOO!” 

The next part of the same article read as follows: “That reaction from Jayson was funny,” says Amaro in his office in February, again flashing that smile. “He was pissed off. He had just signed with Washington. He said to me, ‘You dumbass. You could’ve had both of us.’ And I said, ‘You’re the dumbass. You could have taken our arbitration offer.’”

While Werth is clearly sore over the deal, should fans be sore about Werth’s reaction?

Maybe.

But a few childish and angry words should not overshadow what Werth contributed to the Phillies team over four seasons. 

He helped them win the 2008 World Championship, played solid defense and added some pop to the line-up.

While Werth’s choice of words could be perceived as blatant disrespect for a team and a fan base that always had his back, the words were spoken out of shock and, likely, disappointment.

Games in D.C. against the Phillies have been traditionally overrun with Phillies fans in the past several years.  So, despite this being a home game for the Nats, Phillies fans will be heard.

So the question then remains: To boo or not to boo?  

Booing is not really my style, but each person is free to make their own choice.  Ultimately, I hope Werth hears more cheers than boos out of appreciation for the time he spent in Philadelphia.

And if you would really like Werth to feel bad about his poor choice of words this offseason, there is no better way than offering up a loud, hearty cheer to make him regret the indiscretion.

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