The Philadelphia Philles, as a franchise, have 9,999 losses, which if you’re a sports fan in this city you can’t help but know, because nobody around here will shut up about it. Especially the people who don’t like the Phillies to begin with.
Say what you want about the franchise (there are days I’ll be right there with you) but really, there’s very little negative you can truly say about the guys on the field. And by that I don’t just mean their play (where the bullpen needs serious help/and or their freakin’ tails kicked) but also their attitudes and behavior.
Last night a rain delay cleared Coors Field in Colorado, and when the grounds crew started to drag the tarp out, the wind picked the tarp up and started throwing men around the field. Literally. Three guys were trapped, one was dragged more than 10 feet, it was ugly.
The Phillies were in a strange stadium — this wasn’t their grounds crew — but when they saw that the crew was in trouble, they ran out onto the field to give a hand. (So did one — ONE — Rockies player.)
The Phillies starters didn’t think about whether they’d get wet, or whether they’d get hurt, just that some folks on the field were in danger and they could help. If they hadn’t, the headlines this morning might’ve been very different.
They then went on to win the game. 10,000 losses will have to wait for another day.
In all fairness to the Rockies, most of them had left for the clubhouse by that point.
…man, those guys are heroes.
True, and I’m not pointing it out to say that the Rockies were being negligent, but only to show that what the Phillies did was that much more amazing.
(Oh, and this is slightly picayune, but the ESPN coverage is contradicted by the Phillies coverage, which lists two Rockies and two umpires among those who helped.)