Phillies Perspectives: My Parents

Image Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

As an internet savvy Phillies fan, I sometimes forget that all Phillies fans aren’t as web-centric as I am.  Not everyone gets their news from Phillies.com; not everyone receives updates on the team from Ryan Lawrence’s Twitter feed; and not everyone reads or writes daily blog posts about the team.  Keeping that in mind, I will occasionally seek out the opinion of people who don’t fit into the model of the typical internet fan.

This week, I sought the opinion of two people from an earlier generation: My parents.  They’ve been living in the Philadelphia area for quite some time, and have witnessed considerably more Phillies baseball than I have.  They’ve endured many more losses over the years, but they can also remember the Phillies’ first championship, which I was too young to appreciate.

I asked them for their thoughts on a couple of Phillies-related topics, as well as a topic that is decidedly not related to the Phillies.

Mike: Dom Brown recently posted a picture of himself on Twitter wearing Cowboys gear and added the caption: “Go Cowboys.”  There was a predictable backlash by Phillies fans.  Should Brown have made the Tweet and should Phillies fans have reacted in a negative manner?

Domonic Brown. Image Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Mom: It was a bad move and the Philadelphia reaction is to be expected. Even though I am no longer a fanatical Eagles fan, (Note: My mother recently dropped her Eagles’ fandom in favor of the Ravens.  I find the decision to be very questionable) I still root against the Cowboys, no matter who they are playing!

Dad: He could wear it, but don’t rub it in our faces. Of course the fans will react negatively.

Mike: How do you feel about the notoriously anti-sabermetric Ruben Amaro hiring a statistical expert?

Mom: Well, it surely can’t hurt.  Things haven’t been going well lately.

Dad: I couldn’t care less.

Mike: You don’t think it can make a difference?

Dad: I don’t believe in that sabermetrics crap and I don’t think Ruben does either. Even if he hires one (expert), I don’t think he will really listen to him.

Mike: Critics claim that the final chapter of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” undercuts, if not outright ruins the character development that Huckleberry Finn underwent through the rest of the book.  Do you feel that the book would have been better if the final chapter was removed?

Dad: No.

Mike: Wasn’t Huck Finn your favorite book?  I thought you’d have more of an opinion.

Dad: Huck Finn was not my favorite book.

Mom: I never cared much for the book, and certainly don’t remember the last chapter.

Mike: Didn’t you work as a teacher?  Didn’t you have to teach Huck Finn to your students?

Mom: That was a middle school book.

Mike: Anything else you’d like to add?

Dad: I think Amaro made two big mistakes with Carlos Ruiz. He probably could have negotiated a reasonable two-year deal with him during the season. Now he is compounding his mistake by not making him a qualified offer. The worst that could happen would be for him to accept the offer. I think in that case the Phils could live with $14 million for one year. Now they will end up paying some stiff $8 million for the year.

So what did I learn?  Despite the generational gap, my parents’ thoughts on the team don’t seem to differ that much from most fans I’ve talked to.  On the other hand, despite my belief that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was a cherished classic of American literature, apparently nobody really remembers that much about the book.