Raul Ibanez ‘thankful’ for Phillies fans, city’s intensity
Raul Ibanez cherishes his time spent on the Phillies roster
Nearly one decade has passed since left fielder Raul Ibanez last donned red pinstripes for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Across three seasons, replacing Pat Burrell following the 2008 World Series championship and through the 2011 postseason run, the 2009 All-Star slashed .264/.329/.469 with 100 doubles, 70 home runs and 260 RBI spanning 1,776 plate appearances.
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Fast-forward to 2020, Ibanez works for the Los Angeles Dodgers organization as special assistant to the general manager. And, while his profession has him on the west coast, his heart still lies at the opposite side of the country — particularly, Philadelphia.
On a recent episode of “10 Minutes with T-Mac” with Phillies broadcaster Tom McCarthy, Ibanez says he was “so fortunate” to be a Phillie.
“I’ve been part of five great organizations. I say that with all honesty. They’ve been fantastic,” Ibanez says. “When I came to Philadelphia, though, in 2009, I had never experienced that type of intensity.”
Before joining the Phillies in 2009, Ibanez played on the Seattle Mariners from 1996-2000 and 2004-07, and on the Kansas City Royals in between from 2001-03. After the Phillies’ disappointing 2011 Game 5 NLDS defeat against the St. Louis Cardinals, Ibanez played for the New York Yankees for one season (2010), before returning to the Mariners (2013) and finishing his career in 2014 with the Los Angeles Angels and Royals.
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The 2008 Mariners finished 61-101; Ibanez tuned into the postseason that year as he entered free agency, and says he remembers watching the Phillies compete in the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Feeling the energy in the stadium, Ibanez thought “What must that be like?”
Appreciating the Philadelphia fan
Ibanez got to experience “Red October” first-hand, just one year later in 2009. He says way before that, however, it did not take long for him to understand the Philadelphia fan mentality.
Early on in spring training, Ibanez had a bad game that was followed by a meet and greet down in Clearwater. One fan asked Ibanez what happened on a play, and that he should have been able to catch the ball.
Ibanez says he replied to the fan: “Dude, this is spring training. Take it easy; relax.” While he could have taken the fan’s comments the wrong way, the slugger understood the Philadelphia fan mentality, and grew to appreciate the intensity that came with it.
“That type of intensity was actually so powerful. I’m so thankful for it because the energy that it provided for the next three years of my career was something that I never experienced,” Ibanez says. “I’m so thankful for it and the fanbase.”
The energy down in Clearwater did not take long to travel north to Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The 300-plus-career home run hitter says he remembers all of the emotions that came with running onto the field after doing something good late in the game to help the team win. He says Phillies fans made him feel “elevated off the ground” because of their intensity.
“It was just a powerful place and I love it. It’s amazing,” Ibanez says. “It’s something that I’d never experienced up until that point — postseason and hitting a walkoff.”
Ibanez says the thing he likes the most about Philadelphia is its honesty and genuine nature: “There’s no pulling punches; they tell you right to your face how they feel and that’s how it should be — you waste no time. I love Philadelphia.”
Facing the Yankees in the 2009 World Series
While the Phillies fell short in the 2009 Fall Classic, causing the 19-year veteran to never win a championship, Ibanez still says the series against the Yankees was “such an incredible feeling.”
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Ibanez felt the Phillies, following that year’s NLCS, were the “best team on the planet” and that there was “no way” they were going to lose. And, when the team won Game 1 behind ace southpaw starter Cliff Lee, he says he had to calm himself down and ask, “Is this really going to happen?”
Unfortunately, it did not, but Ibanez says he particularly remembers Lee’s performance, which would help set the tone for the lengthy, competitive series. Lee would allow just one run, but strike out 10 batters en route to the complete game victory.
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“I remember before Game 1 of the World Series, Cliff coming into the clubhouse and he says ‘They asked me if I’m nervous.'” Ibanez recalled. “Cliff was like, ‘It doesn’t even make any sense. Why would I be nervous for something that I’ve been preparing for my whole life? It doesn’t make sense.'”
“I remember walking out like toward the field chuckling, thinking to myself, ‘This guy’s special. This guy is great.'”
Remembering Doc’s Postseason No-Hitter
Among Ibanez’s favorite teammates in his career, which spanned parts of three decades, included Hall of Fame right-hander Roy Halladay.
Just as much as Ibanez was in awe of Lee’s performance in the first game of the 2009 World Series, he also appreciates what Halladay was able to do against the Cincinnati Reds in the first game of the 2010 NLDS.
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“It was really special. It was Doc’s first postseason start. I loved Doc,” Ibanez says. “I learned so much from him; we had these great interactions … we would have these really great deep conversations. He loved his family so much and I used to love watching him light up talking about his family.”
Ibanez says he remembers thinking to himself in the first inning “Oh my God, he’s going to do it again,” given just months prior he threw a perfect game.
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“He mowed through the first three hitters. It may have been the fifth or sixth inning,” Ibanez continued, “[when] I think he faced it might have been the Brandon Phillips at-bat, where I was like, ‘Oh my god … he made a Major League All-Star in the postseason look like a kid.'”
“With all due respect to the great player, it was not a testament to any of their players. It was a testament to how great Doc was all the time and especially that night.”
Ibanez says he just felt it. He knew it, and could “feel the intensity brew.”
“It was just special. Incredible.”