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Ruben Amaro Jr. gearing up for return to Phillies family

By Matt Rappa

Manager Charlie Manuel of the Philadelphia Phillies halds the trophy with Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. as they celebrate defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-4 to advance to the World Series in 2009. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
Manager Charlie Manuel of the Philadelphia Phillies halds the trophy with Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. as they celebrate defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-4 to advance to the World Series in 2009. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) /
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Ruben Amaro Jr. returns after serving as Phillies GM from 2009 to 2015

Former Philadelphia Phillies outfielder and general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has held several hats since his seven-season stint at the forefront of the team’s front office came to an end in September 2015.

In 2016 and 2017, Amaro Jr. served as first base coach of the Boston Red Sox, before returning to the National League East with the New York Mets in a similar role, and later as special assistant to general manager Brodie Van Wagenen.

Now, nearly five years later, Amaro Jr. is gearing up to return to the Phillies family in a new role — as a pre- and post-game television analyst for NBC Sports Philadelphia. He says he may be doing some stuff on the radio as well.

“I’ve had a chance to wear a lot of different hats,” Amaro Jr. said Saturday evening on WFAN. “It’s been fun; each one of them has been fun and challenging, and I’ve enjoyed each one of them.”

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Amaro Jr. has not kept it secret in recent years that he would like to someday manage. “I still have that in the back of my mind that I will get an opportunity to do that,” he said. “I don’t know if the time has passed me by, but I tell people, as I talk to other organizations, I’ve done a little bit consulting here and there.”

Amaro Jr. said he just wants to work in baseball and that he enjoys being around it.

“It’s been my life. It doesn’t have to necessarily be as GM, assistant GM, or as manager,” he continued. “I love being on the field. I love being in the office. I love working for a goal and try to win baseball games and win championships.”

“I’ve had an opportunity to be around a lot of them.”

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Even if Amaro Jr. does television for the rest of his career, he said that would be great, too.

“I enjoy being around the game and hopefully I can continue to do that in some capacity, whether it’s on the field, in the booth, or in the office,” he said. “It doesn’t really matter to me, as long as I’m around baseball because I love it so much.”

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