Philadelphia sports fans are known as some of the most passionate ones in the country, oftentimes going to extreme lengths to make their feelings known about their favorite franchises. Sometimes, apparently, those passionate fans just happen to be the guy in charge. Former Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. admitted Thursday that he called local radio station WIP and pretended to be a fan — while he was still running the team. He ‘fessed up to his antics during a recent appearance on the 94 WIP Morning Show with Joe DeCamara and Jon Ritchie.
“I’ve actually called in and faked my voice,” Amaro Jr. said. “I’ve faked my voice after a game.”
“As a player?” DeCamara followed up.
“No, as a GM,” Amaro responded. “Oh yeah, I’ve done it. Confession!”
“You’re like Kevin Durant on Twitter,” DeCamara joked, referring to the NBA star’s infamous history with burner accounts on the social media platform.
And when asked whether or not he was supporting himself undercover, Amaro added, “No, I was killing him!”
Amaro Jr. played in the majors from 1991 to 1998, spending the majority of his left fielder career with the Phillies after a rookie season with the then-California Angels. He then went on to manage the Phillies from 2008 to 2015, taking over after their 2008 World Series win and shepherding them to a second consecutive NL East title and a 573-539 record during his tenure.
The ex-Phillies GM’s stunt is the latest in a history of former Philadelphia sports executives going undercover to talk about their own teams—mostly in a negative light. The other, most famous example was “Burnergate,” when former 76ers GM Bryan Colangelo was accused of about players and league executives through Twitter and released sensitive team information. After reporting by The Ringer, an investigation by the 76ers was determined that Colangelo and his wife set up numerous Twitter accounts to criticize his own players and coaches and other league executives, as well as leak that Jahlil Okafor failed his team physical.
Former Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. called into sports talk radio, pretended to be a fan while running team
