So says the New York Times:
Amaro, the Mets’ first-base coach as they visit Philly for the first time this season tonight, has been back before as a coach, for the Boston Red Sox in 2017, before the Mets hired him in November. He still lives in the Pennsylvania suburbs, and his younger self is even a featured character on “The Goldbergs,” an ABC sitcom set in the 1980s that is a valentine to Philly.
“I’m a Philly guy,” Amaro said — and, as such, it feels strange for him to wear the uniform of the team the Phillies chased down in 2007, igniting a streak of five consecutive division titles. “I never thought I’d be employed by the Mets.”
Amaro was the assistant general manager under Pat Gillick when the Phillies began their run. He had started in that role under Ed Wade upon retirement as a player in 1998, a year in which the Phillies picked first in the draft. They rose to a title a decade later, but then fell so far that they picked first again in 2016, after Amaro’s last season in the front office.
His seven-year stint as general manager began with a National League pennant in 2009, when he showed a knack for aggressive deals by trading for an ace, Cliff Lee, who won twice in the Phillies’ World Series loss to the Yankees. Other deals followed for stars like Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Hunter Pence, and in 2011 the Phillies earned a franchise-record 102 victories.
“I told my daughters when I first got my job, ‘For about three or four years, you’re going to think your dad’s brilliant — and then after that you’re going to think he’s the biggest idiot on the planet,’” Amaro said. “It was almost true to form.”
The good times ended abruptly after that third season in charge. The Phillies fell to .500 in 2012, then staggered to 73-89 records in each of the next two seasons. Unable to successfully patch an expensive, aging roster with veterans, the Phillies finally started rebuilding in 2015. They finished 63-99, their worst mark in more than half a century.
This season has brought signs of life under Amaro’s successor as general manager, Matt Klentak. The Phillies are 22-15 after a busy off-season that included committing $135 million to the free agents Jake Arrieta and Carlos Santana. Mostly, though, the roster includes players Amaro left behind.
As of Thursday morning, 24 of the 32 players on the Phillies’ active roster or 10-day disabled list were acquired while Amaro was general manager, including Maikel Franco, Odubel Herrera, Rhys Hoskins, Scott Kingery and Aaron Nola:
www.nytimes.com/2018/05/10/sports/baseball/mets-phillies-ruben-amaro-.html?
