The Flyers, just like the rest of us, have Phillies fever for Opening Day
Winger Joel Farabee, a lifelong Phillies fan who grew up idolizing Chase Utley, is hoping this is the year the Phils bring home a World Series title.
The hockey Gods can be finicky but the baseball Gods are clearly on the Flyers side.
With the Phillies home opener postponed to Friday due to weather and the Flyers back from their road trip and having the day off, don’t be surprised if you see some of your favorites at Citizens Bank Park.
“Hopefully no injuries this year and they can just roll from the start,” said long-time Phillies fan Joel Farabee.
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Farabee may have grown up in Western New York, but his dad Dave grew up in Warminster, Pennsylvania, so it’s only fitting that the younger Farabee became a Phillies fan. His favorite player was Chase Utley.
“I just liked the way he played,” said Farabee, who also played second base as a kid. “Obviously, won a World Series for the Phillies, which is really cool. But just that tandem, him and Jimmy Rollins up the middle, I just thought that was probably the best era of baseball for the Phillies, at least that I ever saw.”
The Flyers winger has even showcased his prowess on the diamond in Philly. Farabee, Travis Konecny, and some of their teammates took batting practice hacks last season at the ballpark. Farabee confessed he’s “not much of a power hitter” but the righty Konecny hit a dinger to left-center field at Citizen’s Bank Park.
“I grew up playing baseball,” Konecny said. “My dad, probably his best sport was baseball. My brother still plays; I don’t know what level but it’s pretty competitive baseball. We were close to Toronto-ish, the closest team was three hours, and me and my brother would go down there and watch.”
Defenseman Travis Sanheim went yard too when the group hit BP last September during the Phillies’ postseason push.
“It was cool too. At that time there was a lot of buzz around the Phillies and, obviously, how far they went the year before so everyone was pretty excited. So I think it was just cool,” Farabee said.
Like Konecny, center Morgan Frost grew up a Blue Jays fan in Aurora, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto. A fan of former Jays second baseman Orlando Hudson, Frost was also a middle infielder — although he preferred the right side of the diamond and played shortstop growing up. But while his heart belongs to the Jays, he has some love for the local squad.
“Pretty sick team, I can confidently say — not just saying this, because they’re probably my second favorite team and definitely my favorite team in the National League,” Frost said. “So yeah, they’re fun to watch. I think they have so many good players. I think it’ll be interesting to see [Bryce] Harper at first base for a full year too.”
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Defenseman Cam York mentioned South Jersey’s Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels as his favorite player growing up in Anaheim, Calif. Kyle Schwarber and Bryson Stott — Konecny said “he’s the one with the awesome walk-up song” — were also mentioned. But it was Harper, the Phillies superstar and an avid hockey fan, who was a clear-cut favorite among the guys.
“I feel like Harper would be a good guy in the locker room,” Farabee said when asked who on the Phillies he wouldn’t mind having on the Flyers. “I’ve met him quickly once or twice. And, maybe Bryson Stott too. They just seem like laid-back [guys].
“I feel like it’s kind of the same, a lot of hockey players and baseball players are very similar in a lot of ways. But I just feel like those guys would be really good in the locker room. Harper reminds me a lot of [former Flyer] Kevin Hayes, in a way, so I think he’d be a really good guy.”