Ruben Amaro Jr. called WIP and pretended to be a Phillies fan — while he was still GM of the team
A former player, and now a broadcaster, Amaro admitted to calling in and ripping his own job performance.
What is it with members of Philadelphia’s front offices hiding their identities and pretending to weigh in on Philly sports as fans? Is it the flip side of fans wanting to cosplay as a team’s general manager? Do they want to pretend to be fans?
Just over six years ago, there was Bryan Colangelo’s Burnergate that ultimately ended with his being fired after it was revealed that Twitter (now X) accounts linked to the former Sixers GM and his wife had been ripping Sixers players, including Joel Embiid, and telegraphing moves, like the trade to move up and acquire Markelle Fultz in the 2017 NBA draft. And there might have been a HIPAA violation in there as well, as one of the accounts shared previously undisclosed medical information about Jahlil Okafor.
On Wednesday, we found out there’s another former GM who also liked going undercover when he was in charge of the team: Ruben Amaro Jr. of the Phillies. And while this falls under the same umbrella of sports executives pretending to be fans, at least this seems a bit more harmless.
Amaro revealed on 94 WIP’s morning show that during his time as Phillies general manager, which lasted from 2009-15, he would call into the station following games, masking his voice and identity. Surely this caller was Amaro’s biggest fan, right? Not quite — and it’s what makes this story a bit more endearing than Burnergate.
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“Ruben, did you ever call WIP as just like, ‘Hey, this is random Ruben,’ or Ruben calling as Frank?” host Joe DeCamara asked.
“Oh I’ve actually called in and faked my voice,” Amaro said. “I’ve faked my voice after a game.”
“As a player?” DeCamara replied.
“No, as a GM. Oh yeah, I faked my voice,” the former GM and player continued as the entire crew burst out into laughter. “Oh yeah, I’ve done it. Confession!”
Everyone naturally assumed that his calls were pro-Amaro.
“No, I was killing him!” Amaro said.
We’re close to 10 years removed from the Amaro Era — although he’s still around the team as a broadcaster and is a regular guest on WIP’s morning show — so it’s impressive that this has remained under wraps for so long.
Next up? tracking down those calls and seeing what Amaro was actually saying about his performance — especially since the Phillies continually declined over his tenure after winning the 2008 World Series.