Stay classy, Philadelphia by Jared Carrabis
Philadelphia Inquirer tells Phillies fans to 'Get your D-cells ready' for JD Drew's return to Philly


I'm gonna take you back to 2007 really quick, but I’m not going to one of the warm, fuzzy feelings that you probably want to venture back to.

It’s a summer night in August – Dustin Pedroia’s birthday actually – and I’m at Fenway Park for the nightcap of a doubleheader against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Sox are clinging to a one-run lead in the top of the ninth, and the bullpen gate opens for Eric Gagne.

Gagne, who the Red Sox acquired from Texas at the deadline, entered the game with a 12.60 ERA and a .423 opponents batting average in his first six appearances with the Red Sox, so needless to say, Boston fans’ patience were running thin with the right-hander.

As you can imagine, Gagne blew the game. He allowed three hits, walked a guy, and let three runs score. Fans were so fed up with Gagne and his inability to close games in Boston that an infuriated fan threw a full water bottle from the third base loge box that came within inches from hitting Gagne on the mound.

Keep in mind that the Red Sox have a five-game lead in the division when this happened. This wasn’t a life-or-death loss for the Red Sox.

The reason I told that story was because it reminded me a lot of Phillies’ fans, because Red Sox fans usually aren't hostile towards their own players like that. Phillies fans are ruthless. Actually, Philadelphia sports fans in general are pretty ruthless.

With that being said, the Philadelphia Inquirer ran a story on March 5 that put Phillies fans on alert that JD Drew was to return to Philadelphia this June.

"Sorry to say this; Phils fans, but whenever Drew hangs up his cleats, he will have had a productive, if unspectacular, career. But fear not: You'll get one more chance to let J.D. know how you feel about him when the Sox come to town June 28-30. Get your D-cells ready."

Ah, yes. Encouraging violence. That’s how Philly rolls. The SoxSpace Webcast's own Sly Egidio knows what that’s all about.

Back in 1999, when Drew made his debut in Philly for the Cardinals, and not for the Phillies, who originally drafted the outfielder, fans booed him loudly, and threw batteries at him from the stands.

"I've heard some rumors around that they do it every now and then," Drew said back in '99. "In the back of my mind, I was hoping that they wouldn't. I think they did a good job the way they handled it."

The Inquirer retracted the line about the D-cell batteries, and offered this explanation.

"In Saturday’s 'High & Inside' column, The Inquirer made a regretful attempt at humor in a reference to Boston Red Sox outfielder J.D. Drew’s coming to Philadelphia to play against the Phillies in June. The sentence, 'Get your D-cells ready,' should have been edited out of the story. Any reference to throwing batteries at a player is neither funny nor acceptable."

Only in Philly will you find a fan base that holds on to a grudge from June of 1997. If anything, the Phillies fans’ hatred of Drew has almost become a gimmick or tradition, rather than actual hatred for the player that stiffed their team for extra dollars.

-Jared Carrabis



Published on March 11, 2011

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