Sports Illustrated has a piece up from yesterday about Raul Ibanez. It’s about time that the national media has caught on to the Ribbie phenomenon going on in Philadelphia.
Simply put, Ibanez has been nothing short of incredible during the first part of the season. He has more than replaced Pat Burrell in left field and has quickly become a favorite of Phillies’ fans.
Raul’s path to acceptance in Philly has been quicker than anyone I can remember in recent memory. He has somehow made it seem like he’s been here forever with the way that the fans here in Philly are taking to him.
SI has some great quotes from the Phillies’ outfielders. Did you know Ibanez and Jayson Werth are avid watchers of infomercials?
“We both agree that it’s tough to watch an infomercial and not want to at least try it,” Werth said with a laugh. “Maybe we’re both suckers.”
It’s funny to me that these guys will stay up and watch infomercials. I can only imagine that type of things they have bought. Ibanez definitely looks like a Snuggie man.
The article also discusses what they talk about when they get together in the outfield while a pitcher warms up.
“We have really great, funny conversations during pitching changes,” Ibañez said. “A lot of random things get brought up — it’s almost like an episode of Seinfeld.”
There is a condition to that however. As long as Shane Victorino isn’t miked up. If he is, then I’m sure the conversation turns toward the game at hand.
One of the more interesting things that Werth said was:
“Raul’s a winner,” Werth said of Ibañez “That’s really tough to say about somebody who’s played for teams that haven’t won. He wants to win, he wants to be good and he wants to do good things.”
As someone who was coming from a lousy Mariners team, Ibanez has shown that he knows what it takes to win. He has been into every game and he hustles his old ass all over the place.
I think that is the single biggest reason that Ibanez has become a fan favorite so quickly. He simply doesn’t stop working. He just always seems to be doing something.
Ibanez has been a great fit for the Phillies so far this season, but there are worries that he can’t keep this up for the rest of the season, yet alone the rest of his contract. I certainly hope that he can at least stay close to the numbers he’s put up already. I know he’s going to have a slump or two during the season, but if he can stay somewhere near where his numbers are currently, the Phillies’ outfield will be more than OK and we’ll be hearing many more cheers for “Rauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuulllll.”
-KK
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