Seventeen years ago today, the Phillies handed the keys to a man who already knew the organization from the inside out. Rubén Amaro Jr. went from longtime club insider to general manager after the 2008 World Series, stepping into the job with a championship roster and the expectation that more October runs were coming.
That promotion capped a Phillies life that had been building for years. Amaro Jr. was born into the franchise’s history: his father, Rubén Amaro Sr., was a Gold Glove second baseman for the club in the 1960s and later coached on the 1980 World Series team. Amaro Jr. was around the organization as a batboy for four seasons during that era, then moved on to William Penn Charter School and later won a College World Series with Stanford in 1987.
His playing career took him to the majors that same year when the Angels drafted him in the 11th round. He debuted with Los Angeles in 1991, then landed in Philadelphia the next offseason with Kyle Abbott in the deal that sent Von Hayes to the Angels.
Amaro spent two seasons with the Phillies in his hometown, appearing in 151 games and hitting .232/.314/.367 while filling a depth role on the 1993 pennant winner. After that, he went to Cleveland for Heathcliff Slocumb, played 54 games over two seasons there, and made the Indians’ World Series roster in 1995.
He later returned to Philadelphia in 1996 and finished his career with the club, appearing in 270 games over three seasons and hitting .246/.312/.341.
When his playing days ended, Amaro didn’t leave the organization. He moved straight into the front office and spent the next decade as an assistant general manager, first under Ed Wade and then under Pat Gillick. After the 2008 title, Gillick retired and Amaro inherited a roster that had just won it all.
His first major move as GM came after Pat Burrell left in free agency, and Amaro brought in Raúl Ibañez to replace him. Ibañez had his only All-Star season in 2009 at age 37, and along with rookie J.A.
Happ and trade-deadline pickup Cliff Lee, helped push the Phillies back to the World Series. They came up short against the New York Yankees.
Amaro kept pressing in 2010, landing Roy Halladay in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays while giving up Lee, bringing back Plácido Polanco for third base, and adding Roy Oswalt at the deadline to build a loaded rotation. That team still fell to the eventual champion San Francisco Giants in the National League Championship Series.
The 2011 club was the best of his run. Amaro signed Cliff Lee back in free agency, outbidding other teams, while rookie Vance Worley gave the Phillies strong production at the back of the rotation and a deadline deal brought Hunter Pence from the Houston Astros.
Even with 102 wins, the season ended in a five-game Division Series loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, who went on to win the World Series.
After that, the slide began. Age and injuries caught up with the core in 2012, when the Phillies finished 81-81 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2006. The next two seasons both ended at 73-89, and 2015 brought a 63-99 collapse that marked the end for franchise mainstays like Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay, and others.
Amaro was fired in September 2015 with the club headed for the worst record in baseball and a depleted farm system. By then, the fan base had turned on him, and he had become known as “ Ruin Tomorrow Jr. ”
Even after that ending, the Phillies connection didn’t disappear. Amaro spent the next three seasons coaching with the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets before returning to the Phillies orbit.
In 2020, he joined NBC Sports Philadelphia as a studio analyst and part-time color commentator, and he still holds those roles. He also co-hosts The Phillies Show with Todd Zolecki and Jim Salisbury.
For all the frustration that came with his time as an executive, Amaro’s bond with the organization has never been in doubt. He grew up with the Phillies, played for them, worked for them, and remains part of their world today.
In Other News...
Phillies Third Base Picture Is Getting Clearer Than Fans Expected
The Phillies are heading into the offseason with the same basic challenge they have carried for years: keep a contending roster intact while working around a heavy payroll and an aging core. Third base has become one of the more interesting spots on the board, too, with Alec Bohm now being linked to a possible departure after a third party projected him to land a two-year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Philadelphia already offered a hint about how it views the position by not extending Bohm a qualifying offer, a move that points toward a different direction rather than a simple reunion. If Bohm is indeed elsewhere next season, the Phillies will have to sort through alternatives, and Aidan Miller has already surfaced as one name in that conversation as the club weighs both immediate contention and longer-term roster planning. [Read more 🡒]
Bryce Harper Just Got Bulletin Board Material Phillies Fans Will Hate
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The bigger frustration for Phillies fans is what did not happen elsewhere on the ballot, because Bryce Harper was left off the first-base finalist list altogether. Harpers numbers were good enough to stack up with, and in some cases outpace, other nominees, which has already sparked criticism of how the voting shook out. For a fan base that watches Harper closely and expects him to be in these conversations, the omission is the kind of slight that tends to linger. [Read more 🡒]
Phillies Have A Rare Offseason Target Who Solves Two Problems
The Phillies are heading into an offseason where roster upgrades are expected, and Teruaki Sato has emerged as an intriguing name because he checks more than one box at once. The Japanese infielder is entering MLBs posting system after a standout run in Nippon Professional Baseball, where he won both the Central League Triple Crown and MVP awards, and Philadelphia reportedly views him as a potential power bat with enough versatility to help in the infield right away.
What makes Sato especially appealing is the way he fits the Phillies current needs without creating the usual roster-building complications. Unlike some other free-agent targets, signing him would not come with draft pick penalties, which gives the club a cleaner path to add talent while keeping its long-term plans intact. For a team trying to stay competitive now while prospects continue to develop, that kind of short-term coverage and positional flexibility can carry real value. [Read more 🡒]