Garrett Stubbs has officially said goodbye to Philadelphia after electing free agency following his DFA by the Phillies last week, and he did it the way a guy who understood the city would do it: with a long, heartfelt Instagram farewell aimed straight at the fan base.
“Philly,
You meant more to me than you will ever know.
When I showed up to Philly in ‘22 I had no idea what to expect. I was a west coast kid going to an east coast team whose reputation was throwing snow balls at Santa. And being a Jewish kid from San Diego, neither meant too much to me.
What I found was a city who cares more about their sports teams than any other city in the world. It’s your life and it became mine too.
These past five years we’ve made incredible memories together. From playoff runs, walk offs, music, beer hats, overalls, the shimmy 😉 and most importantly… a shit ton of wins.
What made it all hit different for me was this…
I felt like I fit here.
My whole life I have been told I am too small. Not big enough.
Not this, not that. And it never stopped me.
That’s Philly.
Tough. Relentless.
A little rough around the edges. And proud of it.
I’ll miss it all…
The October energy at the bank from the best fans in the world (holy shit), the boos (only a little), and the boys in the locker room (a ton). I got married and brought a baby girl into the world with 26 Uncles to protect her.
You guys will always be phamily to me. Love y’all.
Thank you to John Middleton for believing in me, the coaches for the trust, the Philly media for always keeping it real and to THE FANS for embracing me and pushing me every single day.
We may not have always seen eye to eye, but I gave you everything I had. And for what it’s worth, boos and all, I loved every one of you crazy phuckers whether you liked me or not.
Cheers Philly. That’s Life. 🍻🕺🏻”
Stubbs’ run in Philadelphia stretched across 189 games from 2022 to 2026, and he finished with a .212/.292/.300 slash line and a .593 OPS. The bat never really caught up, and the Phillies clearly decided it was time to move on.
Still, the goodbye lands because Stubbs meant more to the clubhouse and the crowd than a stat line can show. He was part of the energy around those playoff teams, and the clips attached to his Philly tenure tell the story of a guy who fit the moment: the banter, the dance-offs, the celebrations, the over-the-top personality, all of it.
For the Phillies, it’s a roster decision. For Stubbs, it’s the end of a run that clearly meant something to him. And for a lot of fans, it’s the kind of exit that makes you remember why he became such a memorable part of those years in the first place.
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