Getty Images
When they open the textbooks at some of the best public relations colleges and universities across the country this fall, one of the chapters should be on Ruben Amaro Jr.
Amaro, the current but maybe not-for-long general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, would be a perfect case study in violating one of the tenants of PR: Never call your customers out. The customers might not always be right, but even if you believe that to be the case, it is better to bite tongue than open mouth and insert foot.
On Monday, Amaro said Phillies fans “do not understand the game.” He went on an apology tour all day Tuesday, but no one is going to remember the apology. In essence, Amaro told Phillies fans they were fat and ugly and no amount of apologizing is going to put the genie back in the bottle. The Phillies fans are like elephants because they never forget. Ask J.D. Drew, who was booed relentlessly after refusing to sign with the Phillies. Ask Jimmy Rollins who, after calling the fans “front-runners,” became a fan target. Ask Scott Rolen, who called St. Louis “baseball Heaven” after leaving the Phillies.
All three were targets of heavy and sustained booing whenever they came up to the plate afterward.
Now you can add Amaro to the list. Amaro has been widely blamed for the demise of the Phillies since they last played for the NL title in 2011. Right or wrong, he is the perceived architect of the demolition of a once-proud franchise, signing veterans on the downside to long-term contracts and overseeing a draft which featured first-round picks Andrew Hewitt (2008) and Jesse Biddle (2010). Amaro did not have a 2009 first-round pick, but that can be considered a good thing because neither Hewitt nor Biddle has ever started a MLB game. More than four years out, a first-round pick should have made the majors by now.
With that kind of background, telling fans they do not understand the game is a little like a high school dropout telling Albert Einstein he does not understand the Theory of Relativity.
Mike Gibson is a Phillies writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @papreps , “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
