| Rubén Amaro Jr. | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Amaro Jr. in 2022 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: (1965-02-12)February 12, 1965 (age 60) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
Batted: Switch Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 8, 1991, for the California Angels | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 27, 1998, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .235 |
| Home runs | 16 |
| Runs batted in | 100 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Rubén Amaro Jr. (born February 12, 1965) is an American former professionalbaseballoutfielder, coach and executive. Amaro played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) from1991 to1998. He was named the GM of thePhiladelphia Phillies on November 3, 2008, succeedingPat Gillick and remained in that position until September 10, 2015.[1][2] He was previously thefirst base coach for theBoston Red Sox (2016–2017) andNew York Mets (2018). He is the son of former MLBinfielder andcoach,Rubén Amaro Sr. Amaro is currently acolor commentator onPhiladelphia Phillies television broadcasts and a contributor to the94.1 WIP Morning Show in Philadelphia. He worked as an analyst for a 2024 AL Wild Card Series on ESPN Radio.
Born and raised in theRhawnhurst neighborhood ofNortheast Philadelphia, Amaro playedLittle League Baseball for Crispin Gardens. Amaro is Jewish; his mother Judy Amaro-Perez (née Herman)[3] is ofRussian-Jewish heritage and his father was a Catholic Mexican-Cuban.[4][5] He was the Phillies’batboy from1980 to1983 when his father, Rubén Amaro Sr., was their first base coach.[1]
Amaro graduated fromWilliam Penn Charter School in 1983, where he played baseball and soccer. He graduated fromStanford University in 1987.[1] In 1985 and 1986, he playedcollegiate summer baseball with theCotuit Kettleers of theCape Cod Baseball League and was named an all-star both seasons.[6][7][8] He was a member of the Stanford team that won theNCAA1987 College World Series. He led the team in runs (77), triples (6), and stolen bases (38) that year.
Drafted by theCalifornia Angels in the 11th round of the 1987 amateur draft, he signed June 16, 1987.[9]
In 1989 he began the season by batting .360 forQuad Cities of theMidwest League, and then ended it by hitting .382 for theMidland of theTexas League. In 1990 he batted .317 between AA and AAA. He followed that by batting .326 in 1991 in AAA. In 3,117 at bats in the minor leagues, he batted .301 with a .399 on-base percentage and 235 stolen bases.[10]
He debuted in the major leagues on June 8, 1991. On December 8, 1991, he was traded by the Angels withKyle Abbott to the Philadelphia Phillies forVon Hayes.
In 1992 he finished third in the NL with 9 hits-by-pitch. On November 2, 1993, he was traded by the Phillies to theCleveland Indians forHeathcliff Slocumb.
Amaro made theCleveland IndiansWorld Series roster in1995 overDave Winfield. On November 9, 1995, he was released by the Indians.
On January 24, 1996, he was signed as a free agent by theToronto Blue Jays. On May 5, 1996, he was released by the Blue Jays, and the following day he signed as a free agent with the Phillies. He batted .313 for the Phillies that year with a .380 on-base percentage.
In eight seasons in the major leagues, Amaro appeared in 485 games, batting .235 with 16 home runs and 100 RBIs. He played for both the 1993 NL champion Phillies and the 1995 AL champion Indians.[1]
Amaro joined the Phillies front office immediately after his playing career ended in1998, hired by then-GMEd Wade. He served as assistant GM for the Phillies for 10 seasons, before being named GM. His first seven seasons were under Wade, followed by three under Gillick.[11]
On November 1, 2008, the day after the Phillies’ second-everBroad Street Parade, it was confirmed that Amaro was given a three-year contract to be the new Phillies GM, as well as senior vice-president.[12][1]
The Phillies won the National League East divisional title each of the first three years of Amaro's tenure, appearing in the2009 World Series and finishing with the best record in baseball during the2010 and2011 regular seasons (the latter, with 102 wins, their best record in franchise history). In2009, with the Phillies pitchers struggling despite being the defending World Series title holders, he traded forCliff Lee and signed free agentPedro Martinez, who contributed to the Phillies' return run to the World Series.[13][14] In2010, Amaro traded forRoy Halladay but also dealt away Lee. In late July, when the Phillies were3+1⁄2 games behind theAtlanta Braves, he pulled off yet another crafty trade, acquiringRoy Oswalt and "triggering a late-season blitz to baseball's best record." Prior to the2011 season, Amaro managed to convince Lee – then a free agent courting interest from theTexas Rangers andNew York Yankees – to re-sign with the Phillies, joining a pitching rotation consisting of Halladay, Oswalt,Cole Hamels, andJoe Blanton.Commentators called it one of the best rotations ever assembled.[15][16][17][18] Halladay, Oswalt, Lee, and Hamels were dubbed the 'Phantastic Phour' by fans and the media.[17][19][20] However, Amaro was criticized for giving a US$125 million 5-year contract extension to an already-ailingRyan Howard in2010, which was regarded as highly unnecessary, because Howard was already signed through to the end of the2011 season – by which time he would be 32 years old, which is "about the age at which teams start to worry about decline in big-bodied first-base/DH types."[21][22]
Further, the latter part of Amaro's tenure as GM was comparatively unsuccessful, as Philadelphia failed to reach the postseason in2012 and subsequent seasons. Howard's performance ended up far worse than skeptics expected, and by2014 Amaro was "trying hard to deal Howard away, expressing a willingness to eat a lot of the money.”[23] Shortly after Amaro firedmanagerCharlie Manuel, in2013, Manuel admitted that he had known that the Phillies roster lacked enough "pieces to win" in2012 and2013.[24] In July2014, a "Stay Or Go" poll was conducted by Philly.com with over 10,000 fans involved, and 93.6% of voters wanted Amaro to be removed from his position, with only 6.4% wanting Amaro to remain GM.[25]
Amaro's performance with the Phillies was unlike that of his predecessor;[26] in May2014,Sporting News ranked Amaro the worst general manager in MLB, noting his propensity to signing aging veterans who fail to perform at a level commensurate with their contracts.[27] With the writing clearly on the wall for some time, Amaro was let go by the Phillies on September 10, 2015.[2]
Amaro was hired as first base coach by the Red Sox for the2016 season, returning to the field for the first time since retiring as a player.[28][29] Following the2017 season, he was named the Mets’ first base coach under new managerMickey Callaway.[30] He was then a special assistant to general managerBrodie Van Wagenen.[31]
Following the2018 season, the Mets promoted Amaro from the coaching ranks into a front-office advisory role, under new GMBrodie Van Wagenen.[32]
In 2020, he was hired as a pre-game and post-game television analyst forNBC Sports Philadelphia, covering the Phillies. He also does color commentary for some games.[31] Amaro, Jr. was hired in 2021 as an analyst for the MLB Network. Additionally, he is a regular contributor on 94WIP Sports Radio in Philadelphia.He has a podcast along with writers, Todd Zolecki and Jim Salisbury, called The Phillies Show.[33]
In 2008, Amaro was one of three people inducted into the All-American Amateur Baseball Association Hall of Fame.[34]
In 2009, Amaro was inducted into the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[5][35]
That same year, baseball fans nationwide voted him theMLB "This Year in Baseball Awards" 2009 Executive of the Year.[36]
Also in 2009, thePhiladelphia Sports Writers Association (PSWA) named him its Executive of the Year.
Amaro is co-founder of the Richie Ashburn Harry Kalas Foundation, which provides baseball camps for underprivileged children in theDelaware Valley. He also serves on the localYMCA board in Philadelphia.[1]
A teenage Amaro (portrayed by Niko Guardado, son of Major League baseball player,Eddie Guardado) is a recurring minor character in the ABC seriesThe Goldbergs, which is set in the 1980s. Amaro attended the same school as television and film producerAdam F. Goldberg, on whose adolescence the show is based. Amaro portrayed his own father in Season 5, Episode 11 and reprised the role in Season 6, Episode 6.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| Sporting positions | ||
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| Preceded by | Boston Red Soxfirst base coach 2016–2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | New York Metsfirst base coach 2018 | Succeeded by |