David Samson has never been afraid to be the bad guy. But while most of his beefs have been with Miami Marlins fans, on Wednesday, he engaged with the fanbase of a different team: the Philadelphia Phillies.
Appearing on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, the former Marlins team president discussed the Phillies’ ongoing postseason run. And in doing so, Samson made it clear that he doesn’t believe that the Philadelphia faithful are all that faithful.
“As for Philly fans, I can’t stand ’em,” Samson said. “I’m sorry. We’re on a national show, I shouldn’t say it. But as a guy who was in the N.L. East for 18 years, it it is absolutely ridiculous. What [Diamondbacks starting pitcher] Merrill Kelly did, he shouldn’t have done. Don’t poke the bear by saying it’s louder at Marlins Park, I get that.”
“But let me tell you: in Philly, there were years where they were not in the playoffs and it’s quiet and they’re grumpy and they’re rude and it’s empty. And now all of a sudden, it’s a bunch of frontrunners who are going crazy and cheering. They’re not even in the top five fanbases in all of baseball.”
“Kyle Schwarber now has 18 postseason home runs tying him with Reggie Jackson.” #MrSchwarbtober
“Philly fans, I can’t stand them…a bunch of front runners going crazy…they’re not even in the top 5 fan bases in baseball.” – @DavidPSamson
Stat of The Day📊
Presented by @Venmo ✅… pic.twitter.com/vBK0dvPfxY— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) October 18, 2023
As the Merrianne Do experience has taught us, fandom can take on different forms and mean different things to different people. And it’s not exactly a revelation that fans would be more fired up during a playoff run than a losing season — that’s probably true of most, if not all, fanbases in any sport.
Samson’s diatribe against Phillies fans, however, is exactly what makes him an entertaining media figure, whether he’s a guest or host. For one, he’s willing to share his unfiltered perspective as the former president of an MLB team. For another, while the name of his podcast is Nothing Personal, it’s also clear that the “nothing” part is somewhat subjective.
[The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugtoz]
