Papelbon: Phillies Fans Know Baseball Better Than Red Sox Fans
BOSTON (CBS) - Former Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon had some interesting things to say about Red Sox fans Thursday morning.
On with 94WIP's Angelo Cataldi and The Morning Team in Philadelphia, Papelbon was asked to compare Red Sox fans to Phillies fans.
"The difference between Boston and Philadelphia, the Boston fans are a little bit more hysterical when it comes to the game of baseball," Papelbon said.
"The Philly fans tend to know the game a little better, being in the National League, you know, the way the game is played."
"I've had a guy take off his prosthetic leg and throw it in the bullpen in Boston," Papelbon said.
"It's a religion. It's a way of life. They come to the field and they expect certain things out of players. It's an environment where you put up or shut up. I enjoyed that. It got my motor running every day."
Papelbon spent the first seven years of his career in Boston, saving 219 games in 248 chances for the Red Sox.
When he hit free agency over the winter, he expected a bigger push from the Sox brass, but never received it.
"It was a situation where the Red Sox didn't really come at me the way I was expecting them to come at me in the off-season. And I told my agent that the first team that shows me interest and shows me loyalty, I'm going to show that right back to them, and that was Philadelphia," he said.
In return, Papelbon inked a four-year, $50 million deal with Philadelphia.
