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An Ode to Ranger Suarez
By Nick Piccone
Published:
Ranger Suárez signed a five-year, $130 million with the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday, ending his 13-year stint with the Phillies organization.
We all pretty much knew Suárez wouldn’t return to Philly, but the fear was he would sign with the Mets or Braves, or another National League team. So, all things considered, the goodbye could have been a lot more painful.
Suárez made an impact in Philadelphia as quietly as humanly possible. He didn’t show much emotion at all. In a city that, for the most part, loves when their athletes show emotion, Suárez is the outlier for one specific reason – he’s a dawg.
He would effortlessly grab these comeback hits to the mound that gave us more entertainment than was necessary, but the thing I’ll remember most about Suárez is his penchant for delivering in the playoffs. Every single Suárez start gave the Phillies an opportunity to win, something they didn’t always take advantage of. No matter how strong the rotation has been the last few years, it was always better when Suárez was in it.
Suárez appeared in 11 postseason games for the Phillies, started eight, and amassed a 1.48 ERA in 42.2 innings pitched, none bigger than the clincher to send the Phillies to the 2022 World Series:
Despite numerous injuries plaguing him through his career thus far, I’d sign up for even a half-season of Suárez if I knew he’d be ready for October. That’s how dominant he was. Watching him pitch brought an ease with it, even if he would have that one bad inning and blow it all up. “Oh, well. Ranger’ll get them next time.” And he almost always did.
But what Suárez did on the field is just part of the story. He also was a character in the clubhouse not only with the players, but with the people covering the team, too. He included them in any celebration the team had:
I think in some fashion, some of us are hoping we’ve already seen the best years of Suárez on the mound. Who knows how his numbers will shake out up there, but I’ll always have an eye on his starts in Boston.
Thank you, Ranger.
Nick Piccone has covered Philly sports and events for over 14 years with various outlets, including PhillyVoice and Philly Influencer. In 2015, he co-launched the Straight Shooters Wrestling Podcast. He's also a producer for Fox Sports Radio Philadelphia and the Villanova Sports Radio Network. He grew up in South Philadelphia and South Jersey, and is a graduate of Neumann University. Contact: picconenick@gmail.com