It won’t show up in the box score, but give Phillies Spanish radio broadcaster Rickie Ricardo some credit in the teams’ walkoff win Sunday over the Reds and closer Aroldis Chapman.
Ricardo told CBSPhilly Monday that he is friends with Chapman and delivered him some ‘delicious’ pastries (baked with creamed cheese and guava) this weekend from a New Jersey bakery that the closer requested, which could have been a factor in Chapman’s poor performances this weekend blowing saves on Saturday and Sunday.
“Now, if you eat more than two of these you’re clogging up your arteries—you’re a stroke waiting to happen! Well, Chapman asked me on Friday night after the game to stop by the bakery and pick up a box of 50,” Ricardo said.
Perhaps pigging out on the pastry before the game wasn’t a good idea. Chapman allowed back-to-back home runs in the ninth inning to Erik Kratz and Freddy Galvis to hand the Phillies a 3-2 win, something which Ricardo says he saw coming.
“Chapman asked me for a box of 100, two boxes of 50. When I saw him on Sunday morning before the game, he was in the club house, he had just eaten about 18 of them. He couldn’t breathe! I looked at my partner, I said, ‘he’s ripe for the taking today,” Ricardo said.
If Ricardo can get pastries for every closer, specifically the ones in the NL East, the 21-23 Phillies might have a chance at getting back to the playoffs.