7 Phillies You Must Follow On Twitter

7 Phillies You Must Follow On Twitter

Social media has become ubiquitous over the past few years and with it, fandom is perhaps more direct than ever. Most celebrities, musicians and pro athletes have twitter accounts, where they can directly interact with their fans and vice versa. Those fervent tweeters—myself included—all remember the first time we were retweeted or received a reply from someone we admired—one of mine just happened a couple weeks ago. It’s a triumphant feeling, one that comes with the reassuring self-acknowledgment that yes, they do read this. They do care.

In the sports world, twitter has become shorthand for almost everything. Reporters at ESPN and other outlets routinely cite athlete tweets as sources; conversely, athletes use twitter as a platform to confirm or refute news about them. But from the fan perspective, again, twitter is an up close and personal conduit for the thoughts, musings and happenings of one’s favorite player. With today being the Phillies’ home opener here in Philadelphia, we thought we’d spotlight a handful of players we love to follow on twitter.

Jimmy Rollins (@JimmyRollins11)

One of the faces of the Phillies, Rollins has been a mainstay in the Philadelphia lineup since 2001. He’s about as savvy on twitter as he is on the field, too; his musings are mostly lighthearted, whether he’s reflecting on his life as a father, poking fun at his teammates or even showing off his fashion choices. He also promotes his Foundation, which is something we can all get behind.

 

 

Kevin Frandsen (@KevinFrandsen)

A Californian through and through, infielder Kevin Frandsen loves all things Bay Area sports—he’ll regularly tweet and retweet just about anything San Francisco 49ers and San Jose Sharks-related. (Hasn’t dude realized he needs to convert the the Eagles and Flyers already? Come on!) Those minor grievances aside, Frandsen’s updates are routinely entertaining, as his sports opinions are strong—a fact that should earn respect from most Philly fans that are cut from a similar cloth. He also slips in a zinger here and there.

 

 

Ryan Howard (@ryanhoward)

Howard primarily uses twitter to promote his various projects—his recent guest star turn on The Office, his endorsement with Subway—but he’s down for a retweet or some motivational words when it matters most. He doesn’t tell too many jokes, but that’s OK; not everyone can be a power hitter and a standup comedian.

 

Freddy Galvis (@toco13fg)

Yeah, most of Freddy’s tweets are in his native Spanish, but he’s also a retweeting machine. If you’ve ever wanted to be noticed/retweeted by a Phillie, you best bet is probably Freddy Galvis. He’ll even occasionally tweet the same tweet in Spanish and English! Truly a worldly presence in the Phillies locker room and in your timeline.

 

Mike Stutes (@mikestutes)

Stutes has had a lot of time to hone his online personality over the past year, as he’s been recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder. The Phillies chose to option him to AAA Lehigh Valley before the regular season started, but it’s likely he’ll be called back up at some point this year. In the meantime, he’s going to tweet about the A&E series Bates Motel, a lot.

 

 

Hamels Foundation (@thehamels)

It’s not a straight player twitter feed, but we’d be remiss to mention the Hamels Foundation, which was founded by Cole and Heidi Hamels and raises money for education both in the United States and Africa. There’s plenty of valuable information available by following them on twitter, including ways to donate, upcoming events and more. Go do that.

 

Ben Revere (@BenRevere9)

Saving perhaps the best for last, new Phillies outfielder Ben Revere is sure to bring youth and energy to the Phillies clubhouse. That enthusiasm and youthful exuberance translates to his twitter feed, too, where he’s spent the past several months getting acclimated to his new team and surroundings. He even ate at Chickie’s and Pete’s—taking a photo of his hoagie that was on Liscio’s Bakery bread, no less—and displayed a good sense of humor over the whole “cheesesteak”/”cheesecake” controversy that was a controversy for some weird reason.

 

 

Happy Opening Day, everyone!

—Bryne Yancey