“I said, ‘Go get you a suit, bro. Because God willing we’re gonna be in the playoffs again this year. And you’ve gotta look nice.’”
"I've got the aux cord [on the road]."
How Brandon Marsh is helping Justin Crawford, from gifting suit jackets to road game carpools: www.inquirer.com/phillies/bra...
At one point last year, Andrew Painter was 240 lbs. Now, he's 225.
It's helped his delivery. He's not as fatigued in games.
How did he lose weight? In part, by eating less dessert.
(No small feat for a guy who once ate a whole pumpkin pie the night before a start) www.inquirer.com/phillies/and...
Painter set out to get back to 225, which he considers his "ideal weight."
It wasn't easy, but he worked hard and has done it, and is now feeling great.
This is part of the reason why the RHP has looked so dominant this spring.
“Less sweet treats,” he said: www.inquirer.com/phillies/and...
Luzardo said Painter's eating habits are "notorious."
The RHP's house, in Pompano Beach, is down the street from a Dairy Queen.
It was easy —perhaps too easy— to order an Oreo blizzard.
“I’m almost positive he'd go to Publix and pick up a pie,” said a former coach www.inquirer.com/phillies/and...
The pie story is famous within the Phillies organization.
It was 2021, the night before Painter's last FCL start.
He ate a whole pumpkin pie at home. The next day, minutes before the game, his stomach hurt.
“He said, ‘Sorry I ate a whole pumpkin pie last night'": www.inquirer.com/phillies/and...
Andrew Painter likes dessert.
He once ate an entire pumpkin pie in one sitting.
He and his teammates would get $3 cookie skillets every Tuesday in Clearwater.
But not anymore.
Painter is leaner now. He's feeling great.
“Fewer trips to the Dairy Queen,” he said: www.inquirer.com/phillies/and...
Justin Crawford and Brandon Marsh are buddies.
They carpool to road games (Marsh has the aux cord).
He also bought Crawford a suit when a vendor came last week.
“I said, ‘Go get you a suit, bro.' Because God willing we’re gonna be in the playoffs again this year." www.inquirer.com/phillies/bra...
“I said, ‘Go get you a suit, bro. Because God willing we’re gonna be in the playoffs again this year. And you’ve gotta look nice.’”
"I've got the aux cord [on the road]."
How Brandon Marsh is helping Justin Crawford, from gifting suit jackets to road game carpools: www.inquirer.com/phillies/bra...
Thomson has a rule where players with three years of service time can drive if they want
These might seem like little gestures but to Crawford they mean a lot.
“[Marsh] is just super genuine and super welcoming,” he said. “Those are the type of guys you want to be around.”
How Marsh has helped Crawford ahead of an important season: www.inquirer.com/phillies/bra...
Marsh does the driving to road games. He controls the music.
In recent years this might have meant Lil Uzi Vert. Now not so much.
"I've been on a Larry June and Freddie Gibbs kick. So more smooth rap instead of...you know, bang your head off the front windshield." www.inquirer.com/phillies/bra...
Crawford says Marsh has taken him under his wing. It's helped make him feel more confident this spring.
To Marsh, it's about paying it forward.
"[As a rookie], I was trying to be Super Man. They helped ease the game for me.
"I'm trying to do the same for J Craw." www.inquirer.com/phillies/bra...
Justin Crawford and Brandon Marsh are buddies.
They carpool to road games (Marsh has the aux cord).
He also bought Crawford a suit when a vendor came last week.
“I said, ‘Go get you a suit, bro.' Because God willing we’re gonna be in the playoffs again this year." www.inquirer.com/phillies/bra...
In 2019, a coach gave a nickname to Jhoan Duran.
It worked on many levels.
His last name. "Duro" means "hard" in Spanish and Duran was hitting 100.
But the biggest reason was his dreadlocks, which looked like "spider legs." (See pic below)
The origin of Durantula www.inquirer.com/phillies/jho...
In 2019, pitching coach Luis Ramirez was training with Jhoan Duran when he blurted out a nickname.
“Somehow, ‘Durantula’ came to mind. And I just said it."
It's been there ever since.
Here's the backstory behind a moniker that fits in more ways than one: www.inquirer.com/phillies/jho...
Duran, who watched Spider Man as a kid, embraced the nickname.
He put spiders on his cleats. He got a spider tattoo. He eventually incorporated the critters into his entrance.
"‘Durantula’ just stuck.”
Seven years later, it's a part of his identity: www.inquirer.com/phillies/jho...
The nickname stuck, for a few reasons.
There was Duran's last name. He was already hitting triple digits ("duro" translates to "hard" in Spanish).
Add in the "spider" hair, and it was the perfect fit.
"The dreads ... kind of looked like a tarantula" www.inquirer.com/phillies/jho...
Ramírez grew up in El Taque, a tiny village in Venezuela full of critters, including tarantulas.
When the coach first saw the pitcher's dreadlocks, that was what he thought of.
“I saw a lot of tarantulas when I was a kid and his hair looked just like it” www.inquirer.com/phillies/jho...
Ramírez is now the assistant pitching coach for the Twins.
He and Duran say they are like "father and son."
Their families have gotten to know each other. They talk almost every day.
Duran's son even gave Ramírez a nickname of his own: "Tío Lupita" www.inquirer.com/phillies/jho...
In 2019, pitching coach Luis Ramirez was training with Jhoan Duran when he blurted out a nickname.
“Somehow, ‘Durantula’ came to mind. And I just said it."
It's been there ever since.
Here's the backstory behind a moniker that fits in more ways than one: www.inquirer.com/phillies/jho...
In 2019, a coach gave a nickname to Jhoan Duran.
It worked on many levels.
His last name. "Duro" means "hard" in Spanish and Duran was hitting 100.
But the biggest reason was his dreadlocks, which looked like "spider legs." (See pic below)
The origin of Durantula www.inquirer.com/phillies/jho...
“It gives me my purpose. And no matter what happens, I know that, when it’s all said and done, people are going to say I cared.”
Roman Catholic alum Brian Wanamaker has an incurable cancer. It hasn’t stopped him from turning Texas Wesleyan into a winner: www.inquirer.com/high-school-...
“Every time I think, ‘All right, now it’s time to move on, we’re not going to have all this support’ — they don’t [move] on. This is a moment that there will be a movie about.
“And in that movie, Noa and Johnny will be on the ice.” www.inquirer.com/flyers/johnn...
In 2022, Roman Catholic alum Brian Wanamaker was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.
It’s a treatable but incurable cancer.
He was an assistant at Texas Wesleyan and coached through chemo.
Now, he’s head coach & has led them to success, all through monthly treatments www.inquirer.com/high-school-...
A former star at Roman along with his twin brother Brad, Brian Wanamaker has been leading a successful NAIA college team while enduring the fight of his life.
In 2022, Roman Catholic alum Brian Wanamaker was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an incurable cancer.
He continued to coach at Texas Wesleyan, through months of daily chemo.
Today he's still coaching — even with monthly treatments.
"It gives me my purpose." www.inquirer.com/high-school-...
It's a job that can be tiring, and unforgiving, but one that has helped him stay grounded.
“It gives me my purpose,” Wanamaker said. “And no matter what happens, I know that, when it’s all said and done, people are going to say I cared.” www.inquirer.com/high-school-...
Wanamaker was named head coach in 2024. He's made a big impact.
After two losing seasons, the Rams have gone 38-19 since he took over.
He still gets monthly chemo treatments.
"He’s going above and beyond for us," one player said, "so we should do the same.” www.inquirer.com/high-school-...
He started chemo immediately, a daily treatment that lasted for seven months.
Wanamaker often felt fatigued. But that same week, he started going to basketball practice.
He kept going, every day, after chemo.
"It was just being there for [the players]" www.inquirer.com/high-school-...
It was multiple myeloma, a cancer that's treatable but not curable.
Only 1% of cases are found in those younger than 35. (@americancancersoc.bsky.social)
Wanamaker was 33.
“That was hard. Because when you hear cancer, you think death. And then you hear, ‘No cure’" www.inquirer.com/high-school-...
