Phillies all agree: this guy has the most fun

This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki’s Phillies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

PHILADELPHIA -- If Brandon Marsh looks like a guy living his dream on a baseball field, he is.

Back in March, he went 1-for-4 in a soon-to-be-forgotten Grapefruit League game at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla. He made a few plays in center field, but nothing out of the ordinary. Afterward, he tossed his bats and glove into his equipment bag and took a shortcut from the dugout to the clubhouse through a dimly-lit tunnel underneath the stands.

He emerged from the darkness with a tune.

“Baseball is fuuuuuuunnnnnnn,” he sang before entering the clubhouse.

This is Marsh.

“We’ve got to be nice to ourselves out here,” Marsh said. “We’ve got to have fun, smile, be energetic. It’s a blessing to wake up every day, throw on a pair of shorts, a really weird T-shirt, a cool pair of shoes and come to the field and play baseball every day. It’s hard to beat that, in my opinion.”

Nobody enjoys being a baseball player more on the Phillies than Marsh, who is batting .326 with a 1.029 OPS this season. This isn’t just one person’s observation, either. It is a widely shared opinion in the Phillies’ clubhouse. Not long ago, several Phillies were asked, “Who in here has the most fun being a baseball player?” Players could define “fun” however they wished.

Garrett Stubbs, Kyle Schwarber and José Alvarado got multiple mentions. So did Josh Harrison, Darick Hall and Rhys Hoskins.

But everybody – everybody – mentioned Marsh, the Phillies’ long-haired, gnarly-bearded outfielder.

Zack Wheeler: “He’s always in a good mood.”

Ranger Suárez: “I think he’s happy because he’s playing, and I think he’s playing because he’s happy.”

Hoskins: “Marshie doesn’t look like it because of his beard and hair, but he’s having so much fun all the time. He’s just always bouncing around and smiling.”

Edmundo Sosa: “The guy is so happy all the time. He’s always smiling. He’s always talking to everyone. He’s always listening to music. He’s never mad.”

Bailey Falter: “He’s just always in a good mood when he comes in here. He’s always ready to go. I feel like ever since we got him, he’s never been in a bad mood.”

Connor Brogdon: “The energy on an everyday basis. The season is a grind, and even at the end, he’s still going strong. It’s genuine excitement. It’s not a front to keep the clubhouse loose.”

Seranthony Domínguez: “He’s crazy.”

Crazy how everybody mentioned the same guy.

“That makes me smile big,” Marsh said. “That means a lot to me, just because it’s such a hard sport.”

Marsh is smiley, chatty, fun and – admittedly – a little weird.

“I’m about as weird as it gets to where it’s still OK,” he said, laughing.

Marsh can work a room, and a ballpark. He signs autographs. He talks with fans. Back in Clearwater, a woman stopped him to tell him about a sick family member. She asked Marsh if he would record a video for him. He did. The woman got emotional. Marsh hugged her.

“I wanted to let her know that we’re here for her,” he said. “If the tables were turned, I’d want someone there for me as well. I feel like it’s part of our duty as baseball players to show love and give back to the fans. When we have the time, it’s fun to catch up with people who you’d have no idea that you’d ever meet.”

So, has he been in a bad mood since joining the Phillies in August? Teammates swear they haven’t seen it.

“There’s days,” Marsh said, laughing. “I’d be lying if I said I come in and feel the same every day because that’s damn near impossible with the game of failure that we play every day. Stuff off the field could be going on. You never know. But if you look around, we’re sitting around, we’re eating free food, getting paid to play baseball. Why aren’t you smiling?”