How Stubbs became 'Mr. Day Games'

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.

Garrett Stubbs is the vibes guy in the Phillies’ clubhouse.

He is the team’s unofficial DJ, which everybody knows by now. He recently ordered red pinstriped overalls, which teammates occasionally wear in the clubhouse after wins. (He wore his overalls following Friday’s 7-2 victory over the Cardinals.) If you want a good sense of Stubbs’ personality, watch him interact with Little Leaguers in Williamsport, Pa., last weekend, and let him explain why he had “Day Games” stitched onto one of his catcher’s mitts.

Stubbs explained the story behind the glove that personifies his clubhouse persona and his sense of humor:

Most players have their last name or a nickname embroidered on their gloves. You chose “Day Games” on one of yours. Why?

Stubbs: It started last year. I came over to the Phillies, obviously get the opportunity to be the backup for J.T. [Realmuto], who plays pretty much every single day. So my role became … giving J.T. a day off, which means that the day games, those hotter days of the month, where it’s 95 degrees, 90 percent humidity, I was going to be in there catching those games, which to me is a role that I’m all for. I came into this year knowing that was going to be my role again, and I love to play up whatever role I have with the team, and like to bring a little bit of humor to whatever it may be, and came up with this glove with Rawlings and put the “Day Games” where my name is supposed to be.

So when did you come up with the idea?

Stubbs: They come into Spring Training. You get to design whatever glove … you get three of them. And on one of them I decided to completely fill the role with the “Day Games” logo on the side.

Some people might not know this, but players have game gloves (aka gamers) and gloves they use for practice. Is this your gamer?

Stubbs: This isn’t my gamer. It was supposed to be, but every glove breaks in a lot differently and this one didn’t necessarily break in the way that I wanted to. But our bullpen catcher [Héctor Rabago] uses it almost every single day in the bullpen. It’s got some pretty good wear and tear on it. The bullpen guys like it, too. Every time he busts it out it gives them a good laugh. It just gets good vibes.

What makes a good gamer?

Stubbs: It’s all feel. It’s like any golfer. When they have a putter, some people like to use a blade, some people like to use a mallet. There’s different models that you can choose from. I have a lot of the same models, but they’re all handmade, so you end up using them and they break in differently. This one I like to say broke in with a little gerbil right in the middle of the glove, so if you catch it a little bit wrong the gerbil likes to kick the ball out.

So when did J.T. find out about “Day Games?”

Stubbs: I didn’t show everyone that I got this “Day Games,” glove, but Dusty [Wathan] saw it one day and he thought it was hilarious. And then [Rabago] saw it, too, and I gave it to him to break in a little bit. It spread around the locker room. [J.T.] just laughed. Me and him have a good rapport with each other, whether it be preparing for games or just being buddies off the field. We go golfing a lot on the off-days, and he thought it was hilarious.

Why have you embraced your “Day Games” role so well? Some players might not.

Stubbs: I think whatever team you’re on, whatever your role is, you have to embrace that role. It’s like J.T., who has to catch every single day. I know that he wants to be in there every single day, but it’s grueling. It’s a really tough position to be in to catch three, four, five games in a row, especially in this Philadelphia heat or wherever else we may be. And for me it’s catching those days that J.T. needs a day off and trying to bring whatever I can to win a game that day, which is not easy in its own self, staying ready and trying to be ready to hit and things like that.

I try to focus mainly on defense and trying to make sure our pitching staff is as strong as it can be that day, doing my homework and making sure I know everything about the other team’s hitters, trying to basically put our pitching staff in a position to win that singular day. But I think whatever role you have on whatever team it may be, from Little League to high school to college to pro ball, you’ve got to embrace that role.