A local electrician greeted Manny Machado when he arrived for his visit with the Phillies
On Thursday, Manny Machado's tour of potential free agent destinations continued with a trip to visit the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. As is customary, the Phillies made sure he knew how good he would look if he were to don their uniform in 2019 and beyond:
Manny Machado in Phillies red. pic.twitter.com/rMRdBWZnDE
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) December 20, 2018
But, the real sales pitch came before Machado even entered the ballpark to meet with the team. As he got out of his car in front of the stadium, he got a true sense of the passion of Philadelphia sports fans ... and a reminder that the Eagles won the Super Bowl:
“DO THE RIGHT THING AND SIGN. GET THE MONEY!” #soundup
— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) December 20, 2018
—Philadelphia construction worker to Manny Machado pic.twitter.com/Ut77hNFolF
The electrician, Tom Cudeyro, got his picture with Machado, but more importantly, he laid out the case for the free agent to join the Phillies:
Tom Cudeyro, 57, is a union electrician who was working across the street and on lunch break. “Yeah, he could go to New York and be everywhere,” he said of Machado. “But if he comes here, he’s beloved forever.” pic.twitter.com/5FIuZFavsJ
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) December 20, 2018
This isn't the first time a union electrician greeted a major free agent visiting the Phillies. Back in 2002, a group of electricians made signs to convince Jim Thome to sign with the team. Their impact was so great that the event made it into his Hall of Fame induction speech:
Now that he's met with a Philadelphia electrician, Machado's path forward is clear -- sign with the Phillies and go to Cooperstown once his career is over.
