Is Jesse Biddle Dedicated Enough to the Phillies?

We read this anecdote today from the Inquirer's Matt Gelb and it made us wonder, "Here's the kid from Germantown Friends School who has adored the
Phillies all his life. He was in the stands (both nights) for Game 5 of
the 2008 World Series. He sat in the rain so long he was too sick to go
to the parade two days later."

A little sickness from the rain kept the kid away from the WFC parade? I know plenty of people, myself included, who battled the rain at both portions of game 5 and still made it to the parade on Halloween. What kind of dedication to pitching will this kid have if he can't even buck up and make it to the first championship parade in his city during his lifetime? What if the Phillies need him to pitch on three days rest in a World Series down the road? And what if it's raining that day? [video below]

We're kidding, of course. Biddle's story is a pretty amazing one. It's not every day a local phenom gets drafted by the team he grew up idolizing. In his press conference, he mentioned postseason legends Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee as guys he looks up to.

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Whether he'll ever pitch in a Phillies uniform at Citizens Bank Park remains to be seen, but the kid has a great attitude and a sense of humor. While talking about the time frame of him working his way into the Majors, Biddle joked, "I'm getting the start tonight. Halladay is now the number two."

To that, Charlie Manuel responded, "I like that. It'd be nice to have some more aces."

Indeed. Aces are good.

>>Burger Conversation Propels Phils Draft Pick Biddle [CSN]