It would be difficult to find anyone in New England who isn't rooting for Phillips Exeter Academy alumnus Sam Fuld in his new post as general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies.
That much was clear yesterday as the congratulatory tweets rolled in from some of the most dialed-in names around New England, from former Boston Globe and ESPN contributor Peter Gammons, to former WCVB sports anchor Mike Lynch, to current Barstool Sports contributor Jared Carrabis. All who know Fuld seem to think he'll be a big success in his new post. Fuld will be second in command to Dave Dombrowski, who was hired 11 days ago as president of baseball operations.
One person who has been willing to vouch for Fuld since the former big leaguer was a freshman on the Phillips Exeter campus is his four-year high school coach Bill Dennehy. The retired coach received the news via a phone call from his younger sister yesterday afternoon as he was reading a book in his Martha's Vineyard home.
"She called, and I could tell she was angry," Dennehy said. "I said, 'Wait a minute, why are you upset?' She said she had to find out from her daughter who lives in the Philly area that Sam was the new GM. I said, 'Strangely, I had to find out from my sister who lives in East Hampton, Conn."