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Philadelphia Phillies mascot Phanatic turned down Gerrit Cole's request for an autograph during Wednesday's game between the Phillies and the New York Yankees at Citizens Bank Park. The video of Phanatic reserving his loyalty for the Phillies and denying the reigning Cy Young pitcher for an autograph is doing the rounds on the internet.
During innings break, Phanatic entertained a crowd in front of the Yankees dugout. At that time, Cole decided to have fun and threw a pen towards Phanatic to sign an autograph for him on a baseball. However, instead of signing, the mascot wrote:
"Only Phillies," as if to suggest that he is only in service of Phillies fans.
Moreover, instead of giving the ball back to Gerrit Cole, the Phanatic kept it on the ground, asking the Yankees ace to pick it up himself. The following inning, when Cole went up to collect, he read the message and lent out a big, murky face before heading back to the dugout.
Fans threw jabs to the whole Gerrit Cole and Phanatic saga
The clip uploaded by Yes Network has since gone viral among fans. Some think that Phanatic acted "classless" while some appreciated the mascot for staying loyal to Phillies faithful.
"Not a Phillies fan, but I love the phanatic 😂," one fan commented.
"This is hilarious and if you’re offended, seek help 🤷🏻♀️," another added.
"I went to a Phillies game as a Yankees fan and the fanatic rubbed my hat on its armpits and bu** crack. One of the funniest characters in sports," another wrote.
Some took offense to this denial to Gerrit Cole by Phanatic.
"The Phanatic is as classless as the Phillies fans. I'm sure the autograph was for Gerritt's kid," one wrote.
"Philly has no class. Sweep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" another wrote.
"Gritty would've put it better," another added.
As far as the ongoing series is concerned, the Yankees won Wednesday's game 6-5 to clinch the road series against the Phillies. With the win, the Yankees improved to 65-45, while the MLB's best team, the Phillies, dropped to 65-43.
