The Phillies have been mostly quiet on the rubber ducky front, but you can’t really blame them. When you’re preparing for Game 1 of the World Series, I would imagine spending half of your time explaining an inside joke to the media could get extremely annoying. Unfortunately, columnists, local news stations, and even lowly bloggers need material; so CBS 3 came to the rescue with this segment from last night:

¡Viva La Duckies!

When the Phillies popped in to their clubhouse yesterday at The Trop, they were greeted by their very own individually selected rubber ducks resting atop each player’s locker.

Now I know what you’re thinking — “Why on earth would the Phillies have rubber duckies in their locker, and what — if anything — is the significance?” Well allow me to shed some light…

Supposedly, during a playoff game vs. the Brewers, the Phillies seemed to be playing a little too close to the vest. So Chase Utley passed by manager Charlie Manuel in the dugout and the all-star second baseman told Cholly to “Get the rubber duck out of your ass.” It obviously worked, as they sent the Brew Crew packing in four games and then proceeded to beat down the Dodgers in five.

Well, Cholly agreed with Chase’s assertion and wanted to make sure the team kept that same “stay loose” mentality and told the VP of communications, Bonnie Clark, to order every member of the team their very own rubber duck as a reminder.

Corny? Perhaps. But hey — it’s better than neon blue faux-hawks.

Here’s a screenshot of Victorino’s locker with his cheetah-print duck. (Because he’s fast!):

After doing a wee-bit of research (which was pretty much me clicking on my favorite rubber ducky store which I have bookmarked on Firefox), I found out where these things came from. They are manufactured by a company called Bud [no Anheuser] and feature a myriad of designs specifically tailored to suit your individual rubber ducky needs. You can browse through their extensive catalog over at Rubber Duck World; and feel free to guess which duck would best match up with each Phillies player. For example, Brett Myers had this one.

Phillies know how to stay loose | Inquirer
Phillies believe rubber duckies make Series time lots of fun | Big League Stew
Luxury Ducks by Bud | Rubber Duck World

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