Because the National League doesn't have a designated hitter, you are now less knowledgeable about baseball than the fans of Jonathan Papelbon's new team. That's according to Papelbon himself, who said as much in an interview with CBS Philly:
"The difference between Boston and Philadelphia, the Boston fans are a little bit more hysterical when it comes to the game of baseball," Papelbon said in an interview with 94WIP's Angelo Cataldi and The Morning Team. "The Philly fans tend to know the game a little better, being in the National League, you know, the way the game is played.
Sure, Boston fans are hysterical. (Oh, come on. You know we are.) But Philly is the same, in that regard. They are accused of having bandwagon fans, too, and go absolutely crazy when the team isn't perfect, or nearly pass out from smugness when the team, in their eyes, is perfect. If you're on Twitter, and you've ever seen @FanSince09 in your timeline, you don't need any further explanation about any of that.
But, Philly employs the double-switch more often, and that hurts my tiny, AL-loving brain.
To be fair to Papelbon, he also goes on to say that he loved the hysterical nature of Red Sox fans, so let's not be too hard on the guy:
"It's a religion. It's a way of life. They come to the field and they expect certain things out of players. It's an environment where you put up or shut up. I enjoyed that. It got my motor running every day."
Still, though. Let's wait until after you blow a save to see how hysterical or not the Philly fan base is, yeah?
Hat tip to Jessica Quiroli for pointing this story out on Twitter.