At Cincinnati Reds season ticket holder appreciation day at Great American Ball Park on Friday, Reds President Phil Castellini offered a “formal apology” to the few-hundred fans in attendance.
On Opening Day, Castellini challenged Reds fans who questioned whether or not they should remain loyal, saying "Well, where are you going to go?”
Before a Q&A between fans and players on Friday, Castellini opened the event with a message to the fans in attendance.
Cincinnati Reds:Bass column: Reds fans have choices, too. Are the Castellinis listening?
Phil Castellini:Jason Williams: Why Phil Castellini's fan criticism could haunt the Cincinnati Reds
Castellini said he was “humbled” by the start to the Reds season, and he also spoke about the commitment to stay in Cincinnati.
Here’s the full transcript
Hello. I stand before you humbled by the beginning of our season. I want to make sure I got a chance to share how much you’re appreciated by this franchise and myself personally. I got myself into trouble on Opening Day and got into the frustration from all the criticism of our franchise and our family.
I really dropped my guard and got emotional about something we need to be strong enough and big enough to let our organization have a passionate and emotional response to what’s happening to our team. At the end of the day, this is your team. We are stewards of that team.
All I can tell you is that we do care. We are going to be here for the long haul as a team here. We will continue to invest in this product of the team, player development and everything that goes into building a major league team and experience here at Great American Ball Park.
Those of you who have heard me before know that we can do that. We’re looking to do that every season and we continue to do that. I stand before you with a formal apology if I offended any one of the people in this room. This is a foundation on which we build the franchise, economically and (inaudible).
I do appreciate that and recognize that. We do work every day 100 percent to try to get you the best product that we can. It has been challenging here. I’ve had some questions about that. I can tell you the team, we believe in Nick and what he’s doing on the baseball side (inaudible).
I continue to serve you humbly, graciously, I thank you for continuing to support this team. I love the city of Cincinnati, I love the Reds, I thank those of you who are here.
Source link
