Rubén Amaro Jr. played his own father on 'The Goldbergs'

Ruben Amaro left his baseball uniform at home to do a cameo on “The Goldbergs.” (ABC)
Ruben Amaro left his baseball uniform at home to do a cameo on “The Goldbergs.” (ABC)

Rubén Amaro Jr. has been pretty busy lately. The former GM for the Philadelphia Phillies is no longer the first base coach with the Boston Red Sox, and is heading to New York to take the same job with the New York Mets. So let’s see: new job, new city, and oh yeah, a cameo on the ABC series “The Goldbergs” where he plays his own father.

You have not entered an alternate dimension. This actually happened. On Wednesday night’s episode of “The Goldbergs,” Rubén Amaro Jr. had a cameo appearance. And he played his own father, baseball player Rubén Amaro Sr.

Amaro’s entire cameo lasted a total of maybe ten seconds, but it was completely worth it. “The Goldbergs” is set in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, and the whole series is full of great Philly sports references. Amaro not only played for the Philadelphia Phillies, he served as the team’s GM for more than six years. There are few things more Philadelphia than poking fun at local sports figures.

The whole thing isn’t entirely fantastical, either. Amaro grew up in Philadelphia, very close to where “The Goldbergs” is set. The timeline doesn’t exactly work out, since “The Goldbergs” is set in an undefined period during the 1980s and Amaro was in his late teens and early 20s during that time, but close enough.

It’s endlessly entertaining to think about former baseball player Rubén Amaro Sr, who was inducted into the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986, at PTA meeting talking about his son. Rubén Amaro Sr. died in 2017, and it’s actually a lovely tribute for his son to play him on one of the most Philadelphia TV shows ever. Lovely, and very funny.

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Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher