In an article in The Philadelphia Inquirer on by T.J. Furman, the author made an attempt at humor by jokingly encouraging Phillies fans to throw batteries at the Boston outfielder when the Sox travel to Citizens Bank Park in June.
The article that went to print said, "You'll get one more chance to let J.D. know how you feel about him when the Sox come to town June 28-30. Get your D-cells ready."
The line has subsequently been removed from the online version, but the cached version can still can be seen.
The newspaper ran an editor's note that apologized for "a regretful attempt at humor," according to The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham.
"The sentence, 'Get your D-cells ready,' should have been edited out of the story," the note said. "Any reference to throwing batteries at a player is neither funny nor acceptable."
Philadelphia's dislike of Drew dates back to the '90s, when the Phillies thought enough of Drew's talents to make him the second overall pick in the draft, despite repeated statements by his agent, Scott Boras, that Drew wouldn't sign for less than $10 million. The Phillies tried to call Boras' bluff and drafted Drew anyway, refusing to guarantee a contract of that size to a college player. As a result, Drew opted for a season of independent ball over signing with the club.
The move didn't sit well with many of the Philly faithful, and when Drew returned to Philadelphia as a pro on Aug. 11, 1999, as a member of the Cardinals, he was the target of several objects thrown onto the field, including batteries. It got so bad that the umpires actually had to stop the game to get the outfield cleaned up.
