By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Despite leaving Philadelphia as the Phillies' all-time leader in saves, Jonathan Papelbon elicits a nearly universally negative reaction when brought up in the city. One former Phillies relief pitcher couldn't have a more different viewpoint of Papelbon than the fanbase does.
Houston Astros closer Ken Giles told Marc Narducci of Philly.com that in his brief time sharing a bullpen with Papelbon, he learned quite a bit:
"He was my mentor," Giles said. "He was the guy I looked up to and the guy I wanted to learn from if I wanted to be a successful closer. . . . I believe I took his words and I rolled with it."
It isn't especially surprising that these two gelled. Giles, who came to the big leagues with the nickname "100 miles Giles," was kind of always being groomed to be the team's next closer. Papelbon's flaws as a person are well documented, but he is the all-times saves leader for both the Phillies and the Boston Red Sox, closed out a World Series and is currently ninth all-time in saves. Papelbon also overcame a loss in velocity in 2013 and early 2014, one that may have ended the careers of many closers, and was elected to his sixth All-Star Game in 2015. From an aspiring closer's perspective, there aren't too many better people to get to shadow than Papelbon.
As unlikable as some fans may have found Papelbon's personality, it's not hard to see Giles having clicked with him on a personal level as well. That's not to say that he appreciated Papelbon openly lobbying for a trade for over a year or grabbing his crotch in front of fans, but closer's aren't like most other people. Papelbon was extremely effective at playing a character in two major media markets for nearly a decade. Giles, who is the most testosteroned (no, that's not a real word) up athlete to play in Philadelphia recently, probably had a bit of a desire to emulate Papelbon in that sense as well.
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The two were only together for a little over a year of bad Phillies baseball, but given the team's current bullpen, it's hard not to reminisce about a situation where if the team had the lead after seven innings they were a near lock to win the game.
Giles, still just 26, is currently closing for the Houson Astros, who appear to be a World Series contender. Though his 4.20 ERA would lead you to think he's not having an especially good season, he's converted 10 of 11 save opportunities and advanced metrics like FIP and xFIP suggest he's been unlucky thus far. The 36-year-old Papelbon, who last pitched for the Washington Nationals, was uncertain of his baseball future as of the beginning of the 2017 season.
