Middleton was also present at Thursday's press conference, and was asked how much influence fans had on the decision to not bring back Amaro. "All of us in this room really exist because of fans," he told reporters. "If the fans didn't buy tickets and the fans didn't watch TV, no one in this room at this moment would have a job. They are critical to all sports organizations, including the Phillies, and what they think is important to us. That said… when you make a decision of this magnitude, you have to make it for a host of reasons, and there's a lot of thought that goes into it, a lot of factors that have to be balanced and weighed, and that's what Andy did… We were certainly aware of the fans' feeling, absolutely."