End of August - Record setting homestand at Citizen’s Bank Park

 Baseball in Philly is special, especially when your hometown team is hitting home runs, winning at home, and having fun. The Philadelphia Phillies, established in 1883, have 2 World Series titles (1980, 2008) and 8 National League Pennants. They are the longest standing same named, same city sports team in American professional sports. 

Due to longevity, Phillies have the most losses of any MLB franchise at 11, 241 losses, as of 2023. The fans are loyal and have seen their share of heartbreak, collapse (eg. 1964 Phillies: lost 10 games in a row that started Sept 21 when they had 6.5 game lead with only 12 games remaining, and ended with Phils  having lost 8 games in standings in 10 days), and victory (eg. beating Braves or Dodgers).  This franchise is known for its mascot, the Phillie Phanatic, and have a replica Liberty Bell that lights up when a Phillie player hits a homerun.  As a Philly fan, I  am an  optimist with cynical realism thrown in. I always think, “This might be the year,” and listen to each inning to see if this is the case with bated breath.

Now, I want to first talk about Citizen’s Bank, the home of the Phillies since 2004. This past weekend, I had tickets for 3 games in a row. This stadium replaced Veteran’s stadium, a multi sport arena. I remember the Vet and think of it fondly, but the Bank is an awesome place to see a game. It is a hitter’s park, so hitters tend to like  this stadium. To me, there is no bad view, from 100 section to 400 section.  I have season tickets in section 106.  I am right behind the right fielder, so the crowd tends to heckle or cheer whoever plays right field.

My one complaint about this park is that the lines are long, so if you want crab fries or cheesesteaks expect at least an hour wait.  I do like the effort of the stadium to give you more options.  Every year the stadium brings in something new. For this recent homestand, we beat the Cardinals and the Angels.  Also, Bryce Harper hit his 300th career  home run in a Phillies uniform.  My hope is that this offensive onslaught continues.  I have 4 more regular season home games that I get to see at ballpark (2 against Marlins, 1 against Braves, and 1 against Mets).  The Bank will be electric as we head into playoffs. I get to put on my Phillies gear and cheer the team on.

End of Regular Season to Playoffs: Every game means more if team is IN THE RACE

       Baseball becomes a lot more interesting when the teams competing are still in the hunt for a playoff spot. My Phillies are on top of the NL wild card race. Chicago Cubs and  Arizona Diamondbacks have the other 2 spots as of  Aug. 25th.  

The Atlanta Braves have locked down the NL East by being 13.5 games ahead of the second place Phillies.  The only way to get in for the Phillies is to hold on to their wild card spot.

       What does this have to do with my ballpark journey?   As a season holder, I am scheduled to see the Phillies play the St. Louis Cardinals this weekend at Citizen’s Bank park. I am excited for this because Phillies have the opportunity to win the series at home.  I will be adding to my cheers as I contribute to the atmosphere of the winning team.  That is the hope of all the diehard Phillies fans. I will talk about my trip to the Bank after I attend the game. Go Phillies!

Why Baseball?

 For someone who has no interest in baseball,  understanding why people do love the sport bewilders people. I would say the same thing about cricket.  You have to look at each person’s experience to understand where this interest came from.  I think the reason I got into baseball is because as a young person I experienced the  atmosphere supporting the local professional baseball team (Phillies) of a winning team from end of March to October. In my opinion, the future of any sport is capturing the interest of the youth, which is why youth baseball should be supported by MLB and fully funded for those who want to play ball and have the talent.  All my nephews played baseball and to this day I root for their respective teams.

Back in the 80s,  everyone around me was talking about Phillies baseball, from the dinner table to the playground.  My mind saw this and thought this baseball must be good for people were talking. They discussed their favorite players, like Carlton and Schmidt, and what the team needed to do to win. 

I liked talking about baseball, for I was a tomboy. I enjoyed playing stickball outside with neighborhood kids. I am not the most athletic person, but I  put in 100% effort. Because I knew I was not going to play baseball for I did not have the ability, I respect those who have the ability and play ball, especially those who beat the odds.  Only a small percentage of those in minor leagues make it to the major league. 

  This baseball excitement continued until the infamous baseball strike (1994-95), that disenfranchised many from following baseball. For that 232-day strike, we lost 900+ games and no World Series for 1994 season.  The strike along with the steroid era put a  black mark on baseball’s image.  To be honest, I too disconnected from baseball.  I got caught up again when I started going to baseball parks and saw the crowds supporting their local teams. I got into it by collecting stamps of each park and journaling so that I remembered the experience.  This is why I am able to talk about my baseball trip years later. I wrote down my thoughts as I experienced them.  This blog is my opportunity to reflect on my trips to baseball parks over the years.

 I remembered why I loved baseball and I love the game.  I love that merit is why people get paid and get the accolades.  I love the fact you are not out of it until the last out in the 9th inning.  There is always a chance for a comeback. In baseball game, we win some; we lose some. Baseball is a metaphor for life. 

Map of all 30 Major League Ballparks

As Babe Ruth said, “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.”  Keep playing.

How I Started My Journey

 I started in Toronto many years ago, approximately 2010. It was my 1st game in Rogers centre (aka SkyDome, bottom picture), the home of the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays played the Twins. The visiting team won by 1 score (Toronto Jays 4  - Minnesota Twins 5). Even though I was as disappointed as the rest of the crowd, I enjoyed my time at the ballpark.  I wanted to do more visits to Major League Baseball (MLB) ballparks.

 I have been to many local Phillies games, even Triple A Lehigh Valley Iron pigs (Phillies minor league, top picture) games in Allentown. If the ballpark is a day trip via car/train (less than 4 hrs), I consider it local.   An idea popped in my mind.  Wouldn’t it be cool to see all 30 MLB stadiums?  From that point on, I started recording my journey to visit ALL the active parks.  In 2023, I have been to 29 of the 30 parks, for I visited Oakland A’s stadium last weekend. It has taken me years to get to this point.  This blog is my chance to reflect upon my journey.  Stay tuned. My plan is to blog at minimum twice a week until the end of season.