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.