Site icon The Sports Fan Project

The Great Ballpark Chase: Citizens of Philadelphia

timothynrussell
Citizens Bank Park
The exterior of Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

For most baseball fans, it’s a dream to catch a ball hit into the stands.

But for Alex, it was more than a dream. It became reality more than once.

Alex was on a father-son road trip with his dad, Kris. The two had registered for Coast 2 Coast Sports Tour’s Hall of Fame Baseball Tour in June 2023.

Originally, the twosome was just going to do a trip to San Diego, since both are Padres’ fans. But when Kris saw a Facebook posting for the tour, he considered it and his wife was fully onboard, despite the higher cost.

Alex caught or was given a total of four balls during various pre-games this tour. They also had a bat inscribed at Cooperstown to commemorate the weekend.

Kris and Alex weren’t alone in rooting for their favorite team. The tour was also pretty loaded with Padres’ fans. There was a father-daughter, Brandi and Dave, both of whom are from San Diego, though Brandi recently relocated to Florida.

There was also aunt and niece, Corinna and Alexis, who flew out from San Diego for the trip. The two became a juggernaut in the daily score contest. Before each game, our tour leader, Zac, would pass a clipboard and you’d guess the winner and the score for each game. The closest to the correct score would win. The tiebreaker was total number of hits in the game.

Corinna won once while Alexis won twice. No one else won more than once.

Many times, as we were travelling to our next hotel after each game, there would be several phones tuned to MLB.tv and the Padres’ game.

Our tour made its way to Philadelphia and Citizens Bank Park, home of the Phillies. It opened in April 2004 as a replacement to the now-demolised, Veterans Stadium. It continued the trend started with Baltimore’s Camden Yards in 1992 toward the retro-style of ballpark, meaning more open-air, less cookie cutter stadiums.

The videoboard at Citizens Bank Park as well as the game’s first pitch thrown by Ranger Suarez.

It is located in south Philadelphia in the same area as the other major stadiums, Lincoln Financial Field (Eagles) and Wells Fargo Center (76ers and Flyers). Xfinity Live is nestled in the middle of all of the stadiums; it is a dining and entertainment hub.

The old Veterans Stadium site is now a parking lot, next door to Citizens Bank. They do have home plate and the bases marked out in the lot.

Inside the stadium, a prominent feature is Ashburn’s Alley, out in the center field concourse area. Richie Ashburn was a Phillies’ Hall of Fame center fielder from 1948 to 1959. Many Phillies’ fans wanted the stadium to be named in honor of him, so the Alley became a compromise.

The Alley is highlighted with a statue of Ashburn. It also features restaurants, games and memorabilia from Phillies history.

A game at Citizens Bank Park isn’t complete without the antics of the Philly Phanatic.

Chickies and Petes is one of the more popular food stands in the park. They are famous for their crab fries, an Old Bay seasoned crinkle fry with a cheese sauce.

There is also Bull’s BBQ, featuring typical barbecue fare. It is named for former Phillies’ slugger Greg “The Bull” Luzinski. You can also get a cheesesteak in the park, at Campo’s or Tony Luke’s. Both have full-service restaurants outside the park as well.

In addition to the Ashburn statue, there are three more statues outside the stadium of pitchers Robin Roberts and Steve Carlton and third baseman Mike Schmidt. Former announcer Harry Kalas also received a statue, mainly funded by the fans.

The Phillies Wall of Fame is located in Ashburn’s Alley.

Above the center field activities is a neon Liberty Bell. It “rings” after each Phillies’ home run and after a victory. It is similar to the one from Veterans Stadium, which now sits outside Citizens Bank Park.

The neon Liberty Bell sits high above centerfield.

The stadium has a capacity of 42,901. The dimensions are: left field, 329 feet; left field power alley, 374 feet; The Angle, from CF to left CF, 409 feet; straightaway CF, 401 feet; right field power alley, 369 feet; and right field, 330 feet.

Of course, a visit to Philadelphia is not complete without feasting on an authentic cheesesteak There are many options, including the two most popular with tourists, Pat’s King of Steaks and Geno’s Steaks, which are across the street from each other in South Philadelphia.

My preference has always been a little further away, on South Street in West Philly. You actually can’t eat there right now, though. They are rebuilding after a devastating fire in July 2022. Reports are they are set to reopen around Labor Day this year.

So the second option was to grab a steak at Reading Terminal Market, a famous indoor farmer’s market with rows and rows of vendors and eateries, featuring grocery, dining, and other shopping needs. Spataro’s Cheesesteaks was the choice here. Just remember to order the correct way, “Wit Whiz,” or you’ll identify yourself as a tourist.

If you need to walk off that cheesesteak or roast pork sandwich (another Philadelphia staple, DiNic’s is the place to get one), there are plenty of places to do that, especially if you like history.

There is Independence National Historical Park. At one end, you can see Independence Hall. The Liberty Bell is at the end of the Liberty Center, which has other exhibits about the bell. The actual bell is at the end closest to Independence Hall.

At the other end of the park, you’ll find the Constitution Center, featuring life-size statues of American forefathers. There is also the U.S. Mint (sorry, they don’t give out free samples) and the Christ Church Burial Ground, where Benjamin Franklin is buried.

Benjamin Franklin’s gravesite sits in the Christ Church Burial Ground.

There is a small fee to walk around the cemetery and visit the graves of Declaration of Independence signers Joseph Hewes, Francis Hopkinson, George Ross, and Dr. Benjamin Rush. It is also the final resting place for many of the nation’s early leaders, prominent lawyers and military heroes. It is still an active cemetery with new burials happening each year.

You don’t need to pay the admission fee to see Franklin’s grave. It is visible through the brick fence. Many people have pitched a penny or two onto his grave, in remembrance of his “A penny earned is a penny saved” quote.

As far as the game, Atlanta beat the Phillies, 4-2. Braves’ starter Spencer Strider went six solid innings, allowing one run on eight hits with nine strikeouts. Austin Riley homered in the sixth and Matt Olson in the eighth for the Braves.

Nick Castellanos started the scoring for Philadelphia with an RBI single in the fifth.

But it was finally nice to see an actual baseball game. This was fourth day of the bus tour and we had only seen one game. Remember, the game in Boston was rained out and Monday was our Baseball Hall of Fame visit.

Previous Installments of the Great Ballpark Chase by Tim Russell

Exit mobile version