On When Philadelphia Seems an Improvement
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| Citizens Bank Park, 2014 |
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Cincinnati Reds vs. Philadelphia PhilliesCitizens Bank Park
Major League Baseball, National League
Philadelphia, PA
7:05 PM
Outside the Game:
Work. Stress. Impossible. Increasing. Etc. We've discussed this.
I had a Saturday free, at least. Until June came around and the short-season leagues opened up, there wouldn't be many new stadiums that were under 4 hours or so away. To avoid a 7 or 8 hour drive, I had to content myself with revisiting Citizens Bank Park, a stadium that I had seen on my first "official" trip, much like Hagerstown a week or so before. I wanted to get some more extensive photography, and Philly, a scant two hours away, was playing a night game on this Saturday.
I did some various little chores in the morning, and then headed out at around 2 PM. It would be 95 nearly all the way down, which is why it was a little disappointing there was construction almost immediately on the Turnpike north spur leaving only one lane open, for some reason.
That congestion was annoying as I was starting out, but it would pale in comparison rather quickly. I only had about a quarter of a tank of gas left, and I thought it would make sense to set out first and gas up on the Turnpike. This was a horrible, horrible mistake. I passed the first few service areas, then exited at the third to get gas. I spent as much time as it had taken me to drive to the service station to get some gas. It was just a cluster of inefficiency that gave me flashbacks to my work problems.
I eventually drove off, frustrated and flooring it to make up the time, in an unmistakably mature reaction. And the turnpike was nearly completely clear for the entire rest of the way down, so I did make up the time, pulling into one of the parking lots at Citizens Bank at slightly after 4 PM. I did my normal walk-arounds, bought a ticket, and eventually went to line up for when the gates opened at 5:05.
As I had gotten a fancy club-level seat, I determined to use the home plate club-level entrance into the park. At a little before five, there was a father and his son already there, and the son was dealing with the longest wait of his life to this point. He kept checking to see if the people inside were going to open the doors, and then the time, and then the doors, and then the time again. And they eventually did let him and his father (and the rest of us) finally come in. He flew through the doors, quickly followed by his father, to reap his baseball nirvana.
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| Leaving Philly is always a good idea |
On the way out, I took my time leaving the park, eventually making my way back to the car. I believe I parked in the same lot the first time I went there and remember getting out was fairly easy. And it was the case here as well. I had arrived early enough to grab a spot right by an exit, and after a bit of traffic congestion on some surrounding streets, I was off and over the bridge back to the Turnpike in no time. Outside of some pointless lane closures that slowed down traffic in places, I was home at a relatively reasonable hour, to be greeted by incessant barking from my neighbors' downstairs apartment. They had either just gotten a dog, or had a dog visiting, and so considerately decided to house it in the part of the apartment under my own (as opposed to, say, the back yard), so that I would have to deal with the barking all night.
The Stadium & Fans:
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| Home plate to center field, Citizens Bank Park |
Philly had been the fourth stop on my original baseball trip way back when, and it was only the second of the "new generation" of parks (that had sprung up since Camden Yards started the revolution back in the 90s) that I visited. I remember enjoying the experience--if it being a little more damp than I wanted--and after seeing 90 parks in the interim, I was interested in what my re-reaction would be.
Citizens Bank Park is located in the big sports complex that Philly has constructed a distance off from their downtown. Baseball, football, and hockey (and basketball maybe? -- who cares) are all within walking distance of each other, surrounded by truly extensive tracts of parking. I'm not sure how much of a pain it is getting there from downtown (in addition to the lots, there are surface and subsurface transit options), but for driving from Jersey, it was a relatively painless experience, at least at the early hour I showed up. I have to wonder how hellish it can be if multiple sports are having events on the same night, but it seemed to work out okay for baseball only.
Surrounded by parking lots on all but one side, the last side of the park abuts the other parts of the sports complex. A lot of tailgating goes on before the game in the football lots (which are open for baseball events), and the McFadden's attached to the park and the big sports bar in the complex seem to be teeming with pre-game folks as well. Though that is just as likely because there is nothing else in this "neighborhood" to speak of.
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| Jersey Dreaming |
In wandering around the parking lots, several of the old sports statues from the departed Veterans stadium made a move over into the back area of lots. There also was apparently the base layout of the Vet in one of the lots, but I was unable to locate it. All the walkways around the park and the entrances were well-manicured, and most entrances were festooned with at least one statue (Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, and Robin Roberts). The big outside event for the evening was tied into a food bank drive at all entrances, and by the main third-base gate, there was a DJ, and tents from different stores doing give-aways, including Shop Rite, with some Can-Can dancers.
I got to enter via the home plate suite entrance, which was filled with Phillies murals and mosaics. The park itself is a three-decked affair, with a central walkway around the park that lowers into the seating bowl from left to right field. A suite level extends above from about first to third, and then a club level runs nearly the length of the main bowl from left to right field. The upper deck runs above from first to left field, and then a separate section rises in right. The double-decked Harry the K's restaurant sits out in left-center field, under the main scoreboard.
The big area of note in the center field Ashburn Alley, named for the Phillies namesake player and presided over by his statue in dead center. The Alley runs from the double-decked bullpens in right to Harry the K's in left. Behind the batter's eyes is the Phillies timeline and their Hall of Fame (curiously blocked off during this game), along with some tips on how to throw pitches overlooking the bullpens. The Budweiser Rooftop runs above the Alley, with a small section of bleachers with a bar and the two sets of retired numbers.
An All-Star Hall of Fame runs along the walkway in the Alley, celebrating Phillies by position who have been elected All-Stars. Specialty concessions line the Alley as well, and near the right field end are the main team store and the throwback gear store. On the right-field end of the Alley is the giant Bull's BBQ near similarly giant trivia and run the bases games for the kids. A statue of Harry Kalas anchors the left field end, right next to the Schmitter sandwich stand. The upper deck houses a more modest selection of concessions than the main concourse, and ramps and elevator banks make it a workable experience up and down.
The club level was quite well-done. A baseball wall lines most of the area, inlaid with Phillies milestones, and in the center of the club level is a huge display about Cooperstown that honors (in different sections) Philadelphia natives who made it to the Hall of Fame, Phillies who have made it to the Hall of Fame, and Philadelphia Athletics who made it to the Hall of Fame. It was really kind of disappointing to see a club level so well done, with such a sense of team, town, and history, because the Mets, for example, have some completely failed at doing so in Queens.
The main scoreboard (PhanVision) is located in left-center, but a truly dazzling amount of auxiliary screens dot the park, showing pitching lines and speeds, official scores, out-of-town scores, and, in a particularly nice touch, a scoreboard dedicated to all of the Philadelphia farm clubs. The giant Liberty Bell light sat out in right-center, which goes off every time the Phillies hit a home run, and it had been, for the home fans at least, depressing silent for a long time.
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| You interest me... |
The Philly Phanatic was, of course, on hand. He came out on a four-wheeler before the game to mug for the fans, made his way around the park during the game, received the ceremonial first pitches, and drove out on another four-wheeler equipped with a hot-dog cannon later in the game. The regular sort of big-league revelry passed the time during commercial breaks between innings, with kiss-cams, give aways, find-the-balls, and the like. One thing that really stuck out was the there was a proposal between innings, which isn't so unusual, except for the fact that it was sponsored by a jeweler. I think we may have finally come too far, as a people.
Perhaps the biggest change from the last time I visited were the fans. Maybe it was because I was in the club level, where mayhaps the blood is a little bluer, but there was not nearly as much of the, well, stereotypical Philadelphia sports fan this time around. Or perhaps the success in the intervening years had taken the edge off. It might have been the crowd in the pricier seats, but everyone wasn't constantly riding the home team (even when they were losing), and a majority of the noise was cheering instead of booing. Wonders will never cease.
At the Game with Oogie:
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| Sun scoring |
So I decided to splurge on a "Hall of Fame Club" ticket, as since I was there to take pictures of everything, I figured that I might as well get as close to a run of the place as I could. My tickets were down the first base side, as that is where I had sat the last time I was there. Besides being directly in the sun until it finally set, it was a good seat.
In my area were a lot of older fans. There was an old couple in back of me (who eventually got on the big screen for some reason), but my favorite was an older gentlemen to my right in the row. He was head-to-toe in Phillies gear, and as soon as he plopped down in his seat, he turned on a jogging radio strapped to his arm and started to listen to the game on the wireless (which, perhaps ironically) was being broadcast from this level just a hundred or so feet away. He was clearly a die-hard, so I could only feel so much spite for the Phillies since he liked them, and I was legitimately happy for him when they finally pulled off a win, much to his dignified pleasure.
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| Wit wizz an unyuns |
For food, I had to go with the cheese steak from Campo's in center (wit wizz and unyuns). There was fancier versions of everything on the club level, but I didn't see any particular reason to get the high-class grub. In the hallway to the Cooperstown exhibit, the club has strangely placed Japanese-style representations of all the exclusive food at the club-level concessions. It was a first in a MLB park, at least.
Worth mentioning was an encounter I had with some upper-deck ushers. As I was in the stratosphere taking pictures, I ducked into the last section of the upper deck and started snapping off photos. One of the ushers asked if I was a professional, and frankly, the question stumped me for a minute. I told him that it was a matter of opinion, as I had been paid to do this in the past, but this particular evening was just for my own person peccadilloes. And I wished them a fine evening, as I ducked out to get back to explore the club level.
The Game:
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| First pitch, Reds vs. Phillies |
Cole Hamels was going for his 100th win, again apparently, in this game, a square-off between mediocre National League teams who wear red. For the Philies, it was even more dire, as they'd been shut out the last two games they'd played during their losing streak.
And it seemed more of the same for the Phils, as the Reds started the game in the first with a one-out double, which was followed by a walk and an infield single to load the bases, before a ground-out to second brought a run in from third. A come-backer to the pitcher ended the half at 1-0, Reds. The Phillies looked to have some life with back-to-back singles to start off their half of the first, but three straight outs ended the opportunity with the Phillies still trailing by one.
The Reds and Phillies both had two-out walks to show for the second inning. Hamels struck out the Reds' side in the third, while the Phillies went down in less spectacular order. A two-out single was all the Reds had in the fourth, and though he was pitching a pretty impressive game, Hamels was still on the hook for the loss.
That changed in the bottom of the fourth. A leadoff walk was moved over to third on a following double, making it second and third with no outs. Another double brought in both runs to mark the first Phillies scoring in several days, and no doubt their first subsequent lead in the same period. The next batter went yard to the upper deck in right, bringing everyone home with still no outs. A single followed, and the first out came as Hamels bunted him over to second. A strikeout looked to perhaps show an end of the bleeding, but another single brought in the run, and finally chased the Reds' starter. The new pitcher uncorked one to move the runner to second, and yet another single brought the run in from second. A strikeout finally ended the inning at 6-1, Phillies.
Perhaps tired, both teams went in order in the fifth and sixth. The Reds kept it up in the seventh, but it was another scoring frame for the Phillies. A new pitcher for the Reds plunked the first batter in the bottom of the seventh, and then walked the next two to load up the bases. A grounder to the pitcher got a force at home, but that was the last of the Reds' luck for a while. A short single brought in a run, and then a long double cleared the bases. A strikeout got the second out, but a wild pitch moved the runner to third, then brought home by another double, before another strikeout closed out the seventh at 11-1, Phillies.
The punchless Reds went in order again in the eighth, but the Phillies had a one-out solo shot to keep the scoring going, but a two-out single and walk back-to-back went nowhere. The Reds managed a two-out walk in the ninth, but nothing else, and Hamels got his 100th win, 12-1 Phillies.
The Scorecard:
Reds vs. Phillies, 05/17/14. Phillies win, 12-1.
Even though I had been to the park before, I decided to go with the $5 Phillies program. The scorecard was quite nice. It was a solid, large cardstock tri-fold in the centerfold, with perforations if you were inclined to rip it out for easier scoring. The instructions for scoring they had were just gibberish, but it was a good-sized scorecard that worked well with pencils, with plenty of space for National League-level replacements and pitchers. A small section for cumulative hitting totals was on both sides, as well.
From a scoring perspective, there were a lot of little things, again. The fact that both teams only got a two-out single in the bottom of the second, for example. Both teams went a little nutty in the late innings with replacements. There were lots of vertical lines down the scorecard, and even one position change. The Reds pulled the dreaded double-switch in the seventh, but that was the last pitcher used by the Reds, so it didn't get messy. There were also rather more wild pitches than one sees in an average Major League game.
The Philies did make it a little hard to get the scorecard set up. They used the main scoreboard "PhanVision" for programming for most of the pre-game, and only went through the lineups once. The batting team had batting averages listed instead of positions, so it was difficult to get started with the visiting players. But a small auxiliary scoreboard did make scoring a bit easier by listing the official scoring of each play almost as soon as it was over.
And, of course, special note was made of Hamel's 100th win.
The Accommodations:
Hoboken, my Hoboken
2014 Stand-Alone Trip
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