Boys of Summer book Entry #58

July 7/8 (late night) - Bob
Philadelphia, PA

Just got back from the Phillies game and can’t say enough wonderful things about the Phills and the people who helped set all this up. Man, we roll into town, have a BEAUTIFUL room waiting for us, take the subway (right around the corner from the hotel) to the game, have an AWESOME crowd waiting for us, hear some excellent stories, eat some wonderful food, get these great hats and throwback jerseys (like, WHOA!, wool jerseys), sit through a 90 minute rain delay, get a tour of the “hall of fame” for Citizen Bank Ballpark (a history of the greats in Philadelphia professional baseball), then get to our seats just in time for the start of the game. Wow.

Now the game itself -- DRILL CITY. We saw another stinker, with the Mets drubbing the Phills, 10-1. The ballpark is GORGEOUS. Underrated, to the extreme, in my opinion. From the excellent out-of-town scoreboard (in stark contrast to Camden Yards), to the sound system at a reasonable level (as opposed to the ear-shattering levels in Arlington), to the design and layout of the field (the bullpens being stacked in right center had a great look to it) I didn’t see anything I didn’t like about the park. The staff, too, were excellent to us.

Right now it probably edges Minute Maid Park by just a bit -- and that’s no knock on the staff at Minute Maid -- they were top notch (just like the staff here). If I had seen Minute Maid with it’s roof off, it might be a dead heat, but for now, Citizen Bank’s the winner of “favorite ballpark” (totally unexpected).

I love the feel of taking the subway to the game, too. There was just something altogether “right” about our whole experience here. Philadelphia is a city that I didn’t care much for in my two brief visits before. This experience changes that. Driving in along the wharf and seeing the Benjamin Franklin bridge, which is reminiscent in design of the Golden Gate Bridge (save for the silver color of this one), I was reminded of San Francisco (a benchmark of a great city) in a very positive way.

Many cheers and thanks to Philadelphia.

Park Number Eight (of 30) at Citizens Bank Park

New York Mets 10, Philadelphia 1
WP: S. Trachsel (9-6)   LP: B. Myers (5-6)

A’s pummeled again by Red Sox, 11-3. This is a recording -- beep.