NO PLACE LIKE HOME: Citizens Bank Park

I started this podcast (and this blog) with the intent of posting stories from my travels as a sports fan. On occasion, these travels will include me traveling to home territory. This post launches another new series in the podcast that I'm calling "No Place Like Home." My most recent visit to friendly territory was this past weekend at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, and if you haven't already, you can listen to the pod here:

I also have some news to report, and that is that after going through many trials and tribulations with tech support, you can now listen on Apple Podcasts! I'd appreciate a follow and a good rating if you're enjoying this experience so far. I know I am.

As I mentioned on the show, I tried to visit CBP as if I'd never been there before, which was a little tough because it's been my most frequented baseball venue by far. I tried to make sure I took some time to see as many sights around the park as possible, starting with the Liberty Bell replica out front that used to adorn the top of Veterans Stadium:

When they unveiled this restoration in 2019, I appreciated it on so many levels. I'd never seen it in person until now, but I'm glad I finally had the chance to do so. Here's some brief historical info from the plaque next to the sculpture:

When I went to my first baseball game at "The Vet" back in 1988(?), I thought this was the real thing that I'd been told was a significant piece of American history. Not too many years later, I learned that the real bell was much smaller, and resided a few miles away on Independence Mall. Gimme a break. I was only 4 or so years old.

Anyway, Sunday afternoon was a beautiful day for baseball even if it was a bit on the warm side:

This was not the location of my seat, just to be clear. I snapped this as I was walking around the main concourse well before the game started. Speaking of, as most newer ballparks do, the concourse is full of things to see and do that really help improve the overall gameday experience from when we were kids. They actually have a small playground, "The Yard," beyond right field:

It includes a wiffleball field and a climbing wall, among other things for families. As I was by myself, I moved on quickly, but I could see myself really loving this if I were much younger.

Beyond The Yard is my favourite part of the stadium, Ashburn Alley:

To the untrained eye, it may seem like not much more than a wide retail area beyond the outfield, but for me, this is where some of my favourite Phillies moments were witnessed during that magical time between 2007 and 2011, when it was far more common for a group of young friends to buy standing room tickets and hang out in the stadium to experience the game. I could be wrong, but it feels like they somehow widened this area since the last time I was here. If they did, it's a good move, provided the Phillies make it back to the playoffs one day...

It's named after the great Richie Ashburn, who I mostly remember as the color commentator of Phillies broadcasts of my childhood. He's memorialized with a statue beyond the center field fence:

I can't mention Phillies broadcasts of yore without mentioning the voice of my childhood, Harry Kalas, who is also memorialized beyond the left field fence:

I'm not gonna lie, I still get a little emotional every time I see this statue, or hear a replay of one of his calls. I'm so happy that the Phillies got him a World Series victory in his final full season behind the mic.

Moving on, no visit to a stadium for me would be complete without some local beers! I started with a "pretzel pilsner" from Levante Brewing. I'm still not exactly sure what that means other than they brewed it with salt:

Later on in the game, I followed this up with the appropriately named "Ring The Bell" from Conshohocken Brewing:

And of course, there were many other options to choose from. CBP has never lacked in the beer department, but even I was surprised to see how much variety was at my disposal.

As I continued around the concourse, I saw a few more interesting things, including this T-shirt:

For those of you who know your geography, you'll know that the outline is clearly not the state of Ohio. I asked the guy wearing it what the story was, and he showed me the back of the shirt which read "Scarlet & Gray Runs Deep in Illinois." A bit wordy, and not my cup of tea, but interesting that he was also a traveling fan (of the Buckeyes, in this case). Turns out, he is trying to visit every ballpark in the MLB before he turns 40, doing so over a number of years. That's pretty cool.

Continuing on, I headed to the upper deck where my seat was located. As I mentioned on the pod, I don't mind sitting up high. I sometimes find it's easier to follow the action on the field, and in the case of outdoor stadiums, it usually provides for a more breathtaking view of the whole experience:

I saw a few more notable things on my way to my seat. I never noticed this old sign from The Vet before, but now I kinda remember seeing these as a kid:

There's another Liberty Bell replica on the third base side that provides for a great photo op complete with the city as a backdrop:

And to the left of that sculpture is this neat little mural that includes lyrics to the Phillies fight song, which I didn't know existed!

Not really a fight song, but most Phillies fans associate "High Hopes" with the team, thanks to the lasting legacy of the wonderful Harry Kalas.

It was a pretty warm day at the ballpark, so a lot of fans in the upper deck moved to the shade in the very top rows of the seats. I thought that was pretty funny:

Being that it WAS quite warm, I decided to get a little ice cream to cool down. The bonus of getting ice cream at the ballpark is that you get to keep the helmet cup:

That's a pretty nifty looking helmet to add to my collection, which is hiding somewhere in a box in my office upstairs. Maybe one day I'll have to display those for a future post on here. Interestingly enough, the Phillies have not worn a cap with those colors to my knowledge, but it's still cool nonetheless. Related, I'm also pretty sure the Phillies never used upside-down W's on their jersey names:

If you don't notice stuff like that, you're totally normal. I started paying attention to uniform minutiae at a young age and I've never stopped. I wanna throw a quick link to Uni Watch just in case there are others of you like me out there who would appreciate that sort of thing. The guy who runs it is a Mets fan, but if you can get past that, it's great for uni-related information and stories.

And finally, after some debate, I DID opt to buy a scorecard as I usually do:

Owing in part to a lackluster performance, I decided to stop keeping score after the 7th inning. You probably know by now, but the Pirates ended up taking this one from the Phillies by a score of 5-0:

I won't complain too much, though. The Phils took 6 of 7 in the season series against an obviously inferior team, and we weren't able to say those sorts of things in years past. This team DOES feel different. Despite that disappointing result, I'm glad I decided to pop in to the ballpark, and I'm ALWAYS happy when I get to visit my favourite city even if only for a weekend:

This is unrelated to this blog or this podcast, but I greatly enjoyed visiting some other old favs including Monk's Tavern, Devil's Den, and the Triangle Tavern among others. I'd also like to once again throw a shout out to my friends Dan and Lacy for putting me up for the weekend. I look forward to returning again some day, maybe for a different sporting event?

Thanks for listening & reading, and enjoy the rest of your week.