Citizens Bank Park
Philadelphia, PA
Cleveland Indians at Philadelphia Phillies
April 3, 2004
By
Ken Schlapp
Once my big trip in
2003 was over, I knew I was not finished tracking down and hunting
baseball stadiums. Specifically, Citizens Bank Park was under
construction in Philadelphia when I was there in 2003, so I knew I
would be taking the “short” drive to Philly for a game in 2004. In
fact, there was no way I could resist heading down there for the
first game ever, so I dragged Efrem, Frank, and Ed down the Jersey
Turnpike to Philadelphia for the exhibition game against the Indians
to open up the stadium.
 To
start, I will say that I love this place; it is eons better than
Veterans Stadium was which was still somewhat there in crumpled
ruins next to Citizens Bank Park in the parking lot. At least, as
far as Efrem was concerned, it was an easy walk to see the ruins of
an old stadium and we did not have to search all over for a plaque,
we can easily spot the crumpled stadium. It was part of our walk
around the outside of the stadium, as per my “new stadium”
tradition. That initial walk also started to win me over right
away, by how much of an improvement this stadium was. The red brick
on the outside, with the obviousness of the open-air stadium can be
appreciated from the outside. Although The Vet was not a dome, its
circular enclosure made it seem like it was, while Citizens Bank is
clearly an outdoor ballpark. Then there are the statues outside of
the gates of Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Robin Roberts, and even
Connie Mack (it is great to see that they even remembered the old
Philadelphia Athletics Manager). It was clear from the start that
the Phillies are opening a new stadium, but not forgetting their
past. Carlton and Schmidt stand out to me as the two players that
broke my heart over and over again as a Mets fan, but I still
appreciate how great they were.
 Once
inside, you can walk around the extremely wide concourses to get
your food, beer (I especially like the Yards beer made especially
for the stadium) and souvenirs without having to squeeze past a
large crowd. The best part of these wide concourses though, is that
you have a completely clear view of the field while you are making
your purchases. They do sell standing room only seats here, so even
without a seat you can have an incredible view of the game.
Considering that you can drive here from New York in under two
hours, I had returned to see games here many times since it opened
and many of those times I bought standing room only tickets and
watched from directly behind home plate. If you get there early
enough to worm your way up to the front, you even have a counter to
put your beer, food, and elbows on to relax and enjoy the game. The
great part is that this is not relegated to the field level; there
are similar standing room only sections on the upper level too.
Next stop: Ashburn
Alley. Richie Ashburn was the star centerfielder for the Phillies
from 1948-1959, but known just as well as their broadcaster from
1963 to 1997. He was loved in both capacities in Philadelphia, so
much so, that they were considering naming the new stadium after
him. However, they went with the more economical naming rights of
Citizens Bank, but they did not forget about Richie. They have
honored him with an area of the stadium called Ashburn Alley. When
he was a player, the tall grass area between home and 3rd
base was known as Ashburn Alley because that is where he placed many
a bunt single during his career. Although Ashburn
 Alley
is not located on the infield, it is located behind center field
where Richie played for so long. It is the best spot to visit
before, during, or after the game. Along the concourse, there are
stars on the ground to showcase all of the Phillies that have made
all-star teams. There is also a large display of the Phillies
history from inception in the 1800s to the present on the Memory
Lane displays. They also put the Phillies championship flags up
here. Once again, I am pleased that the Phillies get their fans and
honor their history.
Right outside and
around Ashburn Alley is a food concourse with plenty of good
options, which further encompass the Phillies history. You can go
to Harry the K’s Bar & Grill, which is in honor of their other
long-time broadcaster Harry Kalas or you visit Bull’s BBQ. Bull’s
is named after former Philly Slugger Greg Luzinski, who terrorized
my Mets for many years, but who I also remember most by the glove I
used for many years with his signature on it. The funny thing
though was that at the time I got his signature glove, he was a DH
for the White Sox. However, in my opinion, the best option is still
the Philly Cheesesteak, which is as good here as it was in The Vet.
I have to have one every time I come here. There is also a very
cool souvenir stand back there, where I bought an old Philadelphia
Athletics cap.
Citizens Bank Park
also has a bar called McFadden’s attached to it that is open before,
during and after games. Just know that if you enter McFadden’s from
inside the stadium during the game, that you can no longer return
afterwards. This has to do with the baseball rules forbidding the
sale of alcohol after the 7th inning. I have been there
after games a few times and it is a good place to grab a beer with a
bunch of baseball fans.
A good option for
the young fans is to head over to the Phanatic Phun Zone over by the
1st base gate or to the Phanatic Giant Slide on the
Terrace level. You know there is no way you can talk about a
Phillies game or stadium without mentioning the Phillies Phanatic in
some way or fashion. He is still the biggest clown of a mascot as
there exists and is a show on his own.
 The
bullpen is an interesting story in itself. It is located in left
center field with one pen on top of the other. When I went to the
initial game, the Phillies pen was the one that was located closer
to the concourse and the fans, with the visiting pen closer to the
field. However, in true Philadelphia form, the fans were heckling
their own pitchers so much that they switched the order during the
2004 season so that the visiting pen is now closer to the fans. I
love the fact that the Phillies are okay with their fans getting
close and heckling the opposing pitchers, but not their own! Since
the stadium first opened, they have also added a Phillies Wall of
Fame right by the bullpens.
Our seats for this
game were in the upper deck, right behind home plate, which is a
great place to see the game. I have gone back to sit in this
section many times since that day. It is not nearly as high as the
upper deck in Shea or The Vet, so you have a good view even if you
are on the very top row. The best part about sitting up here is
that you get a great view of both downtown Philadelphia and the Ben
Franklin Bridge. You can clearly see the giant scoreboard and
Jumbotron in right field from these seats. I would not put the
scoreboard on par with Shea, but it is nice and has all of the key
elements you need: the line score, both lineups with player’s
averages and ERA, and in-game and season-to-date statistics for the
player at bat. You can also see the out-of-town scoreboard on the
right field wall, which is set up the same way as in PNC Park, where
you can tell the inning, number of outs, and base runners at all
times. I really like that the new stadiums are now regularly built
with these features.
The deep blue seats
are similar in color to the seats that were in The Vet, but somehow
they look a lot nicer. What is clearly nicer though is that this
stadium has a natural grass playing surface as opposed to the awful
Astroturf that was in The Vet. Regardless of the rivalry between
the Mets and the Phillies, I am definitely a fan of Citizens Bank
Park. I only wish that when they altered the park in January of
2012 for NHL’s Winter Classic, that I could have been there to see
the Rangers put a hurting on the Flyers. It would have been great
to see a hockey game here too, especially when you combine a Ranger
win with a Flyer loss. I do not have a deep hatred for the Phillies
at all, but the Flyers….
 Before
the game got started, there was a ceremony to officially open the
stadium. During this opening ceremony, the Phillies paid tribute to
the workers that built the stadium, at which time all the fans
cheered to show their appreciation for a job well done. However,
when Philadelphia mayor, John F Street was introduced, the fans
erupted with a cascade of boos. I know that it seems wrong, but I
loved this contrasting dichotomy of responses for the mayor and the
union workers and truly appreciate the Phillies fans for who they
are. There is never a doubt about how they feel and that is how it
should be.
The game got
started with a plethora of flashbulbs going off at the same time as
thousands of fans simultaneously attempted to capture the first
pitch from Vincente Padilla to Matt Lawton. I was of course one of
them. Lawton grounded out to 2nd base to record the
first out in the Citizen Bank Park history. Padilla then struck out
the next 2 batters for a 1-2-3 inning. After Jeff D’Amico retired
Marlon Byrd and Placido Polanco, Jim Thome hit a monstrous home run
into the 2nd tier for the first hit, home run, and run in
stadium history, and gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead to boot. As he
was circling the bases, the Liberty Bell in right center field lit
up and rung to sound in the home run. It was nice of Thome to do
this so early so I would quickly get to know the stadium’s new found
home run tradition.
Padilla shut down
the Indians in order through the first 3 innings, before giving up 2
runs and the lead in the 4th. Omar Visquel led off the
inning with a double, moved to 3rd on a balk and scored
on Casey Bake’s 2-run homer. The fan that caught the home run,
threw the ball back on the field in Wrigley Field tradition. I
think that is nuts! If I catch a homer, I am keeping the ball
whether my team hit it or not. I think that tradition should stay
in Wrigley. Padilla was replaced by Ryan Madsen to start the 5th
frame, and he was rocked for 3 runs. Coco Crisp singled with one
out and was moved over by D’Amico’s sacrifice and scored on
Vizquel’s single. Jody Gerut then doubled in both Matt Lawton (who
walked) and Vizquel to give the Indians a 5-1 lead.
 As
the bottom of the 5th started the fans let out a big
cheer, but not initially for the Phillies, it was because the sun
came out! Then they cheered for the Phillies as they mounted a
4-run rally to tie the game up at 5. Byrd and Polanco both singled
to start the inning. After Thome grounded into a fielder’s choice,
Met-killer Pat Burrell lit up the liberty bell with a 3-run homer.
Bobby Abreu then walked, stole 2nd, and came around to
score the tying run on Jimmy Rollins RBI double. After walking
David Bell and pinch hitter Ricky Ledee, Jeff D’Amico was relieved
by Chad Durbin after giving up 5 runs.
Neither teams
scored in the 6th, but this was the inning that a
multitude of lineup changes began, which signiField that this was
still just a spring training game, regardless of the importance of
the opening of a new stadium. Chris Lapinski hit a solo home run
for the Indians to leadoff the 7th inning to give them
the lead 6-5, which would be the final score. Although the Phillies
threatened in the 7th, they were shut down in the last 2
innings by Rafeal Betancourt and Kazuhito Tadano (of gay porn fame)
to seal the victory for the Indians.
Bottom line – This
is a great new stadium and I was proud to have made it to the first
game ever in a stadium for the first time in my life.
Basic trip facts:
-Stadium # 32
-Old Stadium Sites visited – Veterans Stadium (Total – 22)
-Under construction Stadium Sites visited – None (Total – 2)
-Miles traveled – 260 via Car (Totals: Driving – 18,689, Subway -
20, Air - 3,196, Total – 21,829)
-States, provinces, Districts and/or commonwealths passed through –
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania (Totals: States – 48, Provinces –
2, Districts – 1, Commonwealths - 1)
-Seats – Upper deck behind home plate.
-Prices: Parking – $10.00, Beer – $5.50, Hot Dogs - $3.00, Program
(including pencil) – Not Sure, Souvenir Soda Cup – $4.75
-Credit Card giveaway – None
-First Pitch - 1:20 PM
-Attendance – Unknown
-Results – Indians 6, Phillies 5, W – Scott Stewart, L – Rheal
Cormier, S – Tadano
-Home team record to date – 20 wins, 16 losses
-Record of “team I was routing for” to date – 16 wins, 20 losses
-Lodging – New York, New York
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