Well, the first game of the Great American Baseball Trip is in the books.
I arrived at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, PA a little after 4pm. The drive was nothing special, I-95 all the way from just outside Baltimore. I did stop to get gas and have my car washed.
When I arrived at the Vet, I walked aimlessly around the outside of the stadium looking for a good sign to take my picture with, or something else that I could identify with Philadelphia's only sports complex (the Flyers and 76ers play directly across the street -- the total area including the Vet is affectionately known as the Sports Complex). The only thing I could find that seemed to work was a forty foot statue of a man kicking a football. But, since this is the Great American BASEBALL Trip, I decided to wait until I was inside. I grabbed my press pass for the game and proceeded to the field.
The Phillies organization did make some good additions to the stadium to make it more fan friendly and pleasing to the eye. For the All-Star game a few years ago, the stadium was fitted with all new seats and festive red, white and blue bunting. Much of the new coloring remains and gives the stadium a slightly smaller feeling. In deep center field (I guess because nobody is ever going to sit there to watch a baseball game) is the American Phan Stand. After the third inning of each game, music is played and fans get up and dance, to the delight of the Diamondvision viewers. At this particular game, a whole group of children, maybe forty or fifty of them, ran around and kicked their legs (sort of like dancing) while circling one of the sections. I guess I caught them on an off night.
All around the 200 level of the stadium the Phillies organization has set up
exhibits and other play areas for fans to enjoy. The Phillies Phan Zone mixes a little bit
of Phillies history with an interactive amusement park including virtual batting and pitching
cages. While I didn't partake, it looked like fans could choose their favorite major
league pitcher and do their best to get a "virtual" hit. Not bad, and some of the folks
in the cages were having more success against Glavine than the ones on the field.
Of course, Veterans stadium is still large, and very unfriendly. The Diamondvision isn't
very good and leaves fans squinting to see the replays from the field, the organ player (or
sound mixer, as the case may be) doesn't play very much music between innings, and
the rallying songs and clapping beats are cut off before fans realize what is happening
and get involved. It may speed up the game, but it makes for a game where the
loudest cheer of the night
came on a nice catch by a fan reacting to a foul ball behind home plate.
I did overhear several interesting conversations while I milling around. The one that sticks out in my mind went a long way towards me realizing that baseball players are just like normal guys. A batting practice pitcher and a utility catcher were sitting in the dugout, one chewing tobacco, the other remarking on how sore he was. Then they started talking about college. It appeared that the utility catcher, certainly no older than twenty-three or twenty-four years old, was working on gathering up enough credits to return to and graduate from college. The pitcher was giving him advice on how to gain his degree -- the catcher was looking at a double major involving marketing and something else -- and how important it was to get that degree because baseball doesn't last forever.
Finally the WPHL crew showed up and we did an interview sitting in the stands, then standing, all the while tossing a ball around (which ironically was an American League ball left over from interleague play last week). After the interview, I decided to walk around the field and talk to some of the players about the trip, about the season and about life. I stood by the cage and ended up in a very nice conversation with Lenny Dykstra. Dykstra, who first looked at me in my khaki pants and collared shirt as if I had walked off a space ship, warmed up after I introduced myself as a kid who was traveling around to all the Major League ballparks this summer. He thought it would be a great trip, and proceeded to tell most of the other players and coaches around him, who then peppered me with questions and looked at me with some surprise as I got into more of the details.
Others I had conversations with, including Ricky Otero and Mark Parent, were more interested in batting practice but cordial nontheless. Otero is no more than an inch taller than I am and we spent a few fun-filled moments talking about how I should borrow a pair of cleats and join him in the batting cage. Parent, who dwarfs me and most members of the team, was kind enough to give me a bat he had broken during batting practice saying in response to my comment about the beautiful grain and coloring, "it doesn't matter how nice it looks, kid, if it doesn't have any hits in it." A comment that seemed to show the frustration many of the Phillies players are feeling with their lack of success.
About an hour before the first pitch, I had some time to sit down with Larry Shenk, Vice President of Public Relations for the Phillies. We spoke for about twenty minutes about a variety of subjects, ranging from stadium construction to inter-league play. Mr. Shenk was very gracious in acknowledging the lack of fan support for the Phillies (due to only 22 wins this season) and seemed to show a little frustration when we spoke about the changes the Phillies have undergone to draw new, and younger, fans.
Mr. Shenk explained how the Phillies chose a few years ago to go with the younger ballplayers in an attempt to rebuild the club for a run at the pennant a few years down the line. Obviously, opting for younger talent will affect the short term successes of a team. The Phillies are not the only team that is realizing this. But the Phillies are very excited about some young prospects such as Garrett Stephenson and Scott Rolen, who is the subject of quite a bit of conversation.
As the story goes, Rolen was not hitting particularly well, and hadn't homered all season long. Then a local bat maker named Stan the Stickman (a local hero of sorts who sits down the third baseline for every game, although I was unable to find him) made a customized bat for Rolen. Stan the Stickman guaruntees a "homerun in every bat". The first game Rolen used the bat, he hit a homerun. Now the watch is on.
Anyway, back to the meeting. Mr. Shenk acknowledged that the Phillies wanted a baseball-only ballpark, like Baltimore or Cleveland, to replace the cavernous Veterans stadium that seats more than 60,000 fans. He remarked how difficult it would be to gather the clout needed to get public financing for a stadium because of the recent lack of success of the part of the ballclub. However, while I was sitting in the dugout during batting practice, Phillies President and CEO Bill Giles stepped down from his position to become Chairman of the Phillies, a move Mr. Shenk seemed to think would focus the energies of the franchise on building a baseball-only ballpark.
As for the rest of the sport, Mr. Shenk and I spoke about inter-league play and the minor leagues. When asked if he was in favor of inter-league play, Mr. Shenk gave the perfect management reply that if the fans like it, it is good for baseball. He noted that the Phillies had averaged nearly 10,000 more fans in each of the inter-league games played last week against the Blue Jays, and he only hoped that fan interest would continue. Interestingly, while I was down on the field, I met Jim Schultz, the Director of Public Relations for the Atlanta Braves. While we were talking, the topic turned to interleague play and he gave an almost identical answer.
Then a radio reporter from Atlanta sat down next to me, and we began speaking. It was his first road trip of the year, but he had been to Veterans stadium several times. For some reason, it sounded as if he enjoyed attending games there, a sentiment not shared by anyone else I spoke with during the day. After talking about the lineup and the injuries, and standing for the National Anthem, we settled in for the first few pitches. Of course, being new in my role as a member of the media, I was warned immediately when I clapped in support of the Phillies first out, a dribbler to first base that the catcher picked up and tossed over in time to get the runner. We joked about how the Phillies reporters really didn't have anything to cheer so they kept the box quiet and neutral, but I quickly learned that that is the custom in every media box in the nation.
THE FOODAs I travel around to all the ballparks, I will be tasting a pretzel and reporting back the results. Well, the pretzel at Veterans stadium will be hard to beat. The pretzel is larger than any pretzel I have ever seen, not just in its overall diameter, but in density as well. It comes straight out of the case and is pleasantly warm to the touch, not soggy, not sticky, just soft and wonderful. And, when you tear off a piece (since it is not wise to put something this large in your mouth) and taste it, everything you hoped for has come true. It's your choice whether to add a little mustard -- I went with the spicy mustard -- but it is certainly a satisfying ballpark food experience.
Joining me in the stands were my cousins Jeff and Ali Reich and a close friend of the family, Barry Cerf. Jeff is in the sixth year of his residency on his way to becoming a Urologist (kidneys, bladders, etc...). Ali, in addition to being eight and a half months pregnant, is doing clinical research involving eye cancer and preparing to be a mother. Barry, on the other hand, is still a kid at heart. The four of us sat in the stands, took our shots at the Phillies, and spent more time remarking on how quiet the crowd around us was.
Quiet however with the exception of the large group of Braves Fans located behind us. The four folks, seemingly a family, to our left were up from Savannah. They had signs, foam tomahawks, and proceeded to yell every time the Phillies struck out (to the dismay of many of the fans around us). The other Braves fans, who didn't seem to be from anywhere near the South, continued to drink throughout the game and then yell randomly and chant the tomahawk chop. To my immediate left was one other interesting fan, and one that I am afraid sums up much of the Phillies crowd. The woman and her husband only came to the game she said "because we got the tickets for free". She claimed to be a hockey fan, and didn't really seem to care for the sport of baseball, referencing some bad experience she had a few years back when sitting in the deepest parts of the outfield for a blisteringly hot game a few summers ago. The woman and her husband left after the seventh inning.
So, that was a pretty full day at Veterans stadium in Philadelphia, PA. I watched batting practice, talked to Phillies players and coaches (all who were excited about the trip), got some souvenirs, had a great pretzel, and watch a good pitching performance from Tom Glavine. I don't expect my next stop to offer the same courtesies as the Phillies extended, but I am sure glad I started the Great American Baseball Trip where I did.
