NYY Stadium Insider Visits Citizens Bank Park in Philly

Meant to get this up sooner, but I have been lazy.

On Saturday, July 28 the girlfriend and I took a one night trip down to Philly, centered around visiting the relatively new ballpark down there that the Phillies play in.

Although Nick seems to think he has heard that the stadium isn't very impressive, I beg to differ. Great concessions, huge, wide walkways, a festive atmosphere and great views from most of the seats that I passed by. The stadium also has a nice view of the Philadelphia skyline in the background.

Obviously, Philly fans of ANY sports team leave a LOT to be desired. I won't let that take away from the overall grade of the stadium. When it comes to facilities, it is the nicest stadium I have ever been to. I hope to get to PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pac Bell or whatever the Giants stadium is called in SF, Petco in San Diego and whatever the Arizona field is called nowadays so I can compare them to the Philly facilities.

Oh yea, Pat Burrell is like Philly's very own A-Rod. The dude has like a .420 OBP and he is approaching 20 HRs, yet they boo his every move. Typical Philly.

Interesting fact: 7/28/07 will go down in history as the single most attended day in Major League Baseball history (there were a couple of day/night doubleheaders that day).

Here are some pictures:





Read the full post, after the jump

Oh yea, I meant to mention - I didn't catch A-Rod's 500th HR

It wasn't for lack of trying though!

Last week I went to the games on Tuesday and Friday. A-Rod had 5 ABs each game, never really coming close to the HR.

I even ditched my usual upper deck seats and sat down in the left field corner so I could have easy access to the left field HR territory. For once, the Yankee stadium security guards were cool and they let people convene in the left field corner to try to grasp a piece of history.

Here is where I was standing for all 10 of his ABs that I was in attendance for last week:



Why is that significant?

Well, I was standing there in his LAST AB on Friday night. Guess where he hit #500 in his FIRST AB on Saturday? Yup, you guessed it - right where I was standing on Friday night.



Thats my life story folks!

BTW - The Yankees romped as usual both games last week and there was a funny Asian woman sitting next to me on Tuesday night singing that "Bad Day" song from American Idol that was being played to accompany a bloopers video. She was so into the song. It was classic. On Friday night, I sat next to an Asian GUY (I am assuming he was from Taiwan). He was taking all sorts of pictures of Wang and was really having a good time. The Yankees have such an international fan base. Read the full post, after the jump

Ross and I attempt to witness history!

And we did really. Just not the history we hoped, and anticipated. A slickly dressed Ross and I spent all of A-Rod's at bats in the fracas down the left field line, where even those from other sections were allowed to dwell in hopes of catching A-Rod's milestone blast. The fans in that section may not have been rewarded with A-Rod's blast, but fireworks were certainly on display as the Yankees routed the ChiSox, hitting 8 dingers, tying a franchise record. See? History.

It really was a fun night. The camera flashes during A-Rod's AB's were blinding. The energy during his AB's, and during the whole game was electric. Ross commented that going to games would be so fun if A Rod was on the brink of a milestone every game. I couldn't agree more. I'm just hoping he gets this one out of the way soon, as the Yankees continue their march towards the playoffs.... 3 back, 2 months to go. Sweet! Read the full post, after the jump