Game #8-Citizens Bank Park the 2022 National League Champions vs. Seattle Mariners

I forgot to mention in our previous post that somewhere in the roadways between Atlanta and Virginia is a footpad from one of our jacks. Not to worry because we have Amazon! I ordered a couple of footpads and pins on Amazon and had them delivered to our RV park in Baltimore. Now we have a spare in case the rough roads and highways continue to yield it's earthquake effects on our little home away from home. Now on to our visit to Citizens Bank Park where we saw the Philadelphia Phillies take on the Seattle Mariners. Thursday, April 27 was a great day for baseball and a visit to Citizens Bank Park! We were worried as we started out the 100-mile drive to the stadium from our RV park because it was very cloudy with a very strong chance of rain. I did my anti-rain dance before we left around the campground and it worked! We only had a few sprinkles during the game and no rain delays. The game was set to start at 1:05pm so we arrived at 11:00am only to find out the gates would not open until 11:35am. The stadium is located in the Southern part of Philadelphia right next to the Philadelphia Eagles stadium. Because we go to the stadium early we had plenty of time to walk around the exterior and capture a few pictures. Once the gates opened and we made our way through the long lines. When we entered the security area at the gate all of a sudden I heard a security person shout, "Hey you, lady with the hot dog come over here." He had to examine Jim's hot dog hat to ensure I was not bringing anything into the park that was not allowed. Thankfully they allowed hot dog hats. Once inside we chatted with a very nice woman from Guest Services named Donna who gave us all the details of what to see once inside the stadium. The capacity at the ballpark is 43,500 and for a Thursday day game these Phillies fans really know how to fill a stadium with attendance being 31,543. I saw so many young kids at the ballpark and the principal in me kept thinking over and over again,"Why aren't these kids in school?" If I think back to my childhood there might have been a time or two I missed school to go to a baseball game. Ha!Ha! We did our walk around the ballpark to see all the features of the park. We made our way to Ashburn Alley named after Phillies Hall of Fame center fielder Richie Ashburn who later became a Phillies broadcaster until his death in 1997. Ashburn Alley has many restaurants, shops and memorabilia from Phillies history. They have an All-Star walk with granite markers paying tribute to Phillies players who have played in an All-Star game. I found many of them difficult to read due to the wearing of the granite. What Jim and I really enjoyed was the Phillies Wall of Fame located behind center field. We read about many of the old time greats. We even saw Tug McGraw's (Tim McGraw's father) plaque which is pictured on our Instagram @ourfieldofdreams2023. This field also has bi-level bullpens located in right-center field. We walked over and saw both teams warming up before the game. You can get VERY close to the bullpens. The visiting team gets the top level meaning they are closer to the fans. Fans are allowed to heckle the players but must keep it clean. The area above the bullpen is closed 30 minutes prior to first pitch and remains closed until the end of the game. While continuing our walk around the park Jim found one of the pretty Phillies Ballgirls, Samantha who was selling 50-50 tickets and he was so sure he bought the winning ticket. No such luck! Now on to the food. I came hungry because I had a list of what to eat from my forever friend Kat Gelardi's daughter, Shauna Goodman. First thing is first, we had to get the Bull Dog from Bull's BBQ in Ashburn Alley. This was the hot dog recommended by the security personnel who frisked the hot dog hat. The line was pretty long at Bull's BBQ but soon Jim was wearing his famous hat and giving us his thoughts and ratings on the Bull Dog. He gave the Bull Dog a 6.5 but ate almost all of it. Next it was my turn so I started with the Federal Donut, afterall I did not have breakfast. I had a cinnamon sugar donut that was really tasty and I finished it in record time. Next we found our seats and I headed out before the first pitch to Chickie's and Pete's. I was told I must get the Crabfries and dipping cheese sauce at Chickie's and Pete's. Talk about a long line and very efficient workers. I kind of felt like I was reliving the Seinfeld episode of "The Soup Nazi." People are to know their order immediately and don't get distracted by talking to people in line while waiting to pay because you will hear a very loud "NEXT IN LINE!!!" Remember I told you in previous posts I love french fries so I was excited to get back to my seat and stack them on top of the donut I just ate. They were very good but a little too much spice for me. I did put a pretty good dent in the fry bucket and even let Jim have a few. Not that I should be hungry but in the 4th inning I could not take it anymore. The aroma from Uncle Charlie's Steaks was killing me as we were sitting right below it. Jim went up to grab us a cheesesteak sandwich to share and we both agreed it was absolutely one of the best things we have eaten in a ballpark. By this point I had eaten my way into a new pant size! Now on to the game. The game recap will be pretty short this time because it was very much a pitching and defensive game with the Phillies winning 1-0. Jim was delighted to see former Dodger players Trea Turner and Craig Kimbrel who now are playing for the Phillies. The first score and only score came in the 2nd inning when Kody Clemens hit a line drive to score a run. We did see some great defensive plays and three double plays during this game making the innings fly by! The defense was on point for both teams. The game ended with the Mariners only having 3 hits and the Phillies having 4 hits. We did not see a home run which we were hoping for because the mechanical lighted replica of the Liberty Bell in right field lights up and rings after home runs. The fans at Phillies stadium are so energetic and fun. Those around us were cheering and clapping the entire game. In between innings the music was so engaging that even I was up dancing. We have a few pictures of the fans on our instagram, they are fantastic! After the game was over they had "Seniors Stroll the Bases." I talked Jim into doing it with me because afterall we are a couple of old farts and needed a good walk after all that food. That was the first time we have been on a MLB field. It felt good to be on the field and touch each of those bases. I tried to get Jim to slide into third but he wouldn't comply. We just STROLLED THE BASES! The Washington Nationals are next up on Friday. Strong chance for the game being postponed due to rain. If that happens we will fly back later this summer to hit that park. Looking at the forecast I don't think I have a anti-rain dance that can stop this storm. Until next time PLAY BALL!