r/phillies

I was 23 in the fall of 1993. I was back home in Montgomery County, PA from a grad school experiment in Pittsburgh that didn't work out and was hanging out in my hometown with high school pals I hadn't really seen much of since graduation in 1988.

Notably, I was hanging around with a friend I'd known since grade school. We played baseball together from Little League all the way through high school and senior American Legion. We even played a little bit in the Perky League.

We were both left-handed pitchers. We used to argue with each other, insisting the other was the #1 pitcher on the team.

We both pitched in college after high school and were in different divisions of the Middle Atlantic Conference (D3), but we never faced off against each other.

That summer of '93 was pretty special, watching Dutch, Kruk, Morandini, Hollins, Incaviglia, Nails, Schilling, Mulholland, and Wild Thing (Mitchie-Poo), and the rest, go from worst to first. We listened to the late, great Harry Kalas (the voice of the Phillies from my earliest memories in the early 1970s) calling the games.

I was 23, back home again, seeing tons of old pals from high school every week at the bar. Some older, some younger, everyone knew me and my pal from our baseball days. Life was fucking good!

We would watch the Phils, tell jokes, lies, stories, and we would sweat through Williams' "exciting" appearances.

We would reminisce about games and brawls from high school and Legion, and of course, all the other old memories that pals who grew up together could share.

I remember being in that bar for Carter's series ending homer. It was as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. In reality, it was probably 150 to 200 people, still well above the fire marshall's occupancy limits for that bar, and the cry was "FUCK!!" in unison.

Listening to Kruk and McCarthy these days reminds me of how my buddy and I would chatter during those games, and talk about how cool it would be to have a beer with Dutch, Kruk, Morandini, and some of the other guys on that team.

These memories from over 30 years ago hit me hard every time I get to listen to Kruk and McCarthy, and I wouldn't trade a single one of them.

We have a 17 game package. The price has gone up nearly 20% for the 2027 renewal. Since 2023, there has been a 73% increase in the ticket price. The beer is already $18-$20. Ice cream is $12. This is getting a little nuts!

Brewers fan from Brazil, first time at Citizens Bank Park, going to the Tuesday night game on the 22nd. Three questions.

Is it normal to see away fans at Stateside Live before the game, or is it a Phillies only crowd? Same question for Chickie's & Pete's on Packer.

We're sitting close to the field on the third base side.

What is THE classic food at Citizens Bank Park, the one thing everyone tells you to get?

And what else should I do at the park to get the most out of it. What time to get there, where to walk, what to see before first pitch.

Fuck the mets, btw!

PHILADELPHIA — When Philadelphia Phillies hitters walk into the batting cages at Citizens Bank Park, they can view an electronic board listing categories the team is doing well and poorly in. It could be getting over from second or third, driving in runners in scoring position, two-strike production, ground-ball rates, how they’re handling lefties and righties — anything, really.

“There’s so many variables and parts to being a good offense that you look at,” hitting coach Kevin Long said, “and I think we’ve done a really good job bringing up the good areas and the bad, and trying to get better in the areas that we know we can do better at.”

Now, after a 4-1 win against the Miami Marlins on Wednesday, the Phillies are a season-best 12 games above .500 and riding a six-game win streak. This stretch has largely been powered by a more lively offense that has upped its OPS from .686 in July to .780 in August. There have been ups and downs this month — particularly the cumulative, seemingly long-lasting exhaustion after several extra-inning games at Citizens Bank Park two weeks ago — but this week, this team looks reenergized. It is something to build on as the Phillies chase October.