Today
was the first spring training game. The Phillies
ballpark, Brighthouse Field, is about 7 miles from the RV Park, but with
traffic through the city it takes about 20 minutes to get there. We got to the park about 11:30 am to check it
out again and have lunch before the game started at 1:05 am.
The
game today was the first game throughout the Florida spring training system and was essentially
a scrimmage with the Florida State Seminoles, a pretty good college baseball
team. The Phillies used a succession of
young pitchers who will have a hard time making the team this year due to what
appears to be a strong pitching staff (at least on paper). Most of the regular players started the game and
batted at least once. Some did not,
including Chase Utley, Placido Polanco, Carlos Ruiz, and Ryan Howard who is recovering
from his achillies heel injury and will not be back in action for several more
months. The kids pitched well and the
minor leaguers and rookies who took over after the regulars left early, scored some
runs and won the game 6-1. We even got to
sit next to the “Phillies Box” behind home plate. This is an area controlled by the Phillies for
their staff and invited guests. Today, Ruben Amaro, the Phillies General
Manager, and Ed Wade, a former Phillies General Manager and now a special assistant
to the General Manager, were sitting there.
There were also at least a half dozen scouts with radar guns behind home
plate, either scouting the young Phillies pitchers and/or the Florida State
players in anticipation of the next amateur draft.
Attending
a game here is an excellent sports experience.
The stadium is very nice, the crowds are not too large, the ball park
food is good, and everyone seems to be very friendly and laid back. There were a lot of people here today
supporting Florida State who were not necessarily Phillies fans. Their campus is at Tallahassee, a good 6 hour
drive from here. Most games however are predominately attended by Phillies
fans, most who either now live here, came down for the winter, or are visiting
for just a few games. The food in the stadium
is all geared towards a northeast (Philadelphia) crowd. Examples include
hoagies and cheese steaks from a Philadelphia restaurant, Philadelphia style
pizza, and Yeungling Beer on tap. A lot
of retirees with Philadelphia ties make up most of the stadium help, including
ushers, concession workers, and other related stadium help.
After
the game, we stopped for a few groceries and returned to the RV for dinner. The next game is Saturday afternoon against
the NY Yankees. This will be the first
official game of the Grapefruit League Spring Training season. As the Yankees spring training site is in
Tampa, there will probably a number of Yankee fans in attendance along with a
full house of Philly fans. I believe the
game will also be televised on MLB.TV.
No comments:
Post a Comment