Phillies Baseball: A Night In Queens

Turning sixty wasn’t all bad. Helaine got me a bunch of gifts which have unfolded over the last month. This weekend it’s the Phils versus the Mets at Citi Field.

I know the neighborhood after all I grew up in Queens, but I’d never stepped inside Citi Field until tonight. I am favorably impressed.

We’re staying at a hotel in Corona (sounds like a dream come true, right?) so the stadium is ten minutes away. You walk up to Roosevelt Avenue then turn left and continue under the Flushing El.

From a distance the stadium looks classic. Lots of earth tones and exposed brick. As you draw closer it looks like the stadium itself is wrapped in an outer building.

We got frisked (yeah, frisked) and had our bags inspected on the way in. The stadium staff could not have been nicer nor smiled more.

We had no hassles while wearing Phillies shirts. Truth is a full quarter of the fans seemed to be Phillies fans. Really Mets fans? This is the best you could do on a Saturday night? There were loads of empty seats. What a shame!

The biggest difference between an old and new ballpark is the availability of food. Citi Field is loaded with food stands many serving specialty items. I bought some sushi and had a lobster roll. Helaine got a hot dog and shake from the Shake Shack.

Our seats were in the 400 level on the first base side and in the first row. It was a great spot to watch the game, not quite as good for photography which demands you stay close to eye level with the action.

The Phils won! It wasn’t pretty as the Mets gave up three costly errors (and we think it should have been four). The final was 4-0.

Chris Velardi and daughters will be glad to know they’re getting the Mets hats they gave away tonight!

Tomorrow’s game was originally scheduled for the afternoon. Thanks to ESPN it won’t start until 8:05. We’ll take advantage of the #7 train and spend some city time before heading back to Citi.

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