Philadelphia Phillies Baseball
The Philadelphia Phillies were formerly called the Alleghenies and the Innocents. They became the Phillies in 1890. The city of Philadelphia has one of the longest traditions of baseball in America. When the Phillies were formed in 1883, history was in the making. The team, Phillies, is the oldest continuous holding one-name, one franchise in all of the professional sports. The inaugural season did not see much success as the team won only 17 games.
The club won its first World Series in 1980. This stands as the only World Series victory in the Phillies' 122-year history. This was a team with such notable names as Steve Carlton, Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, Greg Luzinski, Tug McGraw and Larry Bowa.
From 1990 and 1992 the team captivated three straight division titles. Jim Leyland was named NL manager of the year and Bonds was NL MVP in 1990 and 1992 respectively. The team recorded little success in late 1990s. The Phillies have had three batters with four home runs in a game. This is more than any other team. There are only fifteen times it has happened.
Until 205, the Phillies had the longest national championship drought in baseball history at 97 years. The Phillies do still hold the record for having gone the longest period of time without ever having won a national championship. The Phillies franchise headed into the 2006 season with a total of over 9800 team losses. This is the most of any other professional sports team.
Citizens Bank Park
The cross section Citizens Bank Park is configured to place fans on top of the action, so less than one-third of the seats are in the upper deck. The field is oriented with home plate to the south and the outfield to the north, 45 degrees counter-clockwise from Veterans Stadium's orientation to allow for a view of the downtown skyline.
Citizens Bank Park has an outdoor entertainment area called Ashburn Alley. Features include the All-Star Walk, Citizens Bank Games of Baseball, Memory Lane, Rooftop Bleacher Seats, Wall of Fame, Alley Store, and more! It opens 2 1/2 hours before game time so fans can watch batting practice.
The stadium also has a wide variety of great places to eat. You can try world-famous cheesesteaks from Rick's Steaks, old Philly-style sandwiches from Tony Luke's, gourmet-style Peace A Pizza, the famous Philadelphia sandwich "The Schmitter"®, Crab fries from Chickie & Pete's, and Turkey Hill ice cream. You can also grab a bite to eat at McFadden’s Restaurant and Saloon that is open all year or Harry the K’s Bar & Grille (only open during games). It is the only restaurant built into a bi-level scoreboard structure.