My retirement from Princeton University took effect Wednesday, and I thought catching the first available day game at Citizens Bank Park would be a dandy way to celebrate. I drove to Philadelphia late this morning, knowing that I’d likely roast in a heat wave promising a triple-digit high temperature.
Roast I did, along with 38,000 other fans of the Phillies and the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates. With the searing heat and high humidity, many of the fans moved back to shaded seats or watched from the concourse.
I got my ticket through Seat Geek and was surprised to find that in Section 121, row 21 of the lower deck, I was seated to the right of home plate, aligned precisely with the third baseline. I was hoping my seat would be in shadow cast by the upper decks. With a 12:35 p.m. start, though, I sat in bright sunshine, a few rows ahead of the shade.
Passing clouds periodically dimmed the sun, and a fair breeze came through every now and then. Still, the heat was relentless. I took a couple of shade breaks between innings and during the entire fifth inning as the temperature hit and likely passed 100 degrees. Declaring that a complete game for myself, I headed out onto the pavement to get back to my car and drive home. During the drive, I heard the Phillies fail, falling 6-1.
While it was a truncated visit to the ballpark in uncomfortably hot conditions, I enjoyed the game, for itself and for the kick of being able to attend without having to take a day off work.
Last evening, I set up the new “Go-Ahead” face-scanning feature in the MLB Ballpark app. Without even having to take out my cell phone, at the first base gate I walked up to a screen and camera apparatus and was instantly cleared to walk into the park. Magic!
The Phillies offered bottles of water to all fans and set up a few misting stations. Keeping hydrated is important always, more so during a heat wave such as the one much of the Eastern half of the country is experiencing this week.
I’m heading to Baltimore next week to see a few Orioles games and plan to catch the Dodgers and Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. For all those games, I hope the high heat will have dissipated. 🧢
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