A Memorable Night at CBP

By Amy McCormick

I went to my first Phillies game as a child.  It was at The Vet, and I won’t tell you what year it was.  Since then, I’ve been to countless games.  I wish I could say that I’ve attended a post-season game, but that would be a lie.  The most fun I’ve had at a Phillies game is still pretty vivid in my usually forgetful mind.

It was a Wednesday afternoon, and a friend of my husband’s asked if we wanted his tickets to that night’s game.  I was hesitant, because our two older daughters had school in the morning, and it meant we would need my mom to baby-sit our three girls.  Somehow, things fell into place, and Mike and I ended up on our way to South Philly.

It was September 30, and I remember thinking how it was way too cold outside.  We were bundled up, though, and ready to watch Pedro Martinez pitch.  At one point, Mike went to get us some hot chocolate, and I’ll never forget how disgusting it was.  Of course, I didn’t care.  I was there to watch the Phils battle the Astros, and there was the possibility that the Phillies could clinch the NL East that night.  I figured it would happen the following night, just because that’s the kind of luck I have.

Pedro pitched four innings and let up three runs.  We were losing 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth, when the Phils took full advantage of an error by Houston and scored four runs.  Kyle Kendrick came in to pitch innings 5-7, during which the Phils tacked on five more runs, making the score 10-3.  Citizens Bank Park started to get nice and loud.  Chad Durbin pitched the eighth inning, and Scott Eyre pitched two outs of the ninth.  For the last out, Brad Lidge came running from the bullpen.  If you’ll remember, 2009 was the season that everyone hated Brad Lidge and would have run him over with his or her car if given the chance.  Mike and I still loved him, and we were glad to see Charlie put him in for the final out.  The man threw one pitch.  A ground out ended the game, and the stadium went crazy.  Fireworks exploded in the sky. 

Some fans decided to leave in an attempt to beat traffic.  Not us.  We moved to section 117 with a bunch of other fans, and watched as the players came out of the clubhouse in their “NL East Champs” gear.  Music was blaring.  Of course, we all sang along to the audio of Harry singing “High Hopes.” The most touching and emotional part of the evening was when the team jogged together over to left field where the sign for Harry Kalas was.  Since Harry had passed just five months before, his absence was especially obvious and sad.  The whole scene was very bittersweet for all of us.  There was an extremely tall man in front of me, so I stood on the seat.  I didn’t care; I wanted to see. 

Finally, it was time to go home.  It was late, and we needed to get up early.  I never thought I would have so much fun in freezing cold weather, but I will never forget that game.  Thanks, Mike, for an impromptu date night.  You kept me warm and I had a blast.