Something happened last night that has not occurred since July 7, 2009.
No, the Phillies hitters did not start working the count and playing “small ball.” Maybe next year, right Charlie? Count on it, right Ruben?.
No, this is about empty seats. Lots of them at Citizens Bank Park. Not just empty seats, but seats that were not sold.
As the Phils have struggled in this most un-Phillies like summer, there has been the occasional empty seat scattered throughout their lovely little bandbox of a park. But until last night all those tickets had actually been sold.
Last night 41,665 people went through the turnstiles. That ended a streak of 257 consecutive sellouts, the longest ever in the National League and the third longest in MLB history.
Much will be made of that little fact today.
It answers a question I have had for a while now. I am one of those who believe the “magic” of Citizens Bank Park, and the miracle that the Phillies pulled off since their resurrection, have as much to do with the stadium as the team.
Simply put, the Phillies made Citizens Bank Park the place to be in the summer. It was a party. Happening. The place to see and be seen. Along the way, they made liars of all those who feared baseball had lost an entire generation. You’d be hard-pressed by looking at all those young faces in that sea of red that has shown up in South Philly the past few summers.
Now comes the Phillies’ next challenge. Will the people keep coming for the party even when the team isn’t nearly as good?
For the first time in years, the Phillies are playing meaningless games before Labor Day. There’s still a ton of baseball to be played this summer. But very little of it will matter to the Phillies. They are pretty much resigned to their fate.
Now the only question is will the fans continue to show up. Or will the party move somewhere else?
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