NL Loses Again

For the 13th year, the National League has failed to beat the American League in the mid summer classic. For the third straight year, the NL lost by one run. Curtis Granderson of the Tigers hit a triple to left in the eighth and scored on a sacrifice fly by Adam Jones of the Orioles to give the AL the 4-3 lead and win.

The NL hasn't won since 1996 at Veterans Stadium. Since then, they are 0-12-1 (the tie came in 2002 in Milwaukee. With yesterday's win, the AL will receive home field advantage once again in the World Series. I still believe that home field advantage should go to the team with the best record in baseball.

All five Phillies got to play as Chase Utley, Raul Ibanez, and Shane Victorino started and Jayson Werth replaced Victorino and Howard pinch hit. Utley had a great game in the field despite going 0-2 at the plate. Ibanez also went 0-2. Victorino made the most of his appearance, going 1-2 with a base hit and then scoring the game tying run (at two) in the second off an error. Werth came in and struck out but made a great running catch in center to ironically bail out Francisco Rodriguez of the Mets. Howard struck out on a half swing trailing by one with runners on second and third with two outs in the eighth.

Here's the official box score:

FIM Recap

I'm still up for absolutely no reason whatsoever so I decided to recap moment 15-2 of the Famous/Infamous Moment series. Tomorrow morning I will post #1 which is pretty obvious as to what it is. Here is the list:

#15 - Steve Cartlon (1994), Mike Schmidt and Richie Ashburn (1995), and Jim Bunning (1996) get inducted into the Hall of Fame.

#14 - The 2007 run when the Phillies helped the Mets create the biggest choke in baseball.

#13 - The birth of our beloved Phillie Phanatic.

#12 - The Phillies record career loss #10,000 versus the Cardinals in 2006.

#11 - Veterans Stadium is imploded.

#10 - Ryan Howard wins the Rookie of the Year and MVP in back-to-back seasons.

#9 - The departure of Harry Kalas and Whitey Asburn.

#8 - The Phillies trade Larry Bowa and Ryne Sandberg for Ivan DeJesus.

#7 - The collapse in 1964.

#6 - Schmidt hits his 500th homer.

#5 - The Whiz Kids win the 1950 pennant.

#4 - Jim Bunning goes perfect in 1964.

#3 - The Phillies win their first world championship in 1980.

#2 - Joe Carter breaks our hearts.

I wonder what #1 will be.....

FIM #11: Goodbye Vet

A brand new era deserves a brand new stadium. But with bringing in a newer, fresher experience for the fans and players comes the sacrifices of memories and traditions. Moment #11 is the destruction of our beloved Veterans Stadium.

Built in 1971, The Vet was home to the infamous "Boo Birds" (Eagles fans) and the rowdy Phillies fans in the 700 level. Whether it was fights, flashings, or pure vulgar banter, the 700 level was one of the most infamous group of fans in all of sports. The fans were so bad that a municipal court was installed in the stadium for fans who were ejected from the game.

The stadium was famous for it's terrible field conditions such as a concrete like playing surface and poor draining. The AstroTurf would also act as an oven for baseball and football players, reaching up to 120 degrees on hot July, August, and September days.

The Vet was home to two MLB All Star games: the first in 1976 during the nations bicentennial and again in 1996. The Phillies won their first championship in 1980 there. Players like Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton to Lenny Dykstra and John Kruk to Jim Thome and Scott Rolen all played in this stadium.

There were so many great Phillies moments that occurred here. Game 6 of the 1980 World Series was won here when Tug McGraw struck out Willie Wilson of the Kansas City Royals in front of about 66,000 fans to win their first championship.

The latest game in MLB history was played their. The Phillies and Padres started a double header on July 2nd, 1993 and due to rain outs and delays all day, they didn't complete the second game until 4:40 in the morning on July 3rd. Mitch Williams drove in Pete Incaviglia to win the game in the 10th.

Kevin Millwood and Terry Mulholland own the only 2 9-inning no-hitters in The Vet's history. Mullholland did his in 1990 and Millwood did his in 2003. Both were ironically against the Sn Francisco Giants.

In 2004, Phillies fans threw D-cell batteries at St. Louis Cardinals outfielder J.D. Drew after when drafted by the Phillies, said he would never play for Philadelphia, re-entered the draft next year and was picked by the Cardinals.

After it's demolition in 2004, Citizen Bank Park used the area where The Vet stood as an additional parking lot. Fans will never forget The Vet nor the memories left in it. But there are new ones to be made at CBP, including a World Championship and seeing guys like Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, and Chase Utley represent the new home of the Phillies.

The implosion

My ticket stubs throughout the years at The Vet