Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Baseball
As the city of Philadelphia celebrates America’s 250th birthday, Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game is coming to Citizens Bank Park.
It might not rise to the level of overthrowing a nation, but the local baseball team’s mascot is well known for his disdain for being ruled. Even if it’s just by conventional standards of mascot behavior. It is undoubtedly his most endearing quality.
It’s probably likely the Phanatic could only be the Phanatic in Philadelphia, a city that for 250 years has epitomized defiance to the point of rewriting the rules.
Tom Burgoyne, who has worn the costume for over 30 years, will have a lot to do during this year’s All-Star Week, as Major League Baseball prepares to showcase the world’s greatest game in the country’s founding city.
Burgoyne speaks about the Phanatic in third person, as if admitting that the internationally famous costume’s rebellious personality is all its own.
“All the semiquincentennial events, the Phanatic is going to be popping up at a lot of those. Usually, around the 4th of July and all the events that are happening, he’s busy.
“The mascots work the All-Star Game Village at the Convention Center. They’re there at the Home Run Derby and the red-carpet event on Tuesday. You see them throughout the week.”
And of course, he’ll be at the game, doing Phanatic things. “He’s featured a couple of times to do routines, dances, skits, whatever you want to call it. You won’t be able to miss the Phanatic at the All-Star Game.”
The Phanatic has been to every All-Star Game since the 1996 game at Veterans Stadium…all of the teams’ mascots go each year…so he knows how a city embraces the Midsummer Classic. Burgoyne is looking forward, as are all of us, to highlighting the city with baseball’s biggest showcase in town.
“It really is exciting to go to the city that’s hosting the All-Star Game. The whole community gets pumped up. It’s a showcase for these cities, and it’ll certainly be a showcase for Philadelphia. The different neighborhoods, Center City will be alive, hotels are packed, Old City and historic Philadelphia [will be] highlighted. I love how baseball is utilizing all that.
“If you’re a Philadelphian or you live in the region, you can really hold your head high and have a lot of pride when so many visitors come into the city, and see why we all love this area.”
Deb Rinaldi, the Phillies Director of Business Communications, shares Burgoyne’s growing excitement about the arrival of the Midsummer Classic. The All-Star Game celebration is “an incredible team effort,” Rinaldi says.
“We’re excited to work closely with MLB as Philadelphia is put on the world stage. We are putting an increased emphasis on creating an unprecedented fan experience at all levels of the ballpark.”
That improved fan experience includes a revamping of the Hall of Fame Club, now the Cadillac Hall of Fame Club, fittingly acknowledging General Motors’s contribution to America.
One aspect of that renovation is removing the baseball wall and making the individual baseballs available to fans.
The Phillies hadn’t said what would be replacing it at press time, but the fans don’t seem to mind; season ticket packages are already sold out in the club.
There’s also going to be a new Kings Swings kids playground, enhancements to the rooftop seating area in center field, and new sponsors for the Rooftop and Diamond Club (PJ Fitzpatrick and Philadelphia Insurance, respectively).
Speaking of highlighting local businesses, it’s a testament to our city’s food scene that arguments over cheesesteak quality have replaced arguments over how to run a national government.
Rinaldi reiterates what the local foodies know about how our ballpark brilliantly showcases Philly culinary classics. A less skilled media relations professional would run out of breath with the food options she names.
“Bull’s BBQ, Campo’s, Chickie’s & Pete’s Crabfries, Colbie’s Southern Kissed Chicken, Federal Donuts, Manco & Manco Pizza, P.J Whelihan’s, Tony Luke’s and more. Citizens Bank Park features one of the best food lineups in all of baseball,” she confidently asserts.
This writer, who dedicates a blog to such matters, can confirm she’s right.
In addition to preparing the host ballpark, there’s also the matter of fans getting there. 250 years after deciding we would handle things on our own here, Philadelphia still features streets more suitable for traveling on a horse than in a vehicle. Getting around Center City by car is a significant enough challenge without thousands of tourists sharing the roads.
Baseball fans visiting for the All-Star Game would also be wise to be aware of what we locals know: that even with ample parking, Citizens Bank Park can be a logistical traffic mess, especially when the place is sold out.
John Golden, Senior Press Officer at SEPTA, spoke with JerseyMan about the coming celebrations. The main focus is simply ensuring everything works, which takes more effort than people probably realize.
“Since we know so far in advance, we can plan for staffing and whatnot, and make sure some extra TLC is given to the train cars. Proactive type stuff, like making sure that HVAC is working properly and all that.”
“We also work with our partners within the city, whether it’s emergency management or Philadelphia police, to make sure everything’s moving as smoothly as possible. We’re definitely going to have extra police patrols added to the B Line and stations.”
Hosting the World Cup helps. “We received over $5 million in federal grants to enhance our service for FIFA, and we’re utilizing those funds to improve the system.”
That said, Golden doesn’t have illusions about the trepidation sports fans and tourists might have about using the subway. But he’s also quick to address it.
“Our crime stats have been drastically reduced over the last year or so. We have over 30,000 video cameras. If you are using SEPTA, you are on video. That system has been very valuable to us to catch perpetrators and bad behavior. If you try to get away with something, it’s not going to end well for you.”
If you’ve used SEPTA recently, you’ve likely noticed how the subways and trolleys are now all considered part of the “Metro” system, categorized with letters instead of line names, like “B” for the Broad Street Line. The idea wasn’t specifically hatched for the All-Star Game (or World Cup), but the timing does work out.
“It was just to create some consistency for not only locals, but also tourists coming in,” Golden says. “Not everyone knows what SEPTA is, but they know what Metro is. It’s much more familiar.”
So, if you’re going to the All-Star Game and want to avoid the inevitable traffic and parking mess, give that B train a try.
Despite the fact our city is home to one of the most exceptionally beautiful ballparks in the country, it’s taken 22 years for Major League Baseball to showcase its annual All-Star event at Citizens Bank Park. But given the opportunity that America’s semiquincentennial celebration represents, it will be worth the wait.
The man who wears the Phanatic costume is as pumped as all of us about celebrating the Midsummer Classic in our nation’s birthplace as America turns 250.
“I still look at baseball as the American pastime,” Tom Burgoyne says. “There’s nothing like coming to the ballpark and having a hot dog and watching the game on grass. It’s a hard thing to put your finger on, but it just seems to work well in America.
“So, now you throw the semiquincentennial into the mix, it just feels right.”
There will be tens of thousands of visitors to Philadelphia in July of 2026, just for a baseball game. They’ll get a chance to see why, in a city with a higher-than-average crime rate, frequently uncomfortable temperature extremes, and seemingly perpetually cranky sports fans, no one seems to want to leave.
They may visit the Reading Terminal Market and sample its incredible selection of food from every corner of the world. They’ll ascend the steps of the Art Museum and stand with their arms raised in victory to celebrate a timeless piece of cinema. Maybe they’ll take a side trip to the King of Prussia Mall, which the American actor John O’Hurley called “the greatest place in the world to shop”.
But most of all, baseball fans visiting Philadelphia will see remnants everywhere of the implementation of a 250-year-old idea strong enough to provide a home for the greatest game ever invented.
At the Constitution Center, Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross’s House, and around the city, visitors will see endless reminders of how strongly a group of men believed in an idea. The idea that life for everyone will be immeasurably greater when government recognizes our inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
That idea, that brave-hearted Philadelphians signed on for, and the fighters who sacrificed everything for it for two and a half centuries since, turned out to be right.
Our national pastime is all the proof We the People need.
SIDEBAR:
All-Star Games in Philadelphia
Back in the days when Major League Baseball only had 16 teams in ten cities, you didn’t have to wait nearly as long for the All-Star Game to come back to your hometown. It only took nine years for Philadelphia to host its second All-Star Game.
Things are different in baseball today, but the game still makes the rounds, and 2026 will be the fifth time Philadelphia hosts the Midsummer Classic.
Here’s some history about the previous four events:
1943 at Shibe Park AL 5, NL 3. In the 11th All-Star Game, and the first ever All-Star Game scheduled at night, the American League triumphs over the National League on Bobby Doerr’s three-run homer off of Mort Cooper. Pittsburgh’s Vince DiMaggio put on an impressive performance, going three-for-three with two runs scored. Where was his much more famous brother? Serving as a Staff Sergeant in the Army, as America fought the Axis in World War II.
1952 at Shibe Park NL 3, AL 2. With the Phillies as the host team this time (as opposed to the Athletics in 1943), the Nationals take the win in what is still today the only rain-shortened All-Star Game. Jackie Robinson’s first inning home run off of Vic Raschi, and Hank Sauer’s 4th inning two-run shot off Bob Lemon gave the NL the lead before the rain prevented Mickey Mantle’s and Satchel Paige’s potential appearances in the game.
1976 at Veterans Stadium NL 7, AL 1. MLB celebrated America’s 200th birthday with the All-Star Game at the Vet. The NL triumphed again in the midst of a hot streak of winning 19 of 20 All-Star Games. The NL put up two each in the first and third innings, including a two-run shot from George Foster off of Catfish Hunter. Greg Luzinski was the only starter from the hometown team, but Bob Boone, Dave Cash, Mike Schmidt and Larry Bowa all made the squad. Cash was the only Phillie with a hit in the game.
1996 at Veterans Stadium NL 6, AL 0. The NL blanks the AL with help from hometown hero Mike Piazza, who slammed a home run off of Charles Nagy to the roars of the 62,000+ fans in attendance. It was Ozzie Smith’s last All-Star Game, after announcing his retirement earlier in the season, and he received a standing ovation after his last at-bat…after which, as Tom Burgoyne fondly remembers, he walked over to the stands and gave the Phanatic a high five.
With the National League 3-1 in Philadelphia games, and undefeated with the Phillies as the host team, we should probably like the National League’s chances in this one.
