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Baseball fans: Take a quick tour of all 30 major league ballparks

Authors Josh Pahigian and Kevin O’Connell explore America's major league ballparks in "The Ultimate Baseball Road."

14. Philadelphia Phillies/Citizens Bank Park

Joseph Kaczmarek/AP

  • By Ross Atkin Staff Writer

Opened: 2004

Capacity: 43,647

What the authors say: ”Utilizing a stacked cantilever design for the upper decks, and a low-rising bowl design … Citizens Bank Park may well offer the best views in all of baseball in a seat-by-seat comparison.”

Learned from the book:

• Like Wrigley in Chicago, Citizens Bank Park has ivy growing on the outfield wall (at least in center field). What CBP has that Wrigley doesn’t however, are flower boxes, a nice additional touch.

• The Phillies have created their own baseball-themed neighborhood within the ballpark. Ashburn Alley, named for the Phillies' great and longtime broadcaster Richie Ashburn, is a 625-foot-long food and entertainment concourse that wraps around the outfield.

• The fans are known to be hard-edged Easterners who don’t suffer errors and strikeouts lightly. They love their Phillies, but can be quick with the boos.

• The Phillies have upgraded the cheesesteak by bringing in one of the city’s notable purveyors of this signature sandwich.

• As one might expect, a liberty bell – a large, illuminated neon model – is used to ring in Phillie homers.

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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