PHILADELPHIA, PA - TOUR STOP

August 12, 2006

For this stop there was no Baseball Youth zone, and unfortunately, there was no Baseball Card Challenge. Today was something a little different than what we have been used to the past month on the road.

In the land of cheesesteaks, we were after our next issue’s cover boy, Philadelphia’s slugging first baseman Ryan Howard. He gave us a one-on-one, 20 minute interview against the railing of the Phillies dugout. We chatted about many things, including when he played growing up, his basement batting cage, collecting cards as a kid and what it’s like to play in the City of Brotherly Love. If you want to know more, you will have to read the story in Baseball Youth’s next issue.

We were not going to stop with just one interview so we decided to head to the Reds’ clubhouse and visit with a couple of their players. Rich Aurilia, Adam Dunn and Aaron Harang told us about their times playing baseball and collecting cards when they were younger.

Citizens Bank Park opened in 2004, and already it should be considered one of baseball’s gems. The place has all the touches of a modern ballpark, and the best part is when a Phillies player hit’s a home run. A massive neon-lighted bell in center field sounds signaling a round-tripper.

As far as the game went, our man Ryan Howard crushed a homer off the facing of the second deck in right field to tie the game at six in the eighth inning. However, the Reds came back with three runs in the ninth and won the game 9-7.

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