Hello!

You may have noticed that the site looks a bit different from the last time you may have visited. I have recently given the site a bit of an upgrade and gave it a bit of a more professional look. Never fear though – the site will still feature the same content that you’ve enjoyed for the past few years. Take a look around and let me know what you think about the changes, I would love to hear your thoughts. As part of the upgrade, I have decided that during the baseball offseason, I will be keeping a regular schedule of posting a minimum of once a month. There is no exact timeline as of yet, but I will be trying to keep the posts near the beginning of each month. I hope you keep visiting the site and I look forward to providing you with more concessions worker confessions!

Yours in baseball,  Amanda

At least two or three times during the summer a fan will walk up to the window, turn around and look out at the field, and say, “wow, you’ve got the best seats in the house.”  I have to agree with them 100%.

After working for the Fightin’ Phils for 10 1/2 seasons, I have covered almost every inch of FirstEnergy Stadium.  I’ve logged thousands of steps walking the horseshoe from the deck in left field to the pool in right and back again during my internships.  In concessions, I’ve worked everywhere from the deck in left field to the pizza stand in the main concourse to the grill in the right field plaza.  This year and the past two years I have worked at the top of the main grandstand.  Out of all the locations I have been within the stadium, I have to say my current one has been the best.

The upstairs ice cream stand is located at the top of the main grandstand behind section three.  It is as close to being directly behind home plate as it can be without being situated inside the press box.  The stand is above the last row of seats so there is no concern about people blocking the view – unless it’s raining and everyone crowds under the roof of the grandstand.  The view is perfect for the first few innings of each game.  That’s a slow time for ice cream sales, which means Ariane and I can relax and cheer on the team.  It gets a bit tougher to watch the game starting around the fifth inning because that’s when fans begin to want dessert.

From a working standpoint, being able to see the game has its ups and downs.  It is a major advantage when it comes to keeping track of the time.  Not only can we see the clock in the outfield, but it’s easier to gage the speed of the game and how long we may or may not be selling food.  One downfall to being able to keep track of the time is when the game is moving slowly.  A slow game can make the night seem extremely long; especially if it is a slow night for sales.  The upstairs ice cream stand also supplies a great viewing spot for all the entertainment that takes place before, during, and after each game.  In a minor league park the in-game entertainment is a large part of what draws families to the games and the Fightins do not disappoint.

Our viewpoint also provides the opportunity to get to know a little bit about the team.  When you get to watch the game every night, you eventually learn who all the players are, where they play, and how they are playing throughout the season.  You may never talk to them in person, but you get the sense that you do know them in a way.

All in all, we’ve got a pretty great spot to work and watch the game.  I’m sure that there are some who would say they can find a better seat; they might say that being up behind the seats isn’t as nice as sitting right next to the field or behind the dugout.  In the end, I have watched baseball from every corner of the stadium and I must say, we definitely have the best seats in the house.

Change (verb)- to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of something different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone; to transform or convert

Change is a topic that most people don’t like to talk about.  It’s also something that is constantly taking place.  Every fall and every spring we change the clocks.  The season changes four times a year.  People change jobs; they may even change where they live because of a new job.  The weather is constantly changing.  No matter how we feel about change, we can’t do anything to prevent it from taking place.

Over the past few months the Reading Fightin’ Phils have made some changes.  The front office has said goodbye to some long-time employees, hired some new staff members, and welcomed back some familiar faces.  There have also been changes made to job positions within the organization.  The biggest change, however, has occurred outside the office.  The red general admission seats in the main grandstand are now green reserved seats.

Now to a lot of people this won’t seem like a big deal, it’s just a different color seat.  To the long-time fans and employees, however, it will take some time to adjust to this change.  There are the fans who race to the grandstand as soon as the seats open to grab what they believe are the best seats in the house.  They will find that they have to run a farther distance now if they want to sit on the third base line, but the first base line will be easily accessible.  There’s the gentleman we dubbed “vanilla cup man” because he would order the same thing every game;  to the point where all he had to do was come to the window and put down his money.  Will another ice cream stand memorize his order this summer?  The running man may find that he has a shorter distance and fewer stairs to cover as he chases after foul balls.  While my sister has gotten to know these fans over the last 7 1/2 years and I have only known them for two, it feels as if we have been friends for some time and in a way we have become a strange, little baseball family.  Who knew that something as simple as the color of a seat could have such a big impact on a group of people.

I’m sure it will take some time to get used to looking out the window of the ice cream stand and seeing green seats; for the last ten years I have looked at the grandstand and have seen blue, yellow, and red seats.  By the end of the summer, however, I know that the green seats will not seem so out-of-place.  Change may not be something that we enjoy, but it’s inevitable and we might as well embrace it.

“I guess no matter how many times you hear that song played in a Major League stadium, on a warm afternoon, it’s still emotionally evocative.” – Danny Hemmerling,  Angels in the Outfield

Angels in the Outfield has always been one of my favorite baseball movies, and this particular quote has come to mind many nights when I’m at work.  After ten summers of working in a baseball stadium, I have heard the national anthem countless times.  I have also heard numerous interpretations of the song.  The words are the same – almost every time – but that is where the similarities end.

There have been fast versions, slow versions, loud versions, and soft versions.  Every season has off-key versions, pop versions, and the occasional version that is sung by young children who give it their all, but somehow it always seems to be missing something.  Each season also brings with it the singers who just blow you away.  No matter how the anthem is performed, there is still something about hearing it in a baseball stadium that makes it special.

I can’t tell you exactly what that feeling is, or what makes that moment so special.  Maybe it’s the fact that for those 2-4 minutes, everyone is standing together and it doesn’t matter which team you’re rooting for or where you might be from.  Maybe it’s the calm that comes over the stadium as everything comes to a standstill just before the game begins.  There is a feeling of anticipation and excitement as the home team takes the field and the players and coaches line up in front of the dugouts right before the game.  It’s almost as if the stadium is holding its breath just waiting for the moment when the umpire, or in the Fightin’ Phils case the chosen fan, yells “Play Ball!”.

Having had the opportunity on a few occasions to perform the national anthem before a Fightin’ Phils game, I can assure you the moment is just as special on the other side of the mic.  It’s a great feeling to look up and see hundreds of fans standing together and know that for the next two hours or so, all those people will be sitting together just enjoying a ballgame and sharing a common interest.

The national anthem is performed at all major sporting events and at college and high school events, but to me it will always have a special feel at a baseball game. After all, baseball is considered to be “America’s Pastime.”

This post has taken some time for me to write and has been the hardest one for me to finish. I had the pleasure of getting to know Neale Bechtel during my two summers as a seasonal associate for the Reading Fightin’ Phils.

Known around Baseballtown as the “singing usher”, Neale was the kind of person who was liked by everyone. As a ticket taker he was one of the first people to greet fans at every game and made an instant connection with each and every one of them. Even after years of working as a beer vendor, an usher, and a ticket taker, Neale showed up each day ready to share his love and excitement for baseball with the hundreds of fans who visited Baseballtown every season. Over the years I had always heard Neale perform “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh inning strecth, but I never got the chance to meet him. As a seasonal associate, it was part of my job to make sure that Neale was ready for his shining moment on the field.

Every game I would walk down to the batting tunnel where the ticket takers were carefully counting each and every ticket stub and tell Neale that it was almost time for him to sing. I would bring around the golf cart and take him to the back of the stadium where we would meet up with the Crazy Hot Dog Vendor who would drive Neale around the field on his special three-wheeled bicycle. After dropping Neale off, I drove the golf cart to the third base side of the ballpark to pick him up after he was finished singing and I would drive him back to the parking lot. On most nights, Neale’s lovely wife would be waiting for us at their car and she would help him out of the golf cart and into the car.

For two full summers I would chauffer Neale to the back of the stadium and then back to his car and I must say it was one of the best parts of my job. It almost felt as if I was driving a celebrity around. Everywhere Neale went in that ballpark there was someone waiting to say hi or shake his hand. There was a group of fans who would stand at the top of the stadium each night and shout “Hi Neale!” down to him as we drove back around to his car and Neale would shout hi back. Neale was always happy and whenever I would show up to tell him it was time to sing, he would say hi and sing my name in a way that is hard to describe, but fit his personality perfectly. He would always ask how I was doing and he shared stories from his many years working in baseball.

This past summer when I learned that Neale has passed away, I felt that I had lost a friend. I did not know Neale well for an extended period of time, but the time that I did know him will always have a place in my heart. Neale was a constant presence at Reading Phillies and Fightin’ Phils games and has made an impact on thousands of fans over the years. He will be remembered every time the seventh inning stretch rolls around and will always hold a special place in the hearts of Baseballtown fans.

Here’s to you Neale,
Amanda

When I began working at FirstEnergy Stadium in 2005, I never imagined that I would still be there 10 years later.  Over ten seasons, I have worked in six different concessions stands, spent two seasons as a seasonal associate, and sold everything from hot dogs and fries to ice cream and funnel cake.  I have learned what it takes to keep a sports organization running during both the regular season and the off-season.

The first nine seasons have introduced me to a large group of great people and season ten has been no different.  I have seen a lot of the same fans and workers who return every summer and have met new people along the way.  This season has already had its share of exciting moments and promises to have more.  There have been more adventures in the Upstairs Ice Cream Stand and more special guests to the ballpark including sheep-herding, dog-riding monkeys. With a little over half the season left, I am excited to see what the rest of season ten has to offer.  Stay tuned for more confessions from this concessions worker!

This season when customers ordered a Reading Fightin’ Phils miniature batting helmet of ice cream, they also received an extra souvenir.  Each miniature helmet came with a holographic sticker of a former Reading Phillies player.  On any game night, fans could receive Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, Pat Burrell, Carlos Ruiz, or Darin Ruf, depending on what day of the week it was.  All five played or currently play for the Philadelphia Phillies and four were members of the 2008 World Series Championship team.

Despite the popularity of these five players throughout the Phillies organization, it surprised me how many customers didn’t recognize the different players.  After realizing that what they received was a sticker and not a spoon, the next reaction was typically, “who is that?”.

The sticker that garnered this reaction the majority of the time was Pat Burrell.  After Burrell, a lot of fans were confused by the Cole Hamels sticker.  For some reason most of the fans, adults and kids alike, seemed to think that it was Chase Utley.  While Hamels played in Reading for part of one season, Utley never played for Reading except during a couple rehab appearances.  They also look nothing like each other.  The most recognized sticker was easily Darin Ruf, who played for Reading in 2012, followed by Carlos Ruiz and Ryan Howard.

After the first few times that we had confused customers, my sister and I started to discuss how people could not know who these players were.  The only one we found a good reason for was Burrell.  The majority of the fans who didn’t recognize Burrell were the younger fans.  This made sense to us because most of them were either babies or most likely not even born yet when he played in Reading and he hasn’t played for Philadelphia since 2008.

We never managed to come up with a decent answer to the confusion between Cole Hamels and Chase Utley and I’m not sure we ever will.

I think the best part about working in the deck stand was the way we all got along.  It felt more like a family working together than a group of strangers.  Of course, we did have a number of actual relatives working together: my sister and I, our supervisor and her grandson, and two other mother-daughter teams.  We didn’t know each other when we all started working together, but halfway through the summer we had become a close-knit group.

The best part about our group at the deck was the fact that we treated each other like family.  We celebrated a couple of birthdays over the seasons we were together (complete with cake and candles!), more than one graduation card was given out, and we provided support for each other when hardships arose.  A group of us even wanted to pose as grandchildren during Grandparents Day and introduce our supervisor on the field; even though she already had plenty of grandchildren and didn’t need any more.  She treated us like grandchildren, but still kept us in line when she thought we weren’t focused on work.

We even argued like family.  I distinctly remember when one person got so angry, he stormed out of the stand.  In true sibling fashion, we decided to retaliate by hanging his name badge from the ceiling beams of the stand.  Although he was mad, and did not appreciate the fact that he could not reach his name badge, he ended up apologizing and we all laughed about it afterward.

After nearly three seasons together, our group was closer than ever.  We even went out to lunch or dinner on more than one occasion and we became a somewhat exclusive group.  It’s not that we were rude to any new person who may have come in to the stand, but we had the type of relationship that couldn’t be built in one night.

In the end, the group was split up as people left each summer and others were moved to different stands.  Even so, a few of us still talk from time to time and reminisce about the great times we had that can never be replaced.

One of the best things to do while at a baseball game, aside from watching the actual game, is watching the fans at the ballpark.  This type of entertainment is known as “people watching.”  By this I mean in a non-stalker and perfectly casual way of watching fans as they move from point A to point B.

From our location on the Coors Light deck in left field, we had the perfect vantage point for people watching when we weren’t busy selling food.  We saw a large number of adorable children with their families, sitting at the picnic tables or walking back and forth along the wooden boards of the deck trying not to step on the cracks.  We also watched a number of young adult fans who were having such a good time that it was a shame that they probably didn’t remember any of it the next morning.  It is always interesting to see the types of people who come out to each game, but there is one people watching experience that I will never forget.

It was later in a game and we had already closed down one window of the stand because it wasn’t very busy.  I was standing at the window that was closed with my sister, our stand supervisor, and one of the other girls we worked with.  We were just standing and talking while we watched people walk by.  Eventually one of us, I can’t remember who, noticed something funny about someone waiting in line to order.  He had an odd pattern of faded brown spots on the front of one leg of his shorts.  Of course we all began to discuss the odd-looking shorts; wondering if they were stained or if they were made with brown spots on the front.

Following roughly five minutes of discussing the shorts, my sister and I realized that we knew the person who was wearing them.  After informing the other two and realizing that our supervisor also knew him, we debated asking him about his shorts.  Our supervisor asked us to remind her what his name was and not thinking, we told her.  Next thing we knew, she was calling him over to the window.  Let me just say, I have never seen three people hit the floor as quickly as my sister, the other girl, and I did.  He did not see us when he came to the window and our supervisor didn’t tell him we were there, but we forgot about the fact that we were right in front of the door to the stand which was wide open.  He did see us as he walked away; he just gave us a strange look and shook his head.

After he left we continued to laugh about it for the rest of the night, especially when we told the story to everyone else in the stand.  My sister and I still laugh when we talk about it and I am sure that it will remain the most memorable people watching experience that I have had for a long time.

The Wolf Pack.  Padilla’s Flotilla.

To any longtime Phillies fan, these names will ring a bell.  They were just two of the many fan clubs to call Philadelphia home, back when the Phils played in Veterans Stadium.  Named after Randy Wolf and Vicente Padilla, both former Phillies pitchers, these groups became a permanent fixture in the Phillies’ ballpark.

A name that 95 percent of Phillies fans will not recognize is Pedro’s Posse.  This fan club never made it to the major league stage.  Instead, it made its home in the Longstrike concession stand, also known as the deck stand, out on the left field deck at FirstEnergy Stadium.  Its namesake, Pedro Swann, played for the Reading Phillies during the 2006 and 2007 seasons.  The left fielder had an average of .365 with four home runs in 2006 and a .243 average in 2007 while hitting only two home runs.  Unbeknownst to him and the rest of the team,  he caught the attention of a small concession stand who followed his progress all season.

I don’t remember exactly why we chose Pedro Swann to focus on.  None of us knew much about him or whether he would become a big name for the Phillies.  Maybe we noticed him because he had a good season in 2006 and we wanted to see what 2007 would bring.  Maybe we noticed him simply because he played left field and that’s where our stand was located.  Either way, our small group took to following his every at bat and play in the field each game.  We eventually decided we needed a name for the group.  Since every other fan club we knew of came up with a clever way of utilizing the player’s name within the group name, we decided we should do the same.  That’s how Pedro’s Posse first arrived at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Over the course of the season,  Pedro’s Posse became more invested in his performance every game.  Every time he came up to bat, one person was responsible for keeping an eye on what happened and letting everyone else know what he did.  We never really assigned this job, it just went to the person who wasn’t busy at the time.  This was usually the person in charge of the water that night since he or she had the easiest job; open the fridge, get a bottle of water, close the fridge, take the water to the correct window.  It was the perfect job for keeping an eye on the game.

As the season progressed, we often talked about what might happen if somehow Pedro’s Posse became known around the stadium.  We never found out, but it was still fun to talk about.  Even though no one outside the stand ever learned about Pedro’s Posse, we had a great time.  We spent the majority of our summer cheering for a player that most fans don’t even remember anymore.  Pedro Swann never made it to the majors with the Phillies, and the members of Pedro’s Posse no longer work on the left field deck, but nothing will ever be able to take away the great times we had cheering for the left fielder that never knew he had a fan club.