Tonight, for the first time in 30 years — and the first time EVER at Citizens Bank Park — the MLB All-Star Game belongs to Philadelphia. Last time we hosted, it was 1996 at the Vet. If you're old enough to remember that one, you're old enough to know how rare this is. First pitch is 8 p.m. on FOX, and the best players on the planet are coming to our house.
And we didn't just get the party. We're throwing it.
Six Phillies. SIX.
The NL roster has six Phillies on it, and three of them are in the starting lineup:
Kyle Schwarber is leading off as the DH. Brandon Marsh — yes, our beautiful, bearded, perpetually soaked Brandon Marsh — is starting in right field in his first All-Star Game. And Cristopher Sánchez is on the mound to start it, the first Phillies pitcher to start a Midsummer Classic since Roy Halladay in 2011.
Read that last one again. Since Doc. Sánchez taking the ball in front of a packed Bank is going to be one of the loudest pregame moments this building has ever seen, and this building once made Skip Bayless nervous through a television.
The bench isn't bad either: Bryce Harper is on the roster as a Legend Pick (rude framing for a guy this good, but fine), Jhoan Durán is lurking in the bullpen with his 100+ mph nonsense, and Jesús Luzardo made his first All-Star team too. Six Phillies at the All-Star Game, in Philly, on Bastille Day. Storm something.
Last night still stings a little
Quick moment of silence for the Home Run Derby. Schwarber and Harper both went in front of the home crowd — a rematch of their 2018 Derby final, back when they were on opposite sides — and the Bank booed literally every non-Phillie who stepped in the box, which honestly might be the most Philadelphia thing that's ever happened at a league event.
Then Jordan Walker of the Cardinals walked it off on Schwarbs in the final. A Cardinal. In our park. It's fine. We're fine. Schwarber gets his revenge tonight with a leadoff bomb, and we all agree to never speak of it again.
What else to watch for
Mike Trout is starting in center for the AL, and the Millville, NJ legend is basically playing a home game — he grew up about 50 miles from the Bank. He gets one (1) polite cheer and then normal booing rules resume.
Dylan Cease starts for the AL, and here's a weird bit of symmetry: he's the first Blue Jays pitcher to start an All-Star Game since Halladay in 2009. Both starting pitchers tonight carry a piece of Doc's legacy. Baseball is a beautiful, haunted sport.
And if it's tied after nine? No extra innings — it goes to a home run swing-off, three hitters a side, three swings each. The NL won one of those last year in Atlanta. Imagine that tiebreaker happening in South Philly with Schwarber swinging. Your neighbors would hear you.
The important part: what you're wearing and drinking
If you're headed down to the stadium, Ashburn Alley opens early — get there for Sánchez's warmup and bring your voice. If you're posting up at a bar or your couch, this is a jersey-and-a-cold-one national holiday and you should dress accordingly. Our baseball collection exists for exactly this kind of night, and if you need something to keep your beer cold through a three-hour game plus a possible swing-off, the beer stuff has you covered. Out-of-town fans watching on FOX are about to get a three-hour commercial for how we do things here — might as well look the part in something from the All Things Philly collection.
The whole baseball world is looking at Philadelphia tonight. Six of our guys, our ballpark, our fans booing whoever we feel like booing. Enjoy every second of it.
First pitch, 8 p.m., FOX. Go Phils. Go NL. Go birds too, just on principle.
