Saying Goodbye - Our Last Game at the Vet

OK - I'll explain a few things right at the beginning. Why is my son, an avid Mets fan, wearing a Phillies uniform? It's because he participated in the Phillies Baseball Academy at the Lawrencevile School this past August. If the Mets ran a camp anywhere remotely near our Central New Jersey home, then he would have been enrolled in Mets camp instead. But they don't. And the Phillies do. And since we still root for the former Mets who play for the Phillies, the little guy was happy enough to wear the uniform (basically, he's pretty easy going about any team except for the hated Yankees and Braves).

You also might ask why a trip to Veterans Stadium is a Monthly Mets Musings topic? That's a much trickier question. The short answer is that we had a lot of fun, so I thought it would make an interesting column. But the longer answer involves the fact that my family and I have been to the Vet about as much as we've been to Shea over the last few years -- mostly for Mets games, but occasionally to see other teams. My middle child was and is a huge Mark McGwire fan, and we've traveled to Philly to see the Cardinals when McGwire was still playing. And we did catch Oakland when they returned to Philadelphia for the first time since 1954 (we've been following the A's since we saw them on the Left Coast in 2001, just at the time that they were turning that season around after a very slow start). But, for the most part, our trips south have been to see the Mets -- from where we live, it's the difference between an arduous 2+ hour drive to Shea as opposed to a quick 45 minute jaunt down I-95. Any of you who have ever sat in traffic jams with small children understand how huge a difference this is!

When Ross started at the Phillies Baseball Academy, we received a coupon good for two free 600 level tickets (the equivalent of Shea's Upper Reserved seats) or two 300 level tickets (the equivalent of Shea's Loge) for $6 apiece. Then, later in the summer, we were notified that the Baseball Academy alumni were invited to come to the September 20th game against the Reds, and we were given another coupon that was good for two additional 300 level tickets for free. Putting all of our eggs into one basket, my husband and I ordered four 300 level tickets to the game for a grand total of $12. You can't beat that kind of bargain.

So we set off on our way to the Vet. It didn't quite have the feeling of a final trip -- the Phillies' new home, Citizens Bank Park, is spitting distance from the Vet (OK, not really spitting distance. But Piazza home run distance, for sure), so we will continue making this familiar drive for years to come.

When we arrived, my husband took our older son, Connor, into the stadium while I took Ross to the Gate H truck ramp, which was the appointed gathering place for the Baseball Academy kids. There were signs for each of the camp's various locations -- Lawrenceville, Cherry Hill, etc. -- and the kids congregated near the signs corresponding to their camp locations. Ross, who was a Single A Boll Weevil this year, spent a lot of time chatting with Marcus, a Single A Greenjacket, until the time came for the ultimate camp reunion event -- a chance to walk the perimeter of the Veterans Stadium field!

Each camper, along with one adult chaperone, was permitted to participate in this parade. While lingering on the field was discouraged, this was nonetheless much more leisurely than the typical Dynamets Dash. Ross enjoyed walking on the field and waving to the crowd. We noticed the banners commemorating Phillies greats, giving particular attention to former Mets such as Tug McGraw and Lenny Dykstra's images. We waved hello to Jim Thome, who was in the dugout. As we came to the Phillies pen, bullpen coach Ramon Henderson waved at the kids. And we took enough time to quickly snap some photos on the field.

After that experience, the game itself was secondary. We had our last Vet Stadium cheesesteak (I knew I was living in New Jersey too long when, a couple of years ago, I realized that I now prefer cheesesteaks over sausages as ballpark fare) and the last Vet water ices (much more satisfying than those hard Italian ices. Seriously. And you don't have to scrape them with those splintery little wooden spoons!). I spent some time walking through the Vet Stadium causeways for the final time. OK, the Vet is not a beautiful place. But the causeways are very wide, and very well lit (if you have ever been stuck in a crowd inside Yankee Stadium's cramped corridors, you'll appreciate how significant this is). And I took a few moments to reflect. Even though this is enemy territory, I have had some great memories of watching the Mets there. My kids have met the Mets at the Vet, and we have had many great times with our friends there. While I am looking forward to attending games at the new stadium and experiencing all of the creature comforts that accompany new ballparks, I am going to miss the old place.

In the end, we only stayed through the 7th inning stretch. We had no vested interest in the outcome of the game, and the boys had Sunday school the next day. So we left the Vet for the final time, passing the vendors who were selling all sorts of items commemorating the last games at the stadium. And we made the familiar drive home.

We'll keep attending Mets games in Philly. And we will accumulate new memories of the CB (that's my nickname for the new place, primarily because that is also Connor's nickname. Please pass it along - I'd love it if the name catches on!). But I wonder whether our experiences in the new park will ever equal the great times that we had at the Vet while our kids were young.

Then again, a few Piazza home runs at the CB, and I'll wonder why they didn't tear down the Vet years ago.

Play Ball!