It’s baseball theatre at its best in otherwise ho-hum All-Star Game

By admin — In News — July 15, 2026

   ​PHILADELPHIA – The evening had many unforgettable sounds and scenes, as any Major League Baseball All-Star Game should.Phillies fans among the 43,916 in attendance at Citizens Bank Park July 14 regularly and eagerly showed their affection or their disdain, depending on the individual and the uniform he wore.Yankees, Dodgers and NL East rivals, especially the Mets, were lustily booed during any introduction.One band of fans earned extra credit for chanting “Overrated!” when the Mets Juan Soto came up to bat in the fourth inning, but promptly singled to center field for the National League’s first hit on a night it managed just three in a 4-0 loss.“Everyone that was here this week,” Phillies first-time all-star Brandon Marsh said, “knew how Philly is. They come in and play here throughout the year, they know what they’re gonna get. That’s just Philly being Philly. I know us, being on this side, we love it.“It’s just all part of it. They knew what was gonna happen, especially in-division opponents.”Phillies, on the other hand, were greeted with enormous ovations befitting Philly fans’ penchant for expressing their devotion. Starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez, warming up in the bullpen, patted his chest to express his heartfelt appreciation.They also lauded American League all-stars with local roots, as South Jersey resident and Eagles season-ticket holder Mike Trout of the Angels and Delaware County native Kevin McGonigle were each extoled.The crowd then roared when Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton came on to throw out ceremonial first pitches that were caught by former Phillies Cole Hamels and Hall of Famer Scott Rolen.If that wasn’t enough to stir sentiments, Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley appeared on the giant video screen in left field with microphones in hand, urging on the crowd.With all that, the Phillies’ present and past, and those at the root of the franchise’s greatest moments, merged in beautiful synchronicity.This was theatre, after all, culminating with Phillies reliever Jhoan Duran making his traditional entrance with the lights darkened and music blaring with one out in the top of the ninth. In one of the game’s best creations, starters ran out and signed a large parchment with a long white feather on the quill, symbolically verifying their role, in Colonial style, in an event held in the city that hatched a nation 250 years before.   It gave Marsh chills, he said.Then the baseball started, and it didn’t take long for some of that energy to evaporate on a night the National League’s best hitters, somehow, could not hit.Sanchez, who recently fashioned one of the greatest pitching stretches in baseball history, wasn’t his usual unhittable self in his last start and was not again. This one began tamely enough as he whiffed Trout.GOING PRO: Players from Delaware chosen in MLB Draft or signed as free agentBut a single and two walks set the stage for, with two outs, Cody Bellinger’  

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