This week marked the halfway point in the 2009 baseball season (my favorite sports season of them all!) with the 80th MLB All-Star Game. This year’s game took place in St. Louis at Busch Stadium, and five of the Phightin’ Phillies represented our city and our team — Ryan Howard (a St. Louie native), Chase Utley, Raul Ibanez (a new member of our squad), Jayson Werth (a last-minute addition) and Shane Victorino (my personal fav and the National League final vote winner). As the reigning World Champs, the Phils’ esteemed manager, Charlie Manuel, was the National League manager. Unfortunately, the NL fell to the American League, 4-3, scoring homefield advantage for the AL champs in this year’s World Series. President Barack Obama threw out the game’s first pitch, sporting his Chicago White Sox jacket. As many of our devoted blog followers will already know, I am a pretty big Philadelphia Phillies fan. Watching the team capture the pennant in the East division, followed by the National League title and then the World Series victory, was an amazing feeling for myself and many folks here in Pennsylvania. If things continue as they are now, the Phillies have a pretty good chance of defending their title. They have won 10 of their last 11 games, sweeping the Mets (our division rivals), taking three of four from the St. Louis Cardinals (including an unbelievable 22-1 victory), sweeping the Pittsburgh Pirates and taking the first of four from the Florida Marlins. We now have a five-game lead over the Marlins in our division, and as long as our bats and starting pitching remain hot, the Phils may once again be the team to beat. Spending a gorgeous day or night at the ballpark with friends and family is one of my favorite summertime activities. In my mind, summer means baseball and baseball means summer. I have already caught some great games this season, including last Saturday’s ninth-inning victory over the Pirates. I am looking forward to more nailbiters as the season goes on — next week’s faceoff against the Cubs, a mid-September Mets v. Phils game and more. Play ball! –Kimberly Krol, eFlyer editor, circulation and public relations executive Global Traveler has joined the world of social marketing. For breaking news, special offers and much more, fan us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @Gtmag!
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