Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park
The Phillies have called Citizens Bank Park home since 2004 after the franchise played 33 years at Veterans Stadium. The new stadium has hosted some of the Phillies' best baseball in modern history, as they won the 2008 World Series over the Tampa Bay Rays. The series-clinching Game 5 was played at Citizens Bank, allowing home fans to witness the city's first World Series title in 28 years. Citizens Bank Park, located in South Philadelphia, can hold up to 42,792 fans.
Philadelphia Phillies History
The Phillies and San Francisco Giants were both founded in 1883, tying them as MLB's third-oldest franchises behind the Chicago Cubs (1876), Atlanta Braves (1876), St. Louis Cardinals (1882), Pittsburgh Pirates (1882) and Cincinnati Reds (1882).
The franchise was named the Philadelphia Quakers until 1890. The Phillies made their first playoff appearance in 1915, when they lost the World Series 4-1 to the Boston Red Sox. Philly's next postseason trip wouldn't come until 1950 — another lost World Series, this time getting swept by the New York Yankees. The Phillies finally captured their first championship in 1980, defeating the Kansas City Royals in six games. Their second wouldn't come until 2008, amid a five-year stretch from 2007 to 2011 in which the Phillies made the playoffs every year.
Charlie Manuel led those successful squads, and he is the Phillies' all-time winningest manager. He went 780-636 from 2005 to 2013. Joe Girardi, who managed the Yankees from 2008 to 2017, was hired to serve as Philly's manager prior to the 2020 season. Girardi's 2009 Yankees were responsible for keeping the Phillies from becoming back-to-back champions in 2009. Girardi was released by the team in June 2022 and was replaced by Rob Thomson.
There are several iconic Phillies. In the early 1990s, a group dubbed "Macho Row" consisted of Curt Schilling, Lenny Dykstra, John Kruk and Darren Daulton. In more recent years, shortstop Jimmy Rollins (2000–14) and second baseman Chase Utley (2003–15) were beloved in Philadelphia. Utley is the franchise's all-time leader in stolen-base percentage (88.75), while Rollins leads in at-bats (8,628), hits (2,306) and doubles (479). Steve Carlton, who played for the team from 1972 to 1985, is the all-time winningest pitcher (241).
The Phillies made modern history in February 2019 by signing 2015 National League MVP Bryce Harper to a 13-year, $330 million contract during free agency.
Additionally, the Phillies' mascot, a green flightless bird named Phillie Phanatic, is one of the more recognizable mascots in the league.