Epilogue: A Philly Special

Yep - there's actually a bit more to my Banana Ball story!

A few weeks after seeing Banana Ball at Fenway, the Bananas were at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. I won't really get into the Phillies and their haplessness here (though I did in a draft of this), I will mention that their current stadium opened in 2004, and that I know there’s a ton of things to do inside the park as I have rather vivid memories of wandering around during a visit back in 2005 (my second ever visit to an MLB stadium)¹, but I wasn’t here for any of that - I was here for Banana Ball merch.

While the Bananas had a few “new” items I didn’t recall seeing at Fenway, I wasn’t really interested in any of it; however, they had a different opponent this time: the Texas Tailgaters (the team added in 2025), who had limited merch online (and no hats available that weren’t novelty cowboy hats). I decided to check out what they had for the Tailgaters once I saw that, once again, there was an early merchandise sale.

Originally, I wanted to go on a Friday so I could combine this with a visit to the Wilmington Blue Rocks stadium/team store 30 minutes away in Wilmington, DE (and thus not have to think about going to a game there), but I wasn’t able to leave on that day (and it rained HARD, so it ended up being a good decision to stay home). I ended up getting a flexfit Tailgaters hat (i.e. the traditional baseball style), mini bat, and ball - three things unavailable online as of when I made my visit (I should also note that the 4th of July hats I got in Boston were listed on the online store a day or so before I came here). There was also a denim-ish hat that I was thinking about, but decided against as it was a snapback (a type of hat I don’t typically wear if I have other options).

I also decided to check out the Phillies team store as well and found it...surprisingly small. Like Brooklyn, it is two levels, but both levels were much larger; however, the total floor space felt like it didn’t compare to the main Yankee or Red Sox stores (though it did feel a bit bigger than the one Yankees store that’s open on non-game days). I forgot to check their hat prices, but authentic player jerseys were priced at $400, so I’m willing to bet that hats also cost a little more here than they do at Lids...

As the Phillies are hosting the 2026 MLB All Star Game (in conjunction with America 250 or whatever it’s called), they (already) had merch for the game on sale. I ended up getting a “replica” version of the “Official Ball” for the game; while I didn’t realize the ball was a “replica” until I got home, the “authentic” version was $40, which I felt was far too steep. I also got a Phillie Phanatic plush with a Citizens Bank Park logo on its foot having previously debated whether or not to get Phanatic plushies at three different stadiums (i.e. their three affiliates I visited: Jersey Shore, Lehigh Valley, and Reading).

There was SUPPOSED to be a parking lot available for free next to the stadium, but it was closed off the entire time I was there, so I ended up parking in a nearby residential neighborhood as there was nothing saying I couldn’t park there (I did have some reservations, but then I saw someone using deck chairs as spot savers, which made me think it was fair game). Also, in order to enter the Phillies store, I had to walk OUT the security gates and then back IN via the same gates as they forgot to set up a checkpoint where I had entered.