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Phillies feel at home in Tampa Bay
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By ROB MAADDI
AP Sports Writer
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - A sign hanging outside Lenny's restaurant a half-hour drive from Tropicana Field perfectly sums up the feeling of some fans around here: “Dream come true. Phillies and Rays.”
The Philadelphia Phillies didn't exactly come to hostile territory to play the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series. They've got plenty of fans around here, and it's almost like their second home.
Since 1947, the Phillies have held spring training in nearby Clearwater. They spend nearly two months a year there, getting ready for a season that usually ends in September. No one could've ever imagined coming back to Florida in late October to play the Rays with a title at stake.
Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts lives in Temple Terrace, less than 90 minutes from the Phils' complex.
“It's quite exciting,” Roberts said of the Series matchup.
Roberts, who pitched for the Phillies from 1948-61, has followed the Rays since their inception a decade ago. But he isn't about to switch allegiances.
“When it comes to Phillies-Rays, the Phillies are No. 1,” he said.
The 82-year-old Roberts is scheduled to throw out the first pitch before Game 4 Sunday night in Philadelphia. He doesn't plan to attend the first two games at Tropicana Field, but there are certain to be plenty of Phillies fans in the crowd.
Asked whether more Phillies or Rays rooters got tickets in Internet sales, Tampa Bay first baseman Carlos Pena grinned.
“It depends who was quicker with the keyboard,” he said.
Several former and current Phillies players enjoy the local hospitality and the beaches so much, they live in the area during the offseason or move down after retiring.
Phillies left fielder Pat Burrell had a condo on Clearwater Beach for several years, but recently moved out because his dog, an English bulldog named Elvis, outgrew the weight limitations.
Darren Daulton, an All-Star catcher on the previous Phillies team to win the NL pennant in 1993, has a place nearby.
Local baseball fans rooted for the Phillies or New York Yankees, who train in Tampa, long before the Rays were born in 1998. Now that the Rays have gone worst-to-first and the Phillies finally made it back to the Series after a 15-year wait, some fans have to make a choice.
At Lenny's, a few blocks from the Phillies' spring training facility, it's an easy decision.
Just walk in and check out all the red Phillies paraphernalia plastering the walls. Waitresses were decked out in Phillies shirts, while customers sported their Rays gear.
“This is the Rays' hometown, but this is the home to the Phillies during spring training,” Lenny's general manager Kevin Schauer said Tuesday. “The Rays could be a one-hit wonder, but the Phillies have been here long and steady. We love the Phillies and we feed the Phillies.”
For the fans in the area who bleed red-and-white pinstripes but couldn't get a ticket to a game, they can still get together to watch, cheer and boo Philly-style.
Paul Parone, a transplanted Philadelphian, formed a group called “Tampadelphia” back in 1993. They began as Eagles fans gathering to watch football games on Sundays, but Philly sports fans are fanatical about all their teams. They'll be watching Game 1 Wednesday night while eating Florida-cooked Philly cheesesteaks and drinking their favorite beverages at The Players Sports Lounge in the Doubletree Hotel in Tampa.
“What started as an Eagles group quickly spread to all the other teams,” Parone said. “They follow all their sports. It's tough to get together for all of them because they play so many games.”
But the World Series is special, certainly worthy of a party. Parone recalls the jubilation he felt when the Phillies won it all in 1980.
“I was sitting there in my living room, crying my eyes out because I couldn't believe the greatest thing was happening,” he said.
There will be tears of joy all around Philadelphia - and Clearwater, for that matter - if the Phillies win four more games.
The Philadelphia Phillies didn't exactly come to hostile territory to play the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series. They've got plenty of fans around here, and it's almost like their second home.
Since 1947, the Phillies have held spring training in nearby Clearwater. They spend nearly two months a year there, getting ready for a season that usually ends in September. No one could've ever imagined coming back to Florida in late October to play the Rays with a title at stake.
Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts lives in Temple Terrace, less than 90 minutes from the Phils' complex.
“It's quite exciting,” Roberts said of the Series matchup.
Roberts, who pitched for the Phillies from 1948-61, has followed the Rays since their inception a decade ago. But he isn't about to switch allegiances.
“When it comes to Phillies-Rays, the Phillies are No. 1,” he said.
The 82-year-old Roberts is scheduled to throw out the first pitch before Game 4 Sunday night in Philadelphia. He doesn't plan to attend the first two games at Tropicana Field, but there are certain to be plenty of Phillies fans in the crowd.
Asked whether more Phillies or Rays rooters got tickets in Internet sales, Tampa Bay first baseman Carlos Pena grinned.
“It depends who was quicker with the keyboard,” he said.
Several former and current Phillies players enjoy the local hospitality and the beaches so much, they live in the area during the offseason or move down after retiring.
Phillies left fielder Pat Burrell had a condo on Clearwater Beach for several years, but recently moved out because his dog, an English bulldog named Elvis, outgrew the weight limitations.
Darren Daulton, an All-Star catcher on the previous Phillies team to win the NL pennant in 1993, has a place nearby.
Local baseball fans rooted for the Phillies or New York Yankees, who train in Tampa, long before the Rays were born in 1998. Now that the Rays have gone worst-to-first and the Phillies finally made it back to the Series after a 15-year wait, some fans have to make a choice.
At Lenny's, a few blocks from the Phillies' spring training facility, it's an easy decision.
Just walk in and check out all the red Phillies paraphernalia plastering the walls. Waitresses were decked out in Phillies shirts, while customers sported their Rays gear.
“This is the Rays' hometown, but this is the home to the Phillies during spring training,” Lenny's general manager Kevin Schauer said Tuesday. “The Rays could be a one-hit wonder, but the Phillies have been here long and steady. We love the Phillies and we feed the Phillies.”
For the fans in the area who bleed red-and-white pinstripes but couldn't get a ticket to a game, they can still get together to watch, cheer and boo Philly-style.
Paul Parone, a transplanted Philadelphian, formed a group called “Tampadelphia” back in 1993. They began as Eagles fans gathering to watch football games on Sundays, but Philly sports fans are fanatical about all their teams. They'll be watching Game 1 Wednesday night while eating Florida-cooked Philly cheesesteaks and drinking their favorite beverages at The Players Sports Lounge in the Doubletree Hotel in Tampa.
“What started as an Eagles group quickly spread to all the other teams,” Parone said. “They follow all their sports. It's tough to get together for all of them because they play so many games.”
But the World Series is special, certainly worthy of a party. Parone recalls the jubilation he felt when the Phillies won it all in 1980.
“I was sitting there in my living room, crying my eyes out because I couldn't believe the greatest thing was happening,” he said.
There will be tears of joy all around Philadelphia - and Clearwater, for that matter - if the Phillies win four more games.
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