Phillies-Blue Jays series relocated to Philly
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Phillies-Blue Jays series relocated to Philly
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
DENVER -- The Phillies will be the road team at their own ballpark from June 25-27.
Major League Baseball announced Tuesday it has relocated the Interleague series between the Phillies and Blue Jays originally scheduled to be played at Rogers Centre to Citizens Bank Park following security concerns with the G20 Summit in Toronto the same weekend.
The Blue Jays will be the home team in all three games and bat last. The designated hitter will also be in use.
The decision to move the games was reached following consultations with the Blue Jays, the Phillies, the G20 Summit Management, the Integrated Security Unit and the City of Toronto, according to a press release.
"After reviewing all of the options with the parties and taking all of the security considerations into account, it was determined that the best course of action is to play the series in Philadelphia," Commissioner Bud Selig said. "I appreciate the cooperation of the Blue Jays, the Phillies and all of the parties who have helped resolve this challenging situation."
Added Blue Jays president Paul Beeston: “This was an extremely difficult decision and one which we did not take lightly. By moving our games to Philadelphia, we are acting in the best interests of our fans, our employees, the players and the game of baseball. We did not want to move the games but in looking at the realities of this situation, we felt that relocation was the most prudent course of action.”
The game time for Friday June 25 will be 7:05 p.m. Saturday's game time is still undetermined. And Sunday's game will begin at 1:35 p.m.
Ticket information for these games has not yet been released.
An MLB spokesman said the Comissioner's Office and the two clubs are working together on a revenue distribution plan for ticket and concession sales.
Beeston told The Globe and Mail he expects the Blue Jays to break even revenue-wise. So it appears the Phillies will bring in some extra cash after all this.
UPDATE (2:10 p.m.): Here is some ticket information, courtesy of John Weber, Phillies vice president, sales and ticket operations:
Season ticket holders will be contacted in the next three to seven days about purchasing tickets. After that, the general public will be able to buy tickets within the next 10 to 14 days.
Weber said the Phillies are working with Major League Baseball and the Blue Jays with the conflict and revenue will be distributed.
The Saturday game will be played in the afternoon and the game time will be determined in the coming days, Weber said.
Said Weber: "It's another great weekend series for our fans to come and support the team"
Stop your whinning. Nothing wrong with playing the 3 games in Philly. man people have to whine about everything!— lugomen1955- Why ? Cliff Lee pitches for the Mariners— gonegator
agreed, if the phillies are the "road" team, bring on the baby blues.— Pelti- this could be the answer to our prayers, but we need to bang the place out every game (shouldn't be a problem) and we might need another series or two (aren't there clear & present dangers in D.C. or Pittsburgh sometime this summer around the time the Phils are scheduled? - invite them here!). If we conservatively guesstimate that the Phightin's get a $1M/game boost from this (I think think that's VERY conservative), 9 games should just about get us to where Werth fits in the budget next year, assuming some minor (i.e. not Ibanez) cuts elsewhere).— Krusty
- this could be the answer to our prayers, but we need to bang the place out every game (shouldn't be a problem) and we might need another series or two (aren't there clear & present dangers in D.C. or Pittsburgh sometime this summer around the time the Phils are scheduled? - invite them here!). If we conservatively guesstimate that the Phightin's get a $1M/game boost from this (I think think that's VERY conservative), 9 games should just about get us to where Werth fits in the budget next year, assuming some minor (i.e. not Ibanez) cuts elsewhere).— Krusty
Comment removed.- Starting this yr both teams will use DHs during the All Star game no matter which conference has home field advantage. The Phils are generally better on the road anyway. MLB needs to either get rid of the DH position or start having pitchers bat either way both league should abide by the same rules.— SWIM
- To give Toronto the "home field" advantage, the Phils will have to use Phanatic as their DH.— Bobby G
- Luterow beat me to the Jason Werth comment.— flyerssignguy
- I just read that this weekend in Milwaukee the Phillies will be wearing old POWDER BLUE / MAROON away jerseys they wore from 1973 through 1988. I believe it said they will wear them this Friday night May 14th. This Toronto series would be the opportune time to have them wear them at CBP.— kzimm63
- Chadsexington - Well at least you can go to the G20 Summit when you are in Toronto that weekend!— kzimm63
- @ chadsex - you have about as much chance of that happening as having Bud drop the lux tax and instate a salary cap. both would be hits to his bank account ;)— templeowl08
- Next thing we'll here is that the Phillies signed Werth with the extra cash from 3 extra games.— kzimm63
- DH was used at the Vet in the 1980 World Series. Back in the day, beginning in 1976, the DH was used every other year in the WS. They changed the rule at some point in late '80s early '90s, letting the home field determine whether the DH was used. In 1980, I believe Keith Moreland and Greg Luzinski shared DH duties, and Lonnie "Skates" Smith played LF. Not a good glove among any three of those guys.— andrewfrombrooklyn
- So, does the Bell ring only when the Blue Jays hit a home run?— molsenair82
- my buds and i made plans to toronto to see the phils. you think Bud will remimburse the cost of our plane tickets?— chadsexington
Phillies using road grey in this series...that will be fun- LOL @ Tripod! Don't worry Phillies fans - should be plenty of available seats! I remember a series that the Phils were supposed to play in Montreal against the Expos in the 80's that got moved to the Vet because Olympic Stadium was literally crumbling - concrete slabs were falling down and they were concerned for fans' safety.— uncle meat
- some extra cash for werth perhaps?— KillerPotato
Great decision, ay. Way to go, ay, Mr. Selig. Pass the Molson, ay... O Canada! Where Pines and Maples grow, Great prairies spread and lordly rivers flow. Thou art the land, O Canada, From East to Western sea, The land of hope for all who toil, The land of liberty.— jp8899- A few years ago someone (Costas?) floated the idea that interleague games could be jazzed up if you used the DH in NL parks and pitchers hit in AL parks. We get to see at least a little of that now.— Scorekeeper
- @ PhillieJoe: A few Cleveland Indians games got snowed out at the begining of 2007 and were moved to Milwaukee, so the DH was used then. Probably other times too.— Pa Reader
- Which national anthem will be played last?— Fuzzy_Dunlop
- hahahah -not bob levy— remyy
- A rained-out World Series game, a DH in a NL park, and 10,000 losses! My Phillies are a team of firsts!— templeowl08
- Any fans caught running on the field will be tazed by Dudley Dooright. Then tied to the Acela tracks by Snidely Whiplash— rmpchf
- Can we get the Mounties to chase fans when they go on the field?— Joe Lis lives
- Will we have to cheer in Canadian?— rmpchf
- Will we have to sing the Canadian National Anthem?— nate
- If someone darts on the field, will the Mounties take him/her down?— davesju93
- Will Joe Carter throw out the first pitch? Won't this interfere with the Flyers Stanley Cup parade? Perhaps for that weekend, Philadelphians can also act Canadian, be nicer, healthier and have a cleaner and better run city in general.— bobcitydoc
- Will the Star Spangled Banner be played first, and Oh Canada second? This is a huge advantage for the Phillies, and the rest of the NL should be annoyed. Should be a great time, and will open up a lot of tickets for people who have been shut out this season. I feel bad for the Phillies fans who booked trips to Toronto for the game.— AreaMan
- Comment removed.
- Thank you, Canadian anti-capitalists! Considering you Habs get free national security just by being our neighbor this is just a pittance of compensation. Enjoy protesting Obama and friends while the Phils use the DH against the Jays like the cops use rubber bullets against you.— 5280philly
- Back in the day the world series rotated, one year with dh next year without. So there have been dhs in NL parks before.— TripleCap
- bank error in your favor collect $200— notch44
- Comment removed.
- Funny money and they'll be selling only Molson and Labatts. Too bad Roy Halladay won't get to pitch in Toronto.— Stuie
- Nice to have 3 extra home games. It will be weird that the Phillies won't have last at bat but probably won't need it anyway. And I'm sure the Philly pitchers won't mind not having to bat. Still a Philly crowd.— Phillydave
- there you go 3 extra homes games, pays for Jayson Werth!!!— luterow
- Make the Blue Jays endure Vice President Biden as the public address system announcer at the ballpark.— Delaware Jim
- Will "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" have the lyrics changed to "root root root for the Blue Jays?"
- Comment removed.
- How will ticket revenue and in-stadium generated revenues be split? A look at the Blue Jays web site shows that they are averaging only a bit over 15,000 a game. With the games being played at CBP that will surely triple. I'm sure mayor Mikey Mcnutter will love the 3 extra days of taxes.— rmpchf
- A DH in an NL park?...Has that ever been done before?...Could be an historic series. Some fans may be rubbing their eyes in disbelief!— PhillieJoe
- Only Blue Jays Fans are allowed to buy tickets. Should be about 7000 strong.— Tripod
- How will the money from ticket sales and in-stadium generated revenue be distributed?— rmpchf
a DH at the bank. cool- I find it disgraceful that the DH will be used in a National League ballpark.— Jrod00
- Yeah that's fair to the rest of the National League. Give the Phillies three more home games. Good job Bud!— ynot716
