Attention all baseball fans! Baseball is back better than ever. After a long season without fans in the ballpark, we were finally able to go back to parks, but with restrictions. All the ballparks are handling the situation in similar ways, following state or city protocol. The Philadelphia Phillies started off the first two games with 8,800 fans and upgraded to 11,000 on Easter. That number will be changed in the future.

Before going to a game, there are a few things you will need to know. The Phillies are selling tickets in pods of 4 or 6 for fans to sit. You can get pods in sizes 2 or 3, but you need to be quick when buying tickets because they run out fast. If they do not have your group size, such as a pod of 5 people, you can buy a pod for six people. I do suggest bringing a friend with you to be that sixth person. That is what I had to do when I went to the Phillies game on Easter. For the ticket entry, they are only scanning tickets via cell phone on the Ballpark app, and for the entry into the park, you will be asked on the ticket to enter through a certain gate. Medical and Diaper bags are okay to enter the ballpark, but purses with many zippers are not allowed. So, I suggest putting all your stuff in any plastic bag. If you or your friend have forgotten about this rule, the Phillies offer lockers that are $10.

The Phillies are very on top of mask-wearing. They have workers holding signs with the Phillie Phanatic wearing a mask telling the fans to keep our masks on. The only spot where you can take off your mask is in your pod while eating or drinking in the ballpark—talking about food and drinks. You can pay for anything in the ballpark with a credit/debit card or Apple Pay, or Google pay. The sounds of concession workers going up and down the aisles will be silent since they can not due to social distancing. Roaming around the ballpark is not suggested, and if you sit in the Diamond Club during this time, you will not be able to visit The Hall of Fame Club. The Yard is open, though, if you have a younger sibling or a child. In The Yard, only the Citizens Phan Field and Hatfield Phanatic Hot Dog Launcher are open.

The Phillies organization is glad to have fans back in the stands and the same for the workers. It was great to see a ballpark come back to life with actual fans, not just cardboard cutouts. I saw the park through a center field gate during Summer 2020 with the Phandemic Krew, which is not the same as sitting in the stands. I highly suggest going to a game when you have the chance. We have not seen the sport for a while in real life and not through a tv screen. To taste the delicious $8 ice cream in a baseball cap that somehow hits differently from having it on a cone and hearing the cheers of fans cheer on their favorite baseball team.

This article originally appeared in the May 2021 edition of The Nazareth, Volume XCIV, No. 4.