BlueClaws Blog

The Phillie Phanatic was back for his second and final appearance of the ‘07 season and it’s amazing to watch reactions to him from fans of all ages.  He’s been doing his thing for a couple of decades now and it just doesn’t get old… for anyone!  Fans, staff, players, coaches, grounds crew members, umpires, all get seemingly tortured by the green guy, but they all ended up leaving the “confrontation” with a smile.  He’s got a great job. 

We’ve now had the Phanatic here twice this year, the Zooperstars made two stops, Rally the Mascot was a new visitor, and The Famous Chicken will be here in a few days.  You know at some point, no matter who you are, one of these entertainers made you laugh, whether you wanted to or not!  Do you have a favorite?  Do you have a favorite mascot story?  Post them here!  We’d love to hear about it.

Showing up to work yesterday, I noticed an outfield full of tiny flags.  Thought maybe it meant it was being marked for a spraying of pesticides or some other necessary chemical.  Turns out, that’s how our head groundskeepr maps out the intricate designs that are mowed into the grass.  By the end of the day, the Liberty Bell took shape with the Phillies P placed in the center, a pretty neat tribute to our parent club.

It’s not the first time the P has made an appearance on FirstEnergy’s Field but, it is arguably one of the cooler cuts that has taken form here.  So I guess that begs the question, what’s the most interesting outfield design that you can remember here in Lakewood or anywhere?

If they’re not one already, someone is about to become a HUGE BlueClaws fans.  There are tons of balloons and confetti waiting to fall on lucky #3,000,000.  Brendan Burke and Greg Giombarrese are going to come down from the radio booth for the pre-game excitement and record a podcast of the entire countdown.  Then we’re all going to be outside to celebrate with the fan of the night!  It’s unbelievable to think that in under 7 full seasons, 3,000,000 people have passed through these turnstiles.  If you can’t be here in an hour to see it all go down, check out the Countdown Podcast tomorrow by clicking here!

So that’s how the excitement is building up inside our walls.  But we’d love to hear what you think about all this and everything BlueClaws.  Don’t be afraid to post your comments and thoughts here (just please keep them positive and clean!) and be sure to discuss these topics with your fellow BlueClaws fans.  Keep checking back here regularly to see what everyone has to say….

While the BlueClaws are on the road battling the Shorebirds and Captains, Lakewood is still buzzing.  As I write, a youth clinic is taking place and even more fans will get the chance to take the field at FirstEnergy Park on Sunday when season ticket holders take advantage of their annual batting practice outing.  Buster just walked through the office after entertaining patrons of The Upstairs Club for lunch and as always, will be heading back out into the community over the next few days before gearing up for the second longest homestand of the season.

Speaking of this upcoming 7-gamer in Lakewood, we’re extremely excited to welcome some very important guests.  You’ve probably heard by now that Hall of Famer Steve Carlton is coming.  There has been very little debate over the fact that he is the biggest name the BlueClaws have ever welcomed for an autograph signing.  We are just as big of baseball fans as anyone and we’re thrilled that he’s going to join us.  Evidently, milb.com thinks it’s pretty cool too!  They’ve decided it’s one of the coolest promotions coming up this week in all of Minor League Baseball!  Check out their story here!

So we’ve established that Carlton is a definite BlueClaws VIP this week, but there is one person that is going to be an even bigger deal.  However, we don’t know who it is and we don’t know when he or she is coming.  Our 3 millionth fan will pass through our turnstiles this week!  And it could be you!  This is such a big deal for us and obviously the first group we have to thank is you the almost 3 million fans that have seen a BlueClaws game thus far.  Now only one of you can be number 3 million and you’ll go home with a great prize pack and experience you’ll never forget that night.  So we hope to see all of you out here this week to help us welcome that lucky fan!

Here we are, half way through our 7th season and back in first place!  It’s an exciting time around FirstEnergy Park as the BlueClaws are cruising and we head into our exciting summer months.  We’re going to hit our 3 millionth fan real soon, a staggering statistic that still places us atop major categories.  Adding to the excitement is this brand new blog, for you the fans.  Check back regularly as we plan to drop you insights on whats going on with us as we continue to provide you with the best entertainment value on the Jersey Shore.