Phillies eyed mid-August to invite fans back before city ban

Challenges with pumping in crowd noise

In Tuesday evening’s intrasquad game, the Phillies’ first of summer camp that was streamed to fans across its social media platforms, the team explored pumping in crowd noise at Citizens Bank Park.

After, manager Joe Girardi said he liked what he heard, but that maybe the noise could be mixed up  a little. Buck said the decision was easy to start pumping in noise, however, then it came down to deciding what noise to use and where do you get it.

The Phillies have already have an answer for the latter; they will get their audio tracks through Sony PlayStation’s popular MLB The Show video game franchise. The Phanavision team will be responsible for managing the noise during the games.

“They have crowd noise in all of their games and it’s pretty realistic,” Buck said.

Now, Buck said the Phillies have to determine just what decibel level is appropriate, how and when to pump in noise, as well as how to make it seem real as much as possible.

Even then, more challenges present itself before things are squared away for the home opener on July 24.

“The folks at NBC Sports Philly, they have crowd noise ready to go to pump in the broadcast. But, they’re not sure if our crowd for in the stadium will be enough to pick up on TV,” Buck said.

“No one ‘s done [this] before. … You can’t have a Phillies single and have the place go nuts; and then, the Marlins double and you pump in boos,” Buck continued. “We will get feedback. I’m sure the players will get feedback and I mean that in a positive way. We’ll go from there.”

“You have to figure out the right way to do it, make it fair, make it seem legit, and try to make it a little bit normal.”

Cardboard cutouts

The Phillies have confirmed that cardboard cutouts will be filling the seats at Citizens Bank Park in 2020. They are just not sure yet of how many will fill the seats, nor cost.

Buck said the organization recently finalized which company they will use; fans will be able to use a simple app to upload their picture.

Then, fan cutouts will begin to fill the empty, blue seats during the August 7-10 home series against the Atlanta Braves, according to Buck. Prior, during the season-opener homestead against the Miami Marlins and New York Yankees, the Phillies are planning something special as it relates to the cutouts.

“I think it’s going to be super cool the first weekend what we’re doing and who we’re honoring,” Buck said. “After the first weekend, we are going to open it up to season ticket holders and fans to purchase it.”

Buck said the Phillies were planning to have fan cutouts fill the Diamond Club, but may start looking elsewhere, such as above the dugout, given players who are not in the game are using the area to socially distance.

“We hope to have a lot; we have a way to secure [the cutouts] to the seats. We think it’s kind of fun,” Buck said.

The Phanatic

Buck said the beloved Phillie Phanatic mascot is considered a tier 3 employee, the same as him.

“We’re not even allowed to get near tier 2 and tier 1, or the players. He’s nowhere near anybody,” said Buck, who continued the Phanatic will likely roam the ballpark and in the stands during games.

Also, Buck said he would not be surprised  if, during the first homestand, the Phanatic will “have some fun” messing with cardboard cutouts of Marlins fans wearing Marlins gear.

“The Phanatic’s best friend is pretty creative, so he’s got some things planned. He’s talking about doing virtual Zoom dances with fans during the game,” Buck said. “I think he’ll be in the TV booth a lot, too.”

“He loves his TV time.”

Moving forward

It’s hard to believe, but just nine days remain until the new-look Phillies kick off the 2020 season.

Buck said the imminent Opening Day is “absolutely exciting” for everyone, given the events over the past three or four months in the world.

“I guess there were times I wasn’t sure we were going to get here. Then, about two or three weeks ago, I’m like, ‘This is gonna happen,'” Buck continued. “It’s going to be weird and it’s going to be different, but we’re all getting very excited.”

Even when Bryce Harper steps up to the plate for the first time, or Aaron Nola takes the mound for the first time, things still just won’t be the same for the Phillies without fans and most of their gameday staff.

“You miss the fans and miss all the gameday employees and people. We’re kind of a big family and we’ve been around these people for 20-30 years, some of us,” Buck said. “It’s been really hard, but, knowing that baseball’s going to start next Friday and whether it’s one percent normal or 5 percent normal or whatever, I think it’s a very big positive for us.”