Tour 2026: MLB All-Star Sunday

All photos of Philadelphia, Futures Game, and MLBx All-Star 3-on-3 available on Flickr.

We woke up rested and refreshed for a Sunday packed with more All-Star events, but we started the day with our one bit of non-baseball sightseeing of the trip.  Erik and I kickstarted the morning by each going for our own separate 2-mile jogs.  Turns out we're getting too old to go on 4-day binges and not exercise.  We didn't have a scenic hiking trail at our disposal like we have the past few years, so we settled for a nice run through the city.  Erik headed west to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to run up the Rocky Steps, but I had already been there once before, so I opted for the opposite direction towards Independence Hall.  I stopped to take a bunch of pictures there and got distracted several times on the way back, so it wasn't a super efficient run, but it's hard not to immerse yourself in all the history when you're visiting Philly.  After a quick dip back at our hotel rooftop pool and then telling Erik that did not count as his shower for the day, we got cleaned up and headed right back for Independence Hall, this time to go inside and see the Liberty Bell.  The bell is basically within a separate building that seems to have been built around it so as to not disturb the famously cracked bell.  Words cannot describe what it was like to be within mere feet of one of the most significant artifacts in the 250-year history of our country.  We also saw the original buildings where the constitution was debated and signed, the foundational remains of the former presidential mansion, and the building where Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence.  It was all truly inspiring and left me speechless with awe.  I also learned in our time there that the square outside these buildings is technically a National Park, so I was happy to cross one off the list.  We probably could have spent hours touring everything there, but alas it was time for ball.  We hopped on the SEPTA subway west and south to Citizens Bank Park around 11:00am.

The SEPTA B-line ends at the ballpark, so pretty much everyone on the train with us got off at the same stop.  Philadelphia has its baseball park, football stadium, and arena all in this same area in South Philly, surrounded by almost nothing but parking lots.  It's kind of the opposite direction that most cities are going these days, but it seems to work well for a city as large and transit-oriented as this.  Security lines into the stadium went pretty smoothly and we made our way up to the second deck where we had tickets in the Cadillac Hall of Fame Club.  I'm not sure if this existed when we were there 19 years ago, but I do know it underwent a significant renovation this past offseason in preparation of this event.  From what I'm reading, the remodeling seems to be mostly cosmetic in nature, with all new finishes and aesthetics, and an increased amount of chef-driven culinary offerings.  I would best describe this club as a cross between the club levels at AmFam and Target Field.  Like at AmFam, it takes up pretty much the entire level and you can walk through it from end to end, and just being on the level itself requires a club ticket.  It is lined with quick grab-and-go food and beverage stands on the side opposite the field just like at AmFam.  It also pulls in elements of the Truly On Deck at Target Field, which is connected visually to the field with direct access to seats on the other side of a wall of glass.  This club has some soft seating and the team Hall of Fame inside of it, including their World Series trophies, just like at Target.  It really combines the best elements of both and I loved it.  The thing I appreciated most about it was it has a lot of specialty food items that you didn't have to wait 10 minutes for them to make it to order.  All the food was laid out packaged under heat lamps, so I was able to grab a silo of Miller Lite from the cooler, a Philly grilled cheese, and pay for it, all within literally 30 seconds.  Granted, I will say that Citizens Bank Park was half-full at best for the Futures Game, so maybe this is not always the case at a regular Phillies game.  The food in the AmFam club just plain sucks, and at Target it is either slow or buffet style, so the Phillies were doing it right.  My only complaint is I would have liked it to be a little wider so you could fit some actual bar seating in there.  There were some walkup bars, but it basically just felt like more of just a fancy concourse.  Other than that one minor thing, I highly recommend the Hall of Fame Club to any visitors.

Another major perk of the club was access to shade and air conditioning on this hot afternoon.  We were in our seats for close to 4 hours, and only towards the end of the MLBx event did the sun start to creep our way.  There were two events at The Bank on Sunday, the first of which was the Futures Game.  This is an annual game showcasing 50 of the top rising stars in the minor leagues, and this year's game was particularly star-studded with 38 of the 50 being ranked in the Top 100.  After experimenting with some other formats in the past, this year's game was AL vs. NL just like the regular All-Star Game.  The teams wore some pretty sweet "American" and "National" uniforms that I wished the MLB players would also wear instead of angrily reverting back to tradition.  The game featured two Brewers in the starting lineup for the NL squad - 3B Luis Pena and #1 overall prospect SS Jesus Made.  Pena had the defensive gem of the day with a sensational over the shoulder catch in shallow left, and Made went 1-3 with an RBI groundout.  The future is bright in Milwaukee and I'm excited to see both of these players on the big league team in the next few years.  It's hard to identify any standout players in a 7-inning game that was constantly cycling in substitutions, but Seth Hernandez was definitely one of the players I was most looking forward to seeing and he did not disappoint.  Seth struck out 2 in his lone inning of work and topped 100 several times on the radar gun.  He might have gone #1 overall in the draft last year if player development staffs did not have a natural aversion to right handed high school pitchers, but he is absolutely dominating in A-ball right now and it will be scary to see what he looks like in an already stacked Pirates rotation.  Rays C Nathan Flewelling took home the Larry Doby MVP Award due to his pinch-hit 2-run homer in the 6th.  Phillies 2025 1st round pick Gage Wood got the start for the NL and allowed Leo De Vries to score on a single, 2 steals, and a groundout.

Following the brisk Futures Game was the MLBx All-Star 3-on-3 competition.  MLBx is MLB's response to the rising popularity of Banana Ball and is essentially a co-ed team homerun derby with defense.  This is sort of a barnstorming exhibition tour lead by Nick Swisher and this was its All-Star Sunday debut, replacing the oft maligned Celebrity Softball Game.  I actually thought it was really fun to watch, but just way too long.  It was four teams of 3 that faced off in two semi-final matchups and one final matchup, and each match was 3 innings apiece, so it just got to be a lot and the novelty of it wore off quickly.  There were 3 teams led by former Phillies legends - Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, and Shane Victorino - and one Braves team led by Andruw Jones that was just awful and got booed incessantly.  I think Jones might have only hit one homerun in 2 minutes, and keep in mind the fences were only about 200 feet away.  The celebrities were as always not memorable and contributed nothing, but the softball players were the real stars of the show.  Alyssa Brito in particular just put on a clinic and must have mashed 30 or 40 homers herself.  It's kind of patronizing to pair 20-something professional softball players with 4 guys who have never picked up a bat in their life and 4 retired guys who haven't played in 10 years, so I hope this event served as a wake-up call to all fans watching that the AUSL is the real deal.  I've caught a few games here and there on ESPN and it is a fascinating sport.

After a long day at the ballpark, it was still not even 5pm yet, so we were not ready to head back to the hotel.  We stopped by a new Stateside Live! venue across the street for a couple of brew dogs.  This space opened up just in time for the All-Star festivities and was a lot like the one we went to in Arlington a few years ago, basically an expansive beer hall with a tall wall of TVs, games, a separate bull riding bar, and a more intimate "Miller Lite Tavern" which was sadly closed for a private event.  We met a couple of local dudes here and had a nice conversation about our travels and all things baseball.  After Stateside, we ate dinner at a quaint wood-fired pie joint in the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood we were staying in, and had a quiet night in watching Major League.  I was proud of how we paced ourselves on this trip, but part of me did wish we were 25 again and could have closed down a dive bar somewhere.

FUTURES GAME STARTING LINEUPS:
 
American League
Leo De Vries, SS, Athletics (AA)
Franklin Arias, 2B, Boston (AA)
Ralphy Velazquez, 1B, Cleveland (AAA)
Walker Jenkins, CF, Minnesota (AAA)
Blake Mitchell, C, Kansas City (A+)
Caleb Bonemer, 3B, Chi White Sox (AA)
Ike Irish, DH, Baltimore (A+)
Nelson Rada, LF, LA Angels (AAA)
Theo Gillen, RF, Tampa Bay (A+)
Kade Anderson, SP, Seattle (AA)

National League
Eli Willits, 2B, Washington (A+)
Roldy Brito, CF, Colorado (A)
Jesus Made, SS, Milwaukee (AA)
Charlie Condon, 1B, Colorado (AAA)
Josue De Paula, LF, LA Dodgers (AA)
Alfredo Duno, C, Cincinnati (A+)
Ethan Salas, DH, San Diego (AA)
Luis Pena, 3B, Milwaukee (A+)
Edward Florentino, RF, Pittsburgh (A+)
Gage Wood, SP, Philadelphia (AA)

pitchers of record – Anthony Eyanson (W), Kash Mayfield (L)
time of game – 2:10
attendance – not posted
score – 6-1 AL (F/7)
Brewers score that day – 14-5 L