Several folks have asked me in the past week or two if there will be a “Route 222 Challenge” or “222 Showcase” game this year with Reading. Indeed there will be; it is on the magnet schedule from last year and everything–but it was made official today by the IronPigs.
It will be hosted by the IronPigs this year, at 6:35PM on Tuesday April 2. Tickets are available now for $6.00. All seating for the game is General Admission, with only the lower bowl open. I do believe suite holders have access to their suites as well, but club level amenities are limited. If it is consistent with the past, all ticket proceeds will benefit either IronPigs Charities or another charity. Concessions will be open, but may be somewhat limited compared with a regular season game (some of the carts and sands may not be running, but main concessions will.) In the past, full season ticket holders received tickets complimentary. Indeed mine have been loaded into my account already. I believe I will need to have the tickets printed when I pick up my ticket cards, as they are listed as “in will call” instead of “card created” on my account.
A bunch of us from the NoiseNation made the trip to Reading last year for the game. The weather was nice and the attendance was good. In the past, turn out at Coca Cola Park for this game has been lacking. Granted, the weather has been poor, but I’d really like to see us, as a fan base, support this game better. It is an excellent opportunity to preview our team, as well as get a sneak peak at some of the talented prospects who will be in Reading this season. Rosters have not been set, yet, of course. But, I expect that many of the players we see on Tuesday April 2 in Reading Phillies uniforms will turn up in IronPigs–or even Philadelphia–uniforms before the end of the 2013 baseball season.
Why to they play this game? Well, it’s a nice dress rehearsal for the staff and crew of the stadium. It’s also a nice chance for the players to adapt to playing under the lights–and in the cold–compared with the mid-day sun of Florida spring training games. Plus, it raises a little money for charity along the way. All in all, I love it and I’m glad they do it. I love getting a look at the Reading players, but I wouldn’t mind another Phillies exhibition again one of these years. Perhaps they’ll consider it for the 10th anniversary?
A more official season ticket announcement was made this morning as well, clear confusion about the pick up schedule. As I said previously, Full, 36-game, and 18-game packages will be available Monday March 11. 9-game packs will be available Thursday March 14. This clearing up the confusion stemming from an email dated February 22, which stated that season ticket packages would be available March 5, and a tweet from yesterday which stated that the 9-game plans would be available March 12. I know, I know. It’s probably just me. I’m like a kid at Christmas. I know many folks who won’t bother picking them up until opening night.
Soon, I’ll see you at the park,
@KRAM209
noisenation.mlblogs.com 
Who are the starting pitchers? What are the lineups? Okay, okay I’m getting way ahead of myself, but I think I’m starting to get excited. Even if some of them don’t play, we should be getting our first glimpse of Jesse Biddle, Adam Morgan, Ethan Martin, Cody Asche, Tommy Joseph, Austin Wright, Brody Colvin, and who knows, maybe even Darin Ruf. Add in Jonathan Pettibone, Sebastian Valle, Phillippe Aumont and Justin DeFratus and you “could” have 12 of the Phillies’ top 20 prospects playing in that game. That should be enough to get any Phillies fan to Coca-Cola Park on April 2nd.
I’m not sure if we’ll get to see any of the top pitchers as the teams will likely save them for the opening series’, but I will say this: Three guys, Morgan, Asche, and Joseph, whom I had pegged to start the year in Reading, are all pushing for AAA jobs with their play in Clearwater. We shall see!
I don’t understand why the Philadelphia Phillies cannot be bothered to play one exhibition game per season at Coca-Cola Park … Aside from the sheer economic benefit to the IronPigs ballclub, it would certainly help to crystalize the relationship between the Major League club and its top AAA affiliate. Plus, the Phillies might end up encouraging a few local people who otherwise might never have had any desire whatsoever to come to down to South Philly and spend some hard-earned money at Citizens Bank Park … European professional soccer is run very differently from American professional baseball. But I can assure you, if Bayern Munich had a AAA club, they not hesitate to “help” their farm team out by, once a year, loading up the team bus with ALL their star players and showing up at the modest little AAA stadium to play an exhibition game (in the off-season summer, of course) for a Testspiel which means nothing to them but everything to their affiliate … The “ROUTE 222 DEVELOPMENTAL DERBY” is definitely fun stuff, an annual event that I actually look forward to — particularly because this IS the minor leagues and, accordingly, winning is NOT important … 😉
Because money. That’s why. They don’t have to because they can schedule two exhibition games at CBP, stay home, charge full price, and sell 40k tickets rather than drive up 476 to sell 10,100 (or more!?!). And they keep a fair few AAA players for those games, to boot!
I agree, though, it would be nice to see them rotate it so that they play an exhibition at Allentown one year, Reading the next year, and Lakewood in year three, and so on. The two teams not involved would then play, as well.
Perhaps they’ll do that if the Phils start having bad years and aren’t such a draw in Philly–where they could only draw 10-20k down there it would make more sense (money-wise) to travel around.
Probably because the Ironpigs play Reading on April 2nd and the Phillies start their regular season on April 1st. Scheduling in-season would be possible, but difficult. If I remember correctly, the Phillies used to come to Reading for a game every year when it could be worked into the schedules of both teams.
Last year it was proposed that the Phils and Pigs switch places – haha
I’m also hearing the game will be LIVE on TV2 Sports at 6:30 for those that cannot make the game. This may be an option for me, if its cold.
It’s not about the Philadelphia Phillies helping themselves — it’s about the Philadelphia Phillies helping out their AAA affiliate promote and market the IRONPIGS program at Coca-Cola Park. Because they carry a certain kind of weight and name recognition that a AAA club, by nature, can not.
Are the Phillies and IronPigs are actually on the same team (i.e., organization) or it is every club for themselves?