The "Home Plate" Story

It was an ordinary day. My friend Wayne P. had invited me to go see the Phillies at Veterans Stadium. His wife Barb had given him 4 tickets to see the Phils for his birthday and he had invited me and two of his friends from the police station. Wayne and I had been neighborhood friends for 15 years and had coached little league baseball together for many years. Wayne was excited to go because Barb had purchased seats behind home plate in one of the upper levels. It was a week day evening game and we left about four o’clock to make sure we got there in time for some batting practice. An hour and a half later Wayne pulled into the parking lot and since we had some extra time we got out the meal we had brought with us and ate it in the parking lot before entering. Wayne gave us each a ticket and we entered the stadium near third base. He told us to look for a specific section which was marked on our tickets, where our seats were located. We headed in the direction of home plate, but when we got there it was not the same section as on the ticket. Well, we walked and walked until we had found the section indicated on our tickets. We were definitely behind home plate, but this home plate was located in left field in the Phils bullpen. Front row seats in the section directly above the bullpen. Super seats, but I could see the disappointment on Wayne’s face. Hey, we were at a Phils game. Doesn’t really matter where we sit, but Wayne was sure Barb had told him we were right behind home plate. He thought she meant the REAL home plate where the catcher, batter and umpire are located. Game was fun and the trip home went well. The next day Wayne told me that the tickets were really behind the plate. At least in the 5 year old phone book that Barb had used to order the tickets. Seems that there was a page in the phone book with a picture of the seating at Veterans Stadium and the sections had been changed since the old phone book had been printed. Oh well. Good intentions and a good time! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.