The Joys of Going to a Baseball Game Alone

As I've gotten older, I've realized sometimes going to a baseball game by yourself is actually better than going with friends.

When I started going to Phillies games regularly, it was always me and whatever friends I could wrangle up to go with. All it usually took was a few phone calls (this was before texting young ones) and we would meet up, drive down and have a great time watching the Phillies play while eating hot dogs and drinking too much beer.

Later, it would be my wife who would go to games with me. One of the unspoken joys of getting married is that you always have a plus one waiting in the wings and she went to many a Phillies game despite the fact she was never a huge baseball fan. Unless of course Cliff Lee was pitching. Then she would go more than willingly. In fact, she would have left me in a heartbeat if the All-Star pitcher had run into the stands to sweep her off her feet. Thankfully, that never happened.

After my wife died, I dove into going to baseball games with a passion, attending more games than I ever did previously. It got me out of the house and away from all the memories that lived in our home. Being at The Bank was a relief, three hours of being able to just concentrate on baseball and not what I had lost. I could scream at the umpires and at the Phillies, aim all my rage and grief at them and no one gave me a second glance. Because unfortunately if you do that in say, the supermarket, you get some weird looks.

Not that I know anything about that.

However, when she passed away, I lost that someone who would always be there to go to Phillies games with me. My friends had all grown up, gotten married and had children, and had responsibilities of their own that made carving out time to spend at Citizens Bank Park very difficult. Meanwhile, I was a widower in his early fifties with no children with lots and lots of time on his hands.

Whenever I decided I wanted (or needed) to go to a game I would automatically buy a pair of tickets. I just figured I could always find someone who would want to go to a Phillies game, how hard could it be? I wouldn't even ask for any money. I would just tell them it's on me, let's go and watch the Phillies.

It turned out it was a lot harder than you might think.

As I mentioned above, most adults have responsibilities. Jobs, kids, things that take up their time and when they have that rare moment to relax and just chill, many have no desire to head down to The Bank, deal with the traffic and the unpredictable Philly weather to watch a baseball game. And I honestly don't blame them. I fully realize my situation is very unique in that as a childless adult in my 50s with a meaningless job, that my time is pretty much my own.

So what was I supposed to do?

During the 2023 season I did something that I had never done before. I went to a Phillies game by myself. I had two tickets and couldn't find anyone who was able to go with me. So instead of selling them, which is what I would normally have done, I said fuck it, got in my car and drove down to South Philly all by my lonesome, parked, got my single ticket scanned, found my seat and prepared to watch the Phillies play.

And felt very, very self-conscious. At first it was kind of like when you go out to eat by yourself and you feel like everyone in the restaurant is looking at you, feeling sorry for you. Thinking “Oh look. The guy is at the game all by himself. That's so sad.” Only it turned out that was all in my head. By the third inning I was quickly realizing the benefits of going to a baseball game solo.

I didn't need to check with anyone to do whatever I wanted. There was no one there to chide me for eating as many hot dogs as I desired. No one to argue with me when I wanted to stay until the final out no matter what the score was. No one I needed to check in with if I wanted to spend the entire sixth inning wandering around Ashburn Alley, people watching and enjoying the game from the rail while eating a cheesesteak.

Speaking of people watching, there are few things as interesting as listening to the conversations going on around you at a Phillies game. You would be amazed how few people are actually watching the game. Parents trying to keep their kids in line, work colleagues talking about their job and why the hell isn't Barbara pulling her weight. Young girls taking tons of pictures and posting them online as their boyfriends drink and talk shit about their other friends.

No lie, I once watched a girl would couldn't be more than 22 spend a half an hour working on and editing a TikTok she had made. She got all kinds of input from her friends and made more edits before she finally posting the thing. I really hope it ended up getting a ton of hits after all the effort she put into it.

Yes, going to a game solo can feel weird, like you have a huge neon sign above your head that is flashing “LOSER” for all to see. But that's just not the case. I've met all kinds of wonderful people at games. I've had some incredible discussions about a range of topics. And most important, I've really enjoyed myself.

So if you ever have an opportunity or maybe a ticket to a game and can't find someone to go with, go solo. Sure it'll feel odd at first but that feeling doesn't last. And who knows, maybe you'll be like me and find you can enjoy games by yourself as much as you can with your friends.