Phillies Shilling for the Environment

You may have noticed the Philadelphia Phillies wearing green caps on Wednesday (which at least was better than Rick Pitino wearing his white suit). No, it was not some belated St. Patrick’s Day celebration. And I’d like to say that it wasn’t some ploy to market new gear to the fans, but I’d probably be wrong. I am certain however, that is was a nod to the Phillies becoming the first MLB team to join the EPA’s Green Power Partnership program. As part of the program, the Phillies have purchased 20 million hours of reusable energy or something like that. They are revamping their recycling program within the stadium, reusing everything from frying oil to fluorescent lamps. And good luck trying to bring some ketchup packets to your seat for those fries and the dog — they’re switching over to more eco-friendly dispensers instead.

That’s cool and all if this becomes the new trend in MLB considering how much energy is used up to power those ballparks. Maybe the Phillies can look into whether or not they can start recycling players, you know? Perhaps they can get back Adam Eaton pre-surgery, and maybe like Scott Rolen, too. OK, I’ll stop making fun because I want the world to be as nice of a place for the future generations as it is for me. And while we’re on the subject of improving Citizens Bank Ballpark, how about moving those fences back a few feet? I love Chase Utley and all, but come on, how many 338 feet pop ups do I have to see turn into home runs for Pat Burrell and Ryan Howard? If you can find away to reuse 20 million hours of energy, you can certainly afford to move back the fences a few feet, right?

(photo courtesy AP/H. Rumph Jr.)