Citizens Bank Park opened on April 3, 2004, and hosted its first regular season baseball game on April 12 of the same year, with the Phillies losing to the Cincinnati Reds, 4 – 1.

Shortly after the park opened in 2004, the bullpens were reassigned so the Phillies ' pitchers used the lower pen and visitors use the upper pen.

Following an inter-league exhibition game against the New York Yankees on April 5, 1913, the park formally opened on April 9 against the Philadelphia Phillies.

On July 25, 1990 in Philadelphia, the Mets took a 10-3 lead into the ninth inning, but rival Phillies opened the inning with seven consecutive singles, followed by a walk, and scored six runs to narrow the Mets lead to one run before the Mets were able to turn a double-play and get a line drive out.

The other two openings he was part of were the 1994 Cleveland Indians as they opened Jacobs Field and the 2004 Philadelphia Phillies as they opened Citizens Bank Park.

Still a fan favorite in Philadelphia, he opened " Bull's Barbecue " in the Phillies ' newly opened stadium, Citizens Bank Park.

Eventually the Phillies built Citizens Bank Park at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, which opened in 2004.

Ed Delahanty and Chuck Klein of the Phillies, the Braves' Joe Adcock, Lou Gehrig of the Yankees, Pat Seerey of the White Sox and Rocky Colavito, then with Cleveland, made their history on the road.

Both players had a better fielding percentage, more total chances, better zone rating, more putouts, more double plays turned, better range factor and more assists than their counterparts who won the award instead ( Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee and Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins ).

After reaching their first World Series, the Royals fell to the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.

With a steady five game lead for the Wild Card, the hope of a playoff spot seemed secured, but the Brewers struggled in September, first getting swept by the New York Mets, and then just over a week later, getting swept in four games by the Philadelphia Phillies, losing their lead in the Wild Card.

The Brewers faced their divisional foe and the NL Wild Card winner, the St. Louis Cardinals, who had upset the favored Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS.

While their 7 – 10 mark down the stretch was slightly better than the previous season's 5 – 12, it still allowed the Phillies to pass them, once again.

Once the modern World Series began in 1903, it took the Phillies 77 years from that point ( and 97 years from the club's establishment ) to win their first World Series — longer than any of the 16 teams that made up the major leagues for the first half of the 20th century.

Though the Phillies moved into a permanent home at Baker Bowl in 1887, they did not win their first pennant until nearly 30 years later, after the likes of standout players Billy Hamilton, Sam Thompson, and Ed Delahanty had departed.

A bright spot came in 1915, when the Phillies won their first pennant, thanks to the pitching of Grover Cleveland Alexander and the batting prowess of Gavvy Cravath, who set what was then the modern major-league single-season record for home runs with 24.

Poor fiscal management after their appearance in the 1915 World Series, however, doomed the Phillies to sink back into relative obscurity ; from 1918 to 1948 they only had one winning season.

The Phillies sank back to mediocrity during the mid-1950s after the departure of the " Whiz Kids ", their competitive futility culminating in a record that still stands: in 1961, the Phillies lost 23 games in a row ( a record since 1900 ).

At the end of the decade, in October 1970, the Phillies played their final game in Connie Mack Stadium and prepared to move into newly built Veterans Stadium, wearing new maroon uniforms to accentuate the change.

While some members of the team performed admirably during the 1970s, the Phillies still clung to their position at the bottom of the National League standings.

Facing the Kansas City Royals in the 1980 World Series, the Phillies won their first World Series championship ever in six games thanks to the timely hitting of Mike Schmidt and Pete Rose.

The Phillies made the playoffs twice more in the 1980s after their Series win, in 1981 and 1983, where they lost to the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series, but they would soon follow these near-misses with a rapid drop back into the basement of the National League.

In 2001, the Phillies had their first winning season in eight years under new manager Larry Bowa, and their season record would not dip below. 500 again from the 2003 season onward.

In 2004, the Phillies moved to their new home, Citizens Bank Park, across the street from the Vet.

In 2008, the Phillies clinched their second straight division title and defeated the Milwaukee Brewers in the Division Series to record the franchise's first post-season victory since winning the 1993 NLCS.

The Phillies would then go on to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays in 5 games for their second World Series title in their 126-year history.

Gillick retired as general manager after the 2008 season and was succeeded by one of his assistants, Ruben Amaro, Jr. After adding outfielder Raúl Ibañez to replace the departed Pat Burrell, the Phillies retained the majority of their core players for the 2009 season.

The team continued this run of success with wins over the Colorado Rockies in the NLDS ( 3 games to 1 ) and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS ( 4 games to 1 ), to become the first Phillies team to win back-to-back pennants and the first National League team since the 1996 Atlanta Braves to have an opportunity to defend their World Series title.

The 2010 Phillies won their fourth consecutive NL East Division championship despite a rash of significant injuries to key players, including Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, and Carlos Ruiz.

If the Cardinals heed Manager Gene Mauch of the Phillies, they won't be misled by the Pirates' slower start this season.

Jim Thome left after the season, going to the Phillies for a larger contract.

However, the Philadelphia Phillies cut the lead to two by the All-star break, as the Cubs sat 19 games over. 500, but they swooned late in the season, going 20 – 40 after July 31.

The Brewers finished the 2008 season one game ahead of the New York Mets in the wild card race with a final record of 90 – 72, and faced the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS.

Smith made an " eye-popping " play later that season on August 5, during a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Busch Stadium.

Their 1950 season was highlighted by a last-day, pennant-clinching home run by Dick Sisler to lead the Phillies over the Dodgers and into the World Series.

However, the Phillies squandered a six-and-a-half-game lead during the final weeks of the season that year, losing 10 games in a row with 12 games remaining and losing the pennant by one game to the St. Louis Cardinals.

One highlight of the season occurred on Father's Day, when Jim Bunning pitched a perfect game against the New York Mets, the first in Phillies history.

The 1992 season, for example, would end with the Phillies in last place in the National League East.

The 1993 Phillies started the season by going 17 – 5 in April and finishing with a 97 – 65 season.

On September 17, 2011, the Phillies won their fifth consecutive East Division championship, and on September 28, during the final game of the season, the team set a franchise record for victories in a season with 102 by beating the Atlanta Braves in 13 innings, denying their division rivals a potential Wild Card berth.

The 2012 Phillies experienced an up and down season.

However, a hot start in the second half of the season put the Phillies back on the postseason hunt, though any hope was eventually extinguished with a loss to the Washington Nationals on September 28, thus the Phillies missed the postseason for the first time since 2006.

For the 2009 season the Phillies added black, circular " HK " patches to their uniforms over their hearts in honor of broadcaster Harry Kalas, who died April 13, 2009, just before he was to broadcast a Phillies game.

The Phillies ' 2007 Eastern Division Title was won on the last day of the season as the Mets lost a seven-game lead with seventeen games remaining.