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Sports

Phillies Pitcher Joe Blanton Visits Newtown Square

PNC Bank held a promotional event featuring the Phillies pitcher on May 2.

NEWTOWN SQUARE–The line curled around the building at the intersection of Route 252/Newtown Street Road and Route 3/West Chester Pike Monday afternoon. Almost everyone was clad in some type of Phillies’ gear–a cap, a t-shirt, something red with a ‘P’ on it, and no one minded the wait. Hey, they were about to meet Phillies’ pitcher Joe Blanton, part of the greatest starting staff in Phillies’ history.

It was part of a marketing promotion that PNC was hosting for its grand opening, complete with a mini-carnival like atmosphere outside the bank.

Dru Ciotti was sure she would be there, and she didn’t mind waiting for an hour with her 4-year-old daughter, Mackenzie, to meet the Phillies’ burly right-handed pitcher. It marked the first time Ciotti got to meet a sports personality face-to-face since she was 10, when he met Philadelphia Flyers’ great Bernie Parent.

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“This is the first time me and my daughter met a Major League Baseball player,” Dru said. “We’re big Phillies’ fans and last August, they let us run the bases at Citizens Bank Park after a game. But this is a first. We waited for an hour, but it was a smooth wait. We enjoyed it.”

Anthony Ferrera Jr., who owns the Liberty gas station up the street and lives in Cherry Hill, NJ, made sure he took a short trek to see Blanton.

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“I’ve followed Joe’s career since he entered the majors,” Ferrera said. “I made sure I told him that. Fans don’t give Joe enough credit, so this was nice. He deserves his due.”

Steve Spence, a 2009 graduate, and his girlfriend, Tara Kelly, a 2009 Cardinal O’Hara graduate and big Phillies’ fan, also found it a pleasurable experience, getting to mingle with a Major League player. “I met [Eagles’ coach] Andy Reid when I was a kid at an Eagles’ summer camp, and this was definitely worth it,” said Spence, a Broomall resident. “I got an autographed picture of Joe Blanton that I’m going to frame.”

Kelly is an avid fan, who makes sure she attends as many Phillies’ games that she can. This was a big thrill to her. “I’ve been to a lot of Phillies’ games, but this is the first time I ever met a Phillies’ player in person,” Kelly said. “We had some small talk, but Joe made you feel comfortable.”

Organizing this was Justin Haggart, a marketing manager for the Sawtooth Group, which was responsible for putting the event together. It couldn’t have worked out any smoother.

“I do hundreds of these every year and most of the players are great,” Haggart said. “I just met Joe and he seems like a real nice person. I’ve worked with multiple of athletes from Philadelphia, and they’ve all been great. The biggest thing about this event is that everyone that leaves the table after talking to Joe has come away with a smile on their face.”

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