Paul Kowalick’s family gathered outside Citizens Bank Park a few hours before Wednesday night’s series finale between the Phillies and New York Yankees. His sons, Paul Jr. and Mike, stood alongside their brother-in-law as the three drank a few beers and watched their sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews trickle into the parking lot.
And even though he died 12 years ago, Paul Sr. was there, too — his picture stood prominently on a table where the Kowalicks had laid out their pregame spread.
The clan of 30 would be part of the more than 44,000 to pack the ballpark Wednesday, a third straight sellout for a stadium that hadn’t been filled to capacity since September 2013.