It's Official: The Phillies Are Playing 84 Home Games In The 2010 Series

Well that was a quick resolution, wasn't it? Because of the G20 summit occurring right across the way from Rogers Centre at the same time as this year's Phillies-Blue Jays series to be played June 25-27 has in fact been moved to Philadelphia. MLB.com has more of the details on the move.

Considering the close proximity of the two sites, the Blue Jays consulted with the G20 organizers and decided that moving the baseball games to a different location offered the best solution. It is a series that was expected to draw a large crowd in Toronto, given that it would have marked the return of former Jays ace Roy Halladay, who was traded to the Phillies in December.

"We regret we had to make this decision," Blue Jays president and CEO Paul Beeston said. "But given what's happening on those three days, and the focus that will be on the downtown core of Toronto, and the fact that we are situated right next door to them, where the G20 is going to take place, we felt it was in the best interest of everybody to move the games.

"It's particularly disappointing, for very obvious reasons, with Roy Halladay coming back. Roy, who had been with the organization for as long as he'd been here, it was our opportunity for the fans and for ourselves to give him the appreciation for what he had done and what he had meant to this team."

Beeston said that the Blue Jays will put in a request with Major League Baseball to host the Phillies in Toronto as part of Interleague Play in 2011. If the series is scheduled as Beeston hopes, that will give Toronto a chance to honor Halladay during his first trip north of the border since parting ways with the organization.

Major League Baseball approved the series relocation after discussing the situation with the Blue Jays, the Phillies, the G20 Summit Management, the Integrated Security Unit and the city of Toronto.

"After reviewing all of the options with the parties and taking all of the security considerations into account, it was determined that the best course of action is to play the series in Philadelphia," Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement. "I appreciate the cooperation of the Blue Jays, the Phillies and all of the parties who have helped resolve this challenging situation."

While the games will take place on the road, they will still be considered "home" contests for the Blue Jays. The designated hitter will be utilized, and Toronto will have the last at-bat in each of the games. The June 25 game is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET and the June 27 contest will begin at 1:35 p.m. The time of the June 26 game has not been finalized.

Beeston noted that the Jays and Phillies have a financial agreement to share the revenue generated from the series at Citizens Bank Park.

"This wasn't a negotiation," Beeston said. "The Phillies are terrific people to deal with. We were fortunate that we were playing the Phillies at this time, so we could sit down with [Phillies president and CEO] Dave Montgomery. I've had a number of conversations with him, starting back when it was first announced.

"As it became a little bit more definitive that it was happening, we kept him informed as to what was happening. He's got costs of putting on the games, so we've worked out an arrangement that hopefully will make us both revenue neutral."

Beeston, who emphasized that the relocation was ultimately the Blue Jays' decision, said the teams discussed shifting the series to Cleveland's Progressive Field or Detroit's Comerica Park. At the end of the day, though, moving to a neutral site was never a serious part of the discussions.

"No, it really wasn't considered," Beeston said. "I guess that was an option, whether we'd go to Cleveland or whether we'd go to Detroit or whether we'd go up to Ottawa and play in one of those places. At the very conclusion of all our deliberations, the easiest was just to go to Philadelphia."

According to Beeston, another alternative was to play a doubleheader in Toronto on June 25 with a night game on June 26, creating an off-day on June 27 to help account for the G20 activities. Beeston said there were still too many unknowns to go through with that proposed plan.

I guess that's just a matter of being scheduled in the right place at the right time if you are the Phillies. I must admit that even I was looking forward to Halladay's return to Toronto, but Roy Halladay has nothing on global officials with a political agenda. Hopefully they can schedule that series for next year and also hopefully the Phillies will be able to take advantage of the added home games they now have.