This British Phillies fan watches every game, hates the Mets, and considers Philadelphia ‘a second home’

Barry Mortimer fell in love with the Phillies on a trip to Philly in 1992 and has come back almost every year since. Now at long last he doesn't have far to travel to watch his favorite team.

Barry Mortimer at Citizens Bank Park earlier this season. The Englishman has traveled to Philadelphia twice a year to see the Phillies since 1992.Read moreBarry Mortimer

by Matt Breen

Published June 7, 2024, 5:00 a.m. ET

Barry Mortimer often tells his wife that he’ll stay up for just a few innings of the Phillies game after he tunes in from his home in England.

“Then she’ll say, ‘Yeah, I know you are,’” Mortimer said.

The Brit’s love affair with the Phils dates back more than 30 years. So Maureen Mortimer knows that her husband will often stay awake — first pitch of a typical Phillies home game is at 11:40 p.m. in the United Kingdom — until the early morning to watch his ball club.

“The following day you feel kind of wrecked,” he said.

Philadelphians will flock to England this weekend to watch the Phils play the Mets in London for the team’s first game overseas. But they’ll also be joined by some locals who follow the team with the same passion as the fans back home.

Mortimer, 69, will travel to both games at London Stadium, which is about 200 miles south of his home in Yorkshire. The Phillies are coming to his country. Finally, a ball game won’t require sleep deprivation.

Mortimer caught his first game in 1992 while visiting Philadelphia for a work convention. He was fascinated and he went back twice that week to Veterans Stadium. The Phillies finished that season in last place and lost 92 games. But they won all three games Mortimer saw. He was hooked.

“I went back to the U.K. and said to the wife, ‘We have to go back next year. You’ll love it,’” Mortimer said.

The Mortimers, both now retired, have traveled back to Philadelphia to see their Phillies every year since — except during the pandemic in 2020.

Mortimer first fell in love with baseball. Next, he fell in love with Philadelphia. The Mortimers ride the subway, drink at McGillin’s, walk Rittenhouse Square, and eat scrapple. He’s never had a bad cheesesteak, Mortimer said. They did all the tourist stops years ago. Now, it’s like they live here when they visit.

“Philly is like a second home to us,” said Mortimer, who visited Citizens Bank Park in May and will return in September. “We just feel like locals. Not a lot of tourists can say that. We’ve been going to Philly for over 30 years, so we feel comfortable with the place.”

Mortimer loves a well-executed double play and marvels at the way certain pitches move toward home plate. Baseball has similarities to British cricket — “Both batters have a piece of lumber. See ball, hit ball, score runs,” he said — but there was something about America’s pastime that caught him.

“I just love the whole thing,” Mortimer said. “It’s a great spectacle.”

The Mortimers don’t just catch games in South Philly. They follow the Phils all over the country. The Brits have been to nearly every major-league park — “There’s not many we haven’t been to,” Mortimer said — as baseball became an excuse to explore the rest of America.

They saw the Phillies play in Arizona and then toured Monument Valley. They traveled the West Coast and saw the Phils play in Florida. They once flew to Philly and rented a car for a road trip to see the Phils in Pittsburgh and Detroit.

“That was a whale of a time,” Mortimer said. “Absolutely superb trip.”

The Phillies usually fielded a losing team while playing in a dated stadium for the first 10 years of Mortimer’s adopted fanhood. It would’ve been easier to become a Yankees fan like some of his mates. But Mortimer — like a true Philadelphian — stayed the course. It’s easier now to follow the Phils thanks to the internet and the availability to watch every game live. Thirty years ago, it was a challenge and Mortimer found a way.

Join us on Phillies Gameday Central as The Inquirer’s Scott Lauber brings you live coverage at noon Saturday from London, where the Phillies face off against the Mets. He’ll be joined by Phillies beat writer Alex Coffey, while he shares his adventures in the city along with the latest on the team. Be sure to tune in for this special international edition of Gameday Central!

He said Philly fans reminds him of the supporters of Leeds United, the soccer club he follows back home. Yes, the fans can be tough. But it’s because they love their team. So Mortimer kept coming back, even when the Phillies weren’t the attraction they are now.

“We stuck with it,” he said. “Now it’s a great team to watch and a great ballpark.”

Mortimer learned as much as he could about the team’s history as he watched videos about the 1980 World Series and dug into knowing everything about his baseball team. Mortimer was in Philadelphia in 2007 when the Phillies clinched the division on the season’s final day, roaring with the rest of the ballpark before the first pitch when the out-of-town scoreboard updated the happenings at Shea Stadium.

“That was just brilliant,” Mortimer said. “Actually being in the city to see them win something.”

He was at home when the Phillies won it all in 2008 as the Brit shared the joy of Philadelphians who waited 25 years for the city to finally win a championship. He’ll never forget Chase Utley’s fake throw and the look of Brad Lidge dropping to his knees as Carlos Ruiz ran toward the mound. Not yet retired, Mortimer stayed up for every game that October. That four-week run wiped out both Philadelphians and a diehard fan in England.

“It took a week to recover,” he said.

Mortimer blames himself for the Phillies’ falling short in 2009 and 2022 as he flew to Philly to catch World Series games. If the Phils make it again this fall, Mortimer said, he’ll be tempted to watch on TV for good luck.

“A lot of Americans we meet want to know how you became a Phillies fan,” Mortimer said. “They’re fascinated that English people follow baseball as well. We just love it.”

Mortimer is taking the train to London this weekend to see the game — “Hopefully not too many Mets fans. They irritate me,” the honorary Philadelphian said — and will then fly to his second home in September. He has a ticket for the Eagles’ home opener on Sept. 16 (He’s fallen for the Birds, too) and will catch more baseball that week.

And then maybe, he’ll be back in October if the Phils win the way Mortimer is starting to dream they will. Until then, he’ll be watching the games in England and trying to sleep when he can.

“The Phillies are what kept bringing us back here to Philadelphia,” Mortimer said. “Most U.K. tourists go to New York or Florida. They don’t seem to go to Philadelphia. That’s their loss.”