Mike Trout to Draw Thousands of Fans to Citizens Bank Park Tonight

Mike Trout. Photo | AP Carlos Osorio

Is tonight the biggest event in the history of Millville, South Jersey? According to the deputy mayor it is! According to MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez, “upwards of 8,000 people” from Millville will be attending tonight’s Angels-Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park.

Eight thousand!

Millville — in Cumberland County, about 45 minutes from the ballpark — is a town of only 29,700, per the latest census. Because the town bought so many tickets, tonight at CBP is officially Millville Night. “We’re looking to shake The Bank,” Tim Shannon, a former Millville mayor, told Gonzalez. “This is getting to be like a fever pitch around here. I’m telling you, I get chills thinking about it, because the people are going to be that pumped up.”

Trout, in his third full season in the majors, put together one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time in 2012, then put up incredible numbers again the following year: In both years, he was near the top of the American League in average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, runs scored (leading the league both years) and stolen bases. He also led the AL in Wins Above Replacement, a newer metric, both seasons. He was runner-up in the MVP vote both years.

Last year, Philadelphia magazine’s Rich Rys chronicled the town’s love for Trout, where the mayor of Millville hopes for a bench-clearing brawl so Trout can “give someone a real South Jersey ass-whuppin’.”