I’ve heard for years that the best cheesesteak in Philly is the one baseball players eat at Citizens Bank Park. Is it?

Last summer, Hall of Fame pitcher CC Sabathia joined Phillies icons Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins for an episode of their 6-1-1 Podcast. They relived a few memories and lamented a few meals.

During their conversation, Sabathia made a bold proclamation: “The visiting clubhouse has the best cheesesteak in Philly.”

“We couldn’t get them on the home side,” Rollins replied, “because we knew what they did.” (Sunk stomachs and torpedoed energy.)

Sabathia seemed to confirm what I‘ve heard for years: that the players — especially in the visiting clubhouse — get a better steak than the rest of us at Citizens Bank Park, and maybe all of Philly.

Stadium food is notoriously overpriced and far from gourmet, though many argue it has gotten better in recent years, on both fronts. This especially goes for the ballpark cheesesteak, the quality of which usually flutters between acceptable and good. (Admittedly, the ballpark setting does make even the most mid steak taste better.)

The idea that there is a better cheesesteak somewhere in the park — that professional ballplayers had access to some mystical ingredients reserved only for the athletically gifted and mildly wealthy — was too alluring to pass up. I had to find out if it was true.

Visiting players get top-notch accommodations when playing in the unfriendly confines of the Bank.

In early April, I was granted access to the visiting clubhouse, walking past the spacious clubhouse and fancy weight room to reach the cafeteria, where, I learned, the unwritten rules state only players can sit down.

Four attendants — who also hang the laundry and fold the towels — run the kitchen, which operates like a classic short-order kitchen, griddling up simple and quick-to-cook meals on the spot, an increasingly rare skill set.

When I asked a couple about their cheesesteak, they pointed at 29-year-old Eric Michaels: “He‘s the face of the cheesesteak.”

Michaels is a Rhawnhurst native raised near the Roosevelt Mall. He attended Holy Ghost Prep before graduating in 2018 from Temple University.

Michaels’ coworkers say he is the best grillman of the group — impressive considering he had no prior cooking experience. “I would say I have the same skill set as any dad has on their back patio Blackstone,” he said.

So how about that cheesesteak?

Like many steak obsessives these days, Michaels maintains that the roll makes the sandwich. In this case, it’s a roll from Liscio’s Italian Bakery in South Jersey.

Michaels builds the sandwich with six ounces of a thin slate of flash-frozen sirloin. It sizzles on the griddle with a squirt of canola oil. (Chicken steaks, also frozen, are on offer.)

Michaels chops the meat as the white onions bubble alongside a handful of mushrooms, if the players are so inclined, before it’s all mixed together and topped off with a layer of sliced cheese. The choices are limited to American, pepperjack, or provolone.

There‘s no whiz because “it’s hard for us to keep,” Michaels said. “Whiz only comes in the big canisters.” Once the canister opens, the shelf life isn’t long, as most steak-shop peddlers are painfully aware.

He turns the meat until the cheese melts, then pours the mixture into a fresh Liscio’s roll.

Sound familiar?

It should.

Michaels uses the same frozen sirloin and cooking style in the clubhouse as most of the various concourse stalls that ring the ballpark, which are run by Philly-based food service giant Aramark. The sandwich that most fans get at Citizens Bank Park is, in other words, identical to what players get in the visiting clubhouse, at least on paper.

“But,” Michaels said, “we put a lot more love into it.”

There are nine spots that serve cheesesteaks at Citizens Bank Park, not including the plant-based and gluten-free options.

Each season, more than 130,000 pounds of steak meat is delivered to the ballpark, according to Aramark spokesperson Sheena Weinstein. “All product is USDA-inspected, flash-frozen off-site, and shipped to the venue,” she said.

Outside of Tony Luke‘s and Campo’s branded offerings (more on that in a minute), the majority of that meat is sourced through the Yeadon-based Philly’s Best Steak Company. “The product is consistent within each concept, but the steaks are seasoned based on the branding at each location.”

There are exceptions. “We‘ve done some limited rib-eye testing this season, specifically at Uncle Charlie‘s,” Weinstein said.

Campo’s, a nearly 80-year-old family operation headquartered in Old City, also uses rib-eye.

“I’m not trying to give away all of the secrets,” said owner Michael Campo, his voice soaked in a tangy Southwest Philly accent.

Aramark pays to use the brands of shops like Campo’s and Tony Luke‘s, licensing the shop’s name and its accompanying trademarks, while hiring the staffers who run the stall. The contract stipulates that Aramark must use the shop’s preferred products, which tend to be listed at higher price points.

Campo said that Aramark orders his preferred cut of rib-eye steak, and his preferred cheese options, including Whiz and Cooper Sharp, from his preferred vendors.

“In my opinion, rib-eye is better than sirloin. I like the taste better,” Campo said. “And a good roll doesn’t make a crappy steak good, so.”

Back in 2009, the Phillies players did not eat cheesesteaks, according to Jimmy Rollins.

They can now though, and by all accounts, the process isn’t too dissimilar to how the visiting staff make them, with a few exceptions. (There‘s no whiz or Cooper Sharp on either side.)

Notably, the clubhouse attendants don’t cook on the home side: The Phillies’ clubhouse has a full kitchen staff of trained chefs.

Mix in players’ nutritionists and trainers and spiritual guides, and that’s one loaded kitchen. “They have some more people to answer to down there,” Michaels said.

Phillies spokesperson Kevin Gregg confirmed that cheesesteak is on the menu for the home clubhouse. “They are very popular,” he wrote in an email, “especially when a player isn’t playing in that day’s game.”

During the 2008 National League division series with the Milwaukee Brewers, pitcher CC Sabathia combined with Prince Fielder and Corey Hart to eat 28 cheesesteaks.

They lost that series in four games.

“You can’t move when you’re eating those things,” said Sabathia, who in 2009 signed with the Yankees.

During the 2009 World Series against Philadelphia, then-Yankees manager Joe Girardi banned his players from eating cheesesteaks while visiting the park.

He may have been onto something. When I visited last month, I saw at least two Colorado Rockies players order steaks. The Phillies grilled ‘em, 5-1.

Bells and birds help tell the city’s story, but it’s a sandwich that helps explain Philadelphians. How we evolved from farmers in the cradle of liberty to DoorDashers in a melting pot of orange whiz is informed and defined by the cheesesteak. Raising the Steaks is a weeklyish chronicle of this long-rolled reminder of life‘s redeeming qualities.