Saturday 4 September 2010

My First Visit to Fenway

I am a big baseball and love visiting all the different ball parks, especially the older ones.

I have been to old Tiger Stadium which was an excellent place to see a game (why did they tear it down?), Wrigley field, a fabulous stadium, and Cleveland Municipal Stadium, which was a dump and deserve to be leveled.

It has always been my dream to visit Fenway, which is now the oldest ballpark in the majors having been built in 1912.

Its most famous feature is the Green Monster, the 37 foot left field wall built to compensate for the distance from home plate to the wall being too short which would allow for too many pop fly home runs. The wall's height would correct this problem. It's the beauty of baseball. Every ballpark is unique.

I found that baseball in Boston is an event.

There is a buzz in all the activity around the outside of the ballpark. I had not seen anything like it before except at playoff time. This was just a regular season game.

Once inside, I saw its beauty. The seats are still the old slate wood seats. The concrete floor is uneven and the stairs worn. It is an antique, an original from days long gone and the most beautiful place to watch a ball game.

It cannot be replicated. Cities tried to build old style ball parks but cannot ever duplicate the original. Sitting where fans have sat for 98 years is an experience. Knowing that this is the same place that Carl Yastrzemski, Ted Williams, Carlton Fisk, Roger Clemens and Luis Tiant all played is something. A ballpark's history is what makes the ball park.

It was a special experience for me. The Red Sox lost 3-1 to the Chicago White Sox. I saw some good plays, covered every inch of the place and sang Sweet Caroline with the rest of the sold out crowd.

For me, this is the best place place to ever go watch a game.

There is a party like atmosphere around the park before the game.
Once in the park, I ran up the nearest tunnel I saw to get my first view of the park
The view from my outfield seat.
It was $36, so Toronto fans do not complain about the prices at the Rogers Centre. Mind you when you sell out every game for years, you can raise prices.
Many fans have signed the foul pole over the years.
They're not supposed to but the Red Sox leave them on.
Enjoying a beer from the Budweiser Balcony.
The Budweiser Balcony. The numbers on the deck are retired Red Sox numbers
The green monster up close
Singing Sweet Caroline

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