Saving the best for first! My second home. My church. The green pearly gates. This place has so many names for me, but it’s known by one name internationally. Located on the street formerly known as Yawkey Way, Fenway has captivated thousands of souls from New England’s 6 states (5 1/2 in reality- I’ll give half of Connecticut to New York), including mine when I walked within those brick walls for the first time to the grandstand back in the spring of the strike-shortened 1994 season. I have witnessed so many memories of pain and pleasure within these hallowed walls, that they should have their own separate link entirely (Look below!). It’s never officially spring until I make my first excursion into these bleachers.
Game Time! (vs. Tampa Bay Rays – 4/7/2018): There are more games I’ve attended here than I can count. However for the blog, I will focus on my 1st trip over to my favorite place on Earth for the 2018 season. For this game, I tagged along with a couple of buddies who had bleacher seats. At about the fourth inning, we were able to climb up to the State Street Pavillion level for a bird’s eye view of the game, where the beer was colder, and so was everything else. Great decision to leave all that body heat, I know! Through here, as well as the other heightened areas of the ballpark, such as the Sam Deck (artist formerly known as the Budweiser Roof Deck) and of course the Green Monster, are some of the more majestic views you can have in watching anything east of the Colorado River. Reminder that this is coming from someone who is a bit acrophobic, so you may take that last sentence as hyperbole! In enduring the New England spring chill, we were warmed by the performance of the home team, including witnessing the first homerun for J.D. Martinez as a Red Sox player. Nothing like a win and hearing a Standells classic to thaw the body in an early-season contest, even if we were human ice blocks by Sweet Caroline.
Around the Diamond: With Fenway being situated smack in the middle of the neighborhood, you will have a smorgasbord of options when it comes to bars, restaurants and entertainment. A personal favorite of mine is Baseball Tavern, located in nearby Boylston Street, which is a great locale for a couple of quick brews before and after the game. Also a quick mention to Bleacher Bar, where you can have a beer to go along with a pre-game view of Fenway from deep center field. For some post-game munchies, you can head across the street to Tasty Burger and enjoy a cheeseburger, that is if you haven’t overloaded on the Fenway Franks.
Home Runs: The melange of old and new make this park a must-see in your lifetime. First off, there are not too many stadiums you can go to that have been around since before sliced bread (Really! Look it up!). From Babe Ruth to Ted Williams to David Ortiz, this place has seen many of the greats in the history of the game take the field here. There are so many historical tidbits and great views in this park that it may take more than one visit here to feel like you have captured enough of the experience. I also like the lively pre-game environment directly outside the stadium, with some program vendors here, street meat vendors there and all the future spectators going from bar-to-bar to get their gametime buzz. As well, over the last 15 years, the ownership has done a great job in adding to the grandeur of Fenway, while not creating any awkward eyesores. Having sat pretty much everywhere at Fenway, I can conclude that its small capacity allows for any…ehem…almost any seat in the house to have a great view of the park (I’ll explain more in ‘Fly Outs’). Finally, as a lifetime fanatic, I can attest that you will witness one of the more passionate environments in the sport, even if it is cold, or if the team is out of contention.
Fly Outs: From reading my game experience, if you enjoy your comfort, avoid going to games in early-April. Hell, with the New England weather, you may only be safe from mid-July til just before Labor Day. Early season games still have a bit of a football feel to them, hot chocolate and all. In fact, the hot chocolate smell replaces the hot dog and peanut smell that lives in the air around summer time. Also, keep in mind that this this stadium was built in the 20th century. So basically if you are taller or wider than Carlton from Fresh Prince, it could be a tight fit in many seats you decide to sit in. Also, beware of the obstructed views that grace several points in the grandstand. Finally, Fenway can be one of the more pricier baseball stadiums. However, you can avoid losing your arm and leg by reviewing the matchup, or by going during the week if you can. Having a solid connect for tickets also never hurts.
The Final Play: As I alluded to earlier in the post, this is a rare sporting gem in which you can feel that you are witnessing history every time you go through the gates. Would I embrace a few comforts, like extra bathrooms, and seats tilted towards the plate? With open arms! However, with places like the old Yankee Stadium no longer in existence, there are very few spots where you can share 3-4 generations of history while experiencing something fresh between the lines. If you’re a baseball fan, or sports fan in general, book your ticket to this must-go now, before it inevitably goes the way of many-a sporting monuments.
Well, now you know!: As you can imagine, the possibility of finding facts from 106 years of history is kind of a job that does itself. However, finding one that hasn’t been repeated over and over (i.e, the red seat, Pesky’s Pole) is a harder task. Here’s one! As you may have heard in recent days, the Yawkey name that has graced the street sign that Fenway is on since 1977 had been removed, due to the racist legacy left behind by the one-time owner of the Sox. But Tom Yawkey’s name still lives on within Fenway. Did you know that there is Morse code painted on the Green Monster? The code spells out the initials of former owner Tom Yawkey and his wife Jean, who owned the team from 1933 until effectively 2002 when the Yawkey Trust sold the team to John Henry.
Want to see more of Fenway Park and the Boston area? Click here to get linked up to the Boston gallery page to get more views of the park, as well as photos from around the city!