Ultimate Baseball Road Trip (6 page)

On the right-field skyline, the Prudential Tower rises in the distance beyond the Bleachers. You’ll be able to see it if your seats are on the third base side. During the 1986 World Series, Boston’s corporate types displayed their yankee (with a lower case “y”) ingenuity when they turned the Pru into a giant billboard. A coordinated effort signaled “#1” in the form of office lights left on overnight. During the 2004 and 2007 World Series, the strategically illuminated offices read, “Go Sox.”

The story of how a solitary red seat came to reside among the sea of green seats in Fenway’s Bleachers is a rather colorful one. The seat, which sits in the thirty-seventh row of Section 42, high above the visitors’ bullpen, became an unlikely Fenway landmark on a Sunday in June of 1946 when it was the landing spot of the longest home run in Fenway history. A fifty-six-year-old construction worker from Albany, New York, named Joseph Boucher was sitting on one of the actual bleacher benches that filled the Bleachers back then. And he was wearing a big straw hat to keep the late-afternoon sun out of his eyes. He squinted, but he didn’t quite see the 502-foot homer Ted Williams hit off Detroit’s Fred Hutchinson. Not until the last minute. That’s when the incoming projectile punched a hole in Boucher’s hat and left him with a bump on his noggin the size of a baseball. To ease Boucher’s suffering, Tom Yawkey awarded him season tickets for life. And the lifelong Yankee rooter, according to Red Sox lore anyway, cheered for the Red Sox forever after.

Decades later, when the Red Sox replaced the old benches with chair-backs in the 1970s, they decided to commemorate the spot where Boucher had been sitting. Local fans and sportswriters agreed no one had come close to hitting a ball that high into the bleachers since Williams, and so the newly minted red chair became the official marker of the longest homer in Fenway history. As a testament to Williams’s prowess, the seat easily withstood the onslaught of the Steroid Era, even as the admittedly juiced David Ortiz set a Red Sox record with fifty-four home runs in 2006.

According to the official Red Sox guidelines, players need accrue at least ten seasons in a Red Sox uniform and be enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame before the team will consider taking their number out of circulation and hanging it on the green facing above the right field grandstands. For years, the only retired numbers were those of Bobby Doerr (1), Joe Cronin (4), Carl Yastrzemski (8), and Ted Williams (9).

Since the Henry group took over, though, the Red Sox have added three new retired numbers and have loosened the admission requirements a bit, even if the official criteria haven’t changed. Carlton Fisk (27) and Jim Rice (14) entered Cooperstown and got their due at Fenway, while “Mr. Red Sox” Johnny Pesky (6) got his due despite not being a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Pesky was allowed this exemption owing to the fact that he had spent fifty-seven of his sixty-nine years in the game with the Red Sox—as a player, manager, and coach—at the time of his number’s retirement in 2008.

It remains to be seen whether Wade Boggs (26), who is officially eligible, and Roger Clemens (21), who will be eligible if he is elected to the Hall of Fame despite allegations that he used performance-enhancing drugs, will see their numbers retired in the Fens.

The right-field foul pole stands just 302 feet from home plate. Since the 1940s it has been called Pesky’s Pole thanks to Mel Parnell, who used to joke it was the only place in the majors where the light-hitting shortstop could reach the seats. For the record, Pesky hit six of his seventeen career long balls at Fenway. Today, fans sign their names on the Pole with magic markers as a sort of local tagging ritual. And a bronze plaque at the base of it—in Section 94, Row E—honors Pesky and the unusual landmark that bears his name.

As for the foul pole affixed to the Green Monster, we’ve always thought it should be named in honor of the walk-off homer Fisk clanged off it in the twelfth inning of Game 6 of the 1975 World Series against the Reds. After all, the footage of Fisk dramatically waving his arms, imploring the ball to stay fair, as he leapt down the first-base line, has ensured the homer’s entrenchment within the canon of great baseball moments. And yet, most locals simply refer to it as “the left-field foul pole.” For decades after that Series, however, Boston fans never forgot to boo umpire Larry Barnett whenever he returned to Fenway. Barnett was working the plate for Game 3 and failed to cite Cincinnati’s Ed Armbrister for runner’s interference after he blocked Fisk from fielding a bunt and led Fisk to throw errantly into center field.

As part of Fenway’s centennial celebration in 2012, the Red Sox gave fans the chance to purchase inscribed bricks that
appear on the concourse between Gates B and C. Josh, of course, is represented. Well, actually, his son Spencer is, courtesy of a gift from proud grandparents Butch and Lynn. See if you can find Spencer’s brick. It reads:

JP & HP #1 Son

Spencer 3-6-11

Love Papa & Nan

Kevin:
Okay, I think you’ve talked enough about your kid.

Josh:
I just thought our readers would like a little scavenger hunt.

Kevin:
Well, you could have told them to find the Joe Cronin plaque or a Jimmy Fund donation box, or something Red Sox related.

Josh:
Spencer
is
Red Sox related: He’s
my
son.

The dining options at Fenway have improved dramatically in the past decade. There are more offerings than at any time previously and the food is of higher quality than when Josh was attending games as a youngster. This pleasant development has been made possible, at least in part, by the continued expansion of concourse space within the ballpark. First, in the early 2000s, the team received permission from the City of Boston to close off a stretch of Yawkey Way so that it becomes, in effect, a vending space within the park on game days. Next, the team widened the concourse beneath the first base seats, added a large vending galley above the left-field Grandstand, and created a spacious Food Court beneath the Right Field Bleachers.

It’s hard to beat a Fenway Frank topped with ketchup (Josh) or mustard (Kevin). It has a firm, yet supple texture and packs a mild, yet spicy punch. It is meaty, the way a hot dog ought to be. If you fall in love with this frank while visiting the Fens, hit a local supermarket before leaving town and fill a cooler.

Once upon a time it was sacrilege to buy a Fenway Sausage from a concession stand within the park, rather than from a vendor outside, but today the disparity between a freshly made, amply topped, Fenway-sanctioned sausage and a sweet Italian on Van Ness or Lansdowne is not as great. So don’t despair if you arrive at Fenway having just eaten dinner in the North End and don’t get a sausage craving until the fifth inning. The grills inside the park serve a more-than-respectable version of this Fenway treat.

What would a trip to the crown jewel of the New England sports scene be without a creamy cup of
New England Clam Chowder?
This is a much-appreciated treat on a drizzly April night. And it’s real chowda, not that tomato-infused stuff they try to pass off as chowder in Manhattan. Other local favorites include
Dunkin Donuts
coffee,
Lobster Rolls
, and
Steak Tip
sandwiches that come courtesy of the Saugus, Massachusetts, landmark Hilltop Steak House. The deli stands on the concourse offer several kinds of
Sushi
courtesy of Basho, a local restaurant that hand-rolls the day’s offerings approximately three hours before each game.

In addition to the aforementioned
Cuban Sandwich
served by former Red Sox right-hander Luis Tiant on Yawkey Way, the stands “outside” offer the only
Pulled Pork Sandwich
at Fenway,
Boars Head Sandwiches
, jumbo
Monster Dogs
, and an array of
Fresh Roasted Nuts
that are superior to the pre-packed nuts sold inside the ballpark proper.

Those seeking healthy options may enjoy the
Fruit
and
Veggie Cups, Fried Dough
, and
Milk Shakes
. That’s a joke. Seriously, though, a stand on the third base concourse sells
Veggie Dogs
and
Veggie Burgers
. Fenway offers plenty of options for dessert, highlighted by the traditional Fenway treat—a
Hood Sports Bar
(vanilla ice cream with a chocolate streak down the middle, coated by a thin layer of hard chocolate).

The seasoned french fries available throughout Fenway fall far short of the hand-cut fries sold at many other parks these days. Plus, they don’t tend to be that fresh after they’ve sat under the heat lamps for a minute or two. Also, you’re better off buying your peanuts from one of the vendors outside the park where they really are fresh roasted, not vacuum sealed inside a plastic bag, as are the case with the “fresh” nuts sold inside the park.

More than at any other park, the experience of watching a game in Boston immerses one in the rhythm of the game. The crowd of diehard Red Sox loyalists buzzes with seemingly every pitch. Whether you’re attending a game in mid-April or late September, this effect is noticeable. It may take you a few innings to get your Fenway groove on, but don’t worry, eventually you will. Sometimes it will be obvious to you why the crowd is groaning or standing or high-fiving in unison, while other times it may not be. For example, if the crowd suddenly breaks into applause or grumbles in the
later innings and you can’t quite figure out why, that probably means they just changed the Yankee score out on the left-field out-of-town scoreboard.

The Red Sox are the only big league team that plays a regularly scheduled morning game each season. This rare breakfast treat occurs on the third Monday of April, which is celebrated by locals as Patriots’ Day. This not-too-well-known federal holiday commemorates the events that led to the American Revolution. It falls during school vacation week and also serves as the date of the Boston Marathon. The first pitch is usually slated for 10:30 or 11:00 a.m., which, if the game is played briskly, leaves time for fans to visit Kenmore Square afterwards to watch the runners pass through on their way to the finish line in Copley Square.

Believe it or not, this rare morning game traces its roots back to 1903 when Cy Young’s Pilgrims faced the Philadelphia A’s in a 10:00 a.m. game at the Huntington Avenue Grounds on the date of the seventh Boston Marathon. In later decades, the Red Sox and National League Boston Braves alternated home dates on Patriots’ Day, with the Red Sox usually hosting a doubleheader in even-numbered years and the Braves in odd-numbered years. Since the Braves departed for Milwaukee in 1953, however, this unique game has become a staple of the Red Sox schedule. Memorable mornings include the 2006 affair when a walk-off “Monster Shot” by Mark Loretta gave the Red Sox a come-from-behind win over the Mariners and, on the other end of the spectrum, the 1990 affair, which the Red Sox lost to the Brewers 18-0, in a game that featured the final at-bat of future Red Sox manager Terry Francona’s playing career.

A more recent eccentricity of the Fenway schedule that has been a hit with fans is the annual Futures at Fenway doubleheader that takes place on a summer weekday when the big league Red Sox are out of town. The extravaganza welcomes four of the Red Sox minor league teams to the Fens and pairs them against one another in two exhibition games. Thus, fans enjoy the opportunity to purchase discounted tickets that range from $5.00 Bleacher seats to $30.00 Green Monster seats. This event is not only for the fans, though. It’s also for the organization’s prospects. The chance to play a game at America’s most historic ballpark reminds them of why they’re enduring all those eight-hour bus rides and eating all those rest-stop burgers in the Bushes. Fame, fortune, and the chance to play in a great baseball city are just around the corner if they do their part. The annual Cape Cod League All-Star Game is played at Fenway each July too, so just because the Red Sox are out of town when you’re visiting Boston for business or your family vacation, don’t automatically assume you won’t be able to catch a game at Fenway.

Shortly after arriving in Boston, the John Henry ownership group reinvigorated a long-dormant Fenway tradition: reintroducing a summer concert series. Three decades after Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder brought down the house at Fenway, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band breathed new life into Fenway’s P.A. system in 2003. Since then, the Red Sox have made a point of welcoming at least one major act per summer at a time when the team is on the road and the ballpark can be transformed into what John Updike once called “a lyric little bandbox.” Included among the impressive list of acts to play Fenway recently are the Rolling Stones, the Dave Matthews Band, Jimmy Buffett, Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson, Phish, Paul McCartney, Aerosmith, and Neil Diamond.

Current Red Sox ownership has aggressively pursued opportunities to stage other sporting events at Fenway too. In 2010, the ballpark that served as the home grid of the NFL’s Boston Patriots in the 1960s opened its gates to football fans of another stripe, welcoming the Sporting Clube de Portugal and Celtic Football for a summer soccer exhibition. The match drew thirty-two thousand fans who watched Celtic prevail 6-5 in a shootout.