My son Gabriel just finished a political science degree from University of Ottawa. As a graduation gift, I offered him a trip to a ballpark of his choice. He chose Fenway. Cheating a bit, I linked a speaking engagement I had in Boston with the opportunity to take him to Fenway.
Currently the two worst teams in the league, we were nonetheless excited to see our Blue Jays playing Boston. We got to Fenway early, only to be greeted by a serious rainstorm. We were quite concerned, given we had the tickets in hand, and a return flight the next morning! But patience persevered, and after a one and a half hour delay, it was “Play Ball” at Fenway.
We had great seats in Fieldbox 57, 8 rows up from the field, half way between home plate and third base. It was a great view of the field, and of course, the stadium is like no other. First, it is the oldest major league ballpark in use, being home to the Red Sox since 1912.1 There are many unique features. Probably the most famous, is the “green monster”, “the oversized green wall is a trademark for Boston sports fans and baseball fans everywhere2; the “loan red seat”, which “marks the spot where the longest home run in Fenway Park history was hit by legendary Red Sox player Ted Williams”.3 Then there is “Pesky’s Pole” the nickname for the right field foul ball pole, 302 feet from home plate, and named after Johnny Pesky, beloved Red Sox shortstop from the 50’s. And then, of course, are the famous “Fenway Franks”, a must on every visit to what has been called baseball’s “friendliest park”.
All in all, a great trip to Boston. Time with my son, a visit to a great ball park, and of course, a 7-5 win for our Blue Jays, with homers from Edwin Encarnacion, Moises Sierra and Colby Rasmus , and a great outing for starting pitcher Henderson Alvarez.
The Green Monster
The "Loan Red Seat"
Pesky's Pole
The famous "Fenway Frank"
If you have any ballpark stories to share, respond to the blog, or better yet…please drop by the Macklem House, my door is always open.
Richard
Dr. Reznick:
I am a baseball fan as well and took in the July weekend series between the Blue Jays and Red Sox, when the Blue Jays swept Boston in Fenway the first time this year. I agree, Fenway is a wonderful ballpark and the fans are fantastic.
Ray Viola
Palliative Care Medicine
Ray,
Thanks for sharing your views on Fenway.
Richard
Dr Reznick:
Loved your story about Fenway….we had a family vacation to Boston/Cape Cod last July 2011….The gentleman we rented our cabin from gave us lots of tourist tips but warned us “Fenway tickets are sold out a year in advance” so weren’t hopeful of getting tickets….We took in the daytime tour which is so much more steeped in history than Toronto including the Green Monster and lone red seat….Also loved the fact that someone still sits behind the wall known as Green Monster to manually change the scores….We took our chances and got tickets to that night’s game….apparently scalpers are not allowed but if season ticket holders can’t use their tickets they can sell tickets to that night’s game at cost so we got tickets 8 rows up along the 3rd baseline and had the famous franks and popcorn for under $100 for family of four….Can’t even remember who they played but fans were fantastic….My 15-yr old daughter was enthralled by the vendor yelling out in his distint Boston accent for “peanuts, popcorn” that we had to buy some just for him to come closer….We watched Boston get 11 homeruns before literally had to run at end of 7th inning to catch our last commuter train back to our rented cabin but heard on the radio that all the excitement happened in the first 7 innings….kids won’t soon forget that night!!! P. S. Our son is in 1st-yr Engineering at Queen’s….Good-luck Shane!!!
Jackie Butler (Eveleigh)
B ScN ’88
CVICU RN Kitchener
Jackie
Thanks for this great story. You’re absolutely right, Fenway is an unforgettable experience.
Thanks for writing, especially from my favorite kind of nurse (my wife used to nurse in CVICU, whe we met 30 years ago)
Richard
Aloha!!
Many years ago before Wrigley field got lights and while attending a boring meeting in Chicago I decided to play hookey on a gorgeous weekday afternoon and watch the Cubs play.
The place was packed; I guess everybody must have called in sick! It was sometime before the All Star Game and the usher was handing out IBM-type cards for the fans to vote for their favorite players. The usher handed a stack to the person at the end of a row-it was implicitly understood that you would take one and pass the rest along. The guy next to me kept about half of them and gave the rest to me to take one and pass the rest along.
As this fan was filling out all of his cards out he leaned over to me and said “They say there’s a lot of cheating with this system. Do you believe that?”!!
Jocko Lockett
PS
And “Yes”, the Cubbies lost.
Dear Jocko,
Thanks for sharing this wonderful memory og Wrigley.
Richard
Richard, is the green monster metal? While watching a game at Fenway on TV the left fielder crashed into it and there was definitely a metallic crash to the impact! How high is it and how much were those delicious franks? At the Rogers Dome the food is poor and outrageous prices. Are they planning on tearing down the Boston ballpark soon?
I did a year training at McClean and Medford state Hospital before going to Hartford Ct after graduating from Queens in 61 and finishing a rotating interneship at KGH. Returned to Queens, then UofT on teaching fellowships after my Psych/Neurology training and practice completed , always wanted to get to Fenway but as a junior staff man I couldn’t afford a “Dean’s tour ” like you
Hope your son appreciated sharing this adventure with you.
Best wishes Doug Frayn
Doug
Not sure what it’s made of but it’s dimensions are 37×240 feet. Franks are 5 bucks.
Thanks for sharing the memories.
Richard
Dr Reznick,
A great graduation gift; in a moment of weakness, I promised my then 6 year old that we would see every ballpark together before university. We are up to 13 parks, he’s now 10, and Fenway was our favorite, an amazing look into the past.
Mike Odell Meds 98
Mike
What a great story. Best of luck on the remaining trips.
Richard
Talk about nostalgia.About 1956 classmate
Bryse larke and I went to New York and were given the opportunity to see the Brooklyn Dodgers play the New York Giants play in Ebbets field.Don Newcombe was pitching,Roy Campanella catching,Gill Hodges 1B,Pee Wee Reese ss,Jackie Robinson 3b and Duke Snider cf..The Dodgers won but what I remember the most was the enthusiasm of the fans.The pitchers for the Giants warmed up almost on the third base line to be pummeled with beer bottles from the rabid fans.Alas not much later both teams moved to the west coast.To say the least the intimacy of Ebbets Field was something I will never forget
George Stecko
George, what a great story, and what a gret group of ball players to have seen. hanks for sharing this great memory.
Richard
Richard, this reminds of a baseball event I attended in the spring of 1957, the year I began Queen’s Medicine. Hamilton high schools had a tradition of grade 13 students going to New York City at Easter. Some of my classmates and I went to see the Brooklyn Dodgers play the Pittsburgh Pirates at Ebbetts Field (opened the year after Fenway in 1913) – Dodgers won 4-0 with Duke Snider and Carl Furillo hitting home runs (I kept score). Little did we know at the time that this was the last year for the Dodgers in Brooklyn. They were in Los Angeles by the time I finished first year. Indeed they have now been in Los Angeles more years than they were in Ebbetts Field. Sadly that Field is long gone and Fenway carries on. A bit of baseball trivia that relates to my going to Queen’s. Regards, Bob Card, Saskatoon
Dear Bob,
Thanks for sharing this great memory. I imagine there are many New Yorkers who still bemoan the move to LA.
All my very best,
Richard