Stadium Preview: Part I
What originally fueled the B4B idea was to visit each major league baseball stadium across the country. Now that our dreams will become reality beginning in 2012, we will want to share our greatest experiences with followers of our journey. We’ll report on fan devotion, best concessions, most memorable park moment in history and video blogging each 7th inning stretch the B4B crew will sing along to all season. We really want our readers to experience each stadium along with us.
It is very interesting that dedicated sports fans seem to hold baseball stadiums in a higher regard than other athletic stadiums. The NFL may be becoming the top sport in the country, but it doesn’t seem like people make an effort to visit each stadium so religiously. Could it be because baseball is the national pastime, and we feel nostalgic by visiting each venerable ballpark? One could argue that some college football stadiums are held in the same esteem as baseball stadiums, but they are too regional to have the national emotional following as baseball stadiums.
Over the next few months, the B4B blog will be providing previews of each major league stadium. We will give some historical background, along with plenty of pictures. We would love to get fans perspective on each park as well, so please provide feedback on your favorite stadium on facebook and twitter. Our posts will take us from the oldest stadium all the way to the brand new Marlins Stadium. We hope you enjoy.
Fenway Park
Fenway opened April 20, 1912 to see the Boston Red Sox defeat the New York Highlanders in front of 27,000 fans, 7-6 in 11 innings. To put that date into historical perspective, that was 5 days after the Titanic hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic. Obviously, this classic stadium has seen a great amount of history.
Located at 4 Yawkey Way, Fenway is the oldest venue used by a professional sports team in the country, and it is home to some of the quirkiest ballpark features in baseball, including “The Triangle”, “Pesky Pole, and the iconic Green Monster. Its tenants over the years have included baseball, football, and soccer teams.
Boston Red Sox (MLB) (1912–present)
Boston Braves (MLB) (1914–1915)
Boston Bulldogs (AFL) (1926)
Boston Redskins (NFL) (1933–1936)
Boston Shamrocks (AFL) (1936–1937)
Boston Yanks (NFL) (1944–1948)
Boston Patriots (AFL) (1963–1968)
Boston Beacons (NASL) (1968)
“The Triangle” is the part of center field where the walls come together in an odd dimension to form a little cove that is very deep from home plate. It is 420 feet to the deepest part of “The Triangle,” but it is only 390 to actual true center.
“Pesky’s Pole” is the nickname given to the right field foul pole at Fenway. The very short porch in right field measures only 302 feet, so it makes sense that the pole was named after a light hitting 2nd baseman with 17 career home runs, Johnny Pesky.
The iconic Green Monster is the nickname for the left field wall that rises thirty-six foot, two-inches above the playing field. It can be very imposing to hitters because it can turn line drives that would be home runs in other stadiums into singles. It can also reward a fly ball that would be a routine out in another stadium by flying over the high fence that is only 305-315 feet from the plate. Either way, it makes for interesting moments whenever a ball is hit anywhere to left field.
There is also a lone red seat that signifies the longest home run ever hit in Fenway. The seat in the right field bleachers (Section 42, Row 37, Seat 21) is where a Ted Williams home run landed, some 503 feet from home plate.
Fenway seats 37,065 for day games and 37,493 for night games, including the seats added on top of the Green Monster in 2003. The Red Sox are currently in the middle of the longest consecutive sellout streak in baseball at over 700 games which started May 15, 2003. Considering the Red Sox have won two World Series since then, the streak doesn’t seem like it will end anytime soon.
Over the past decade, Red Sox ownership has announced plans for a new stadium on more than one occasion. The devoted Red Sox nation had an uproar, and they effectively blocked the move. The team has recently finished $285 million in renovations after listening to the fans and saving Fenway.
B4B is excited to catch a game at this venerable ballpark during its 100 year anniversary. We’re planning on ending our long journey at Fenway to make the occasion even more exciting.
What’s your favorite part about Fenway? Do you have any Fenway memories to share? Please let us know on facebook and twitter @Biking4Baseball.