After visiting Fenway Park for the first time in 2004, my second visit was much more exciting. This time, I actually got to see a game in person and a field with grass. Perhaps I need to explain that a bit more…
About a week after the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004, I was in Boston for a work related conference. With that being my first time in Boston, I made it a point to schedule some time to head over to Fenway and visit the classic park that I had only ever seen on television and in books. I was beyond excited to finally see the park in person. However, once I made it inside as part of my tour, I was surprised to see the Red Sox had immediately torn out the grass after the World Series had ended as part of their off-season upgrades. A new field and irrigation system was being put in place to help make Fenway and even better park. Although I can appreciate a team making upgrades to their park to improve it, the timing of this could not have been worse for me. My first time inside Fenway and I had a dirt field and construction vehicles to look at on the field. Not quite what I had expected.
This time around the weather was great, the temperature pleasant, and green grass on the field.
On this night, the Red Sox played the Baltimore Orioles in a divisional match-up. The game itself was not much of a contest as the O’s pounded the Sox by a score of 16-3. As a fan of neither team the score of the game is never that important to me, but it always makes the atmosphere more exciting if the home team does well. Even with the loss, the Sox fans were having a good time and many stuck around until the end.
As for Fenway, what else can I say about it that others haven’t already said. It is a great classic park that has been renovated and kept up well in the last 10+ years. It is truly an experience any baseball fan must take in at least once in their lifetime. From the pregame parties outside the stadium, to the traditions inside, it is a great experience.
GAME: Boston Red Sox (3) vs. Baltimore Orioles (16)
BOXSCORE: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS201708250.shtml
