{"id":14178,"date":"2011-05-24T13:24:20","date_gmt":"2011-05-24T20:24:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.seamheads.com\/?p=14178"},"modified":"2011-08-30T11:52:32","modified_gmt":"2011-08-30T18:52:32","slug":"fenway-park%e2%80%99s-100th-anniversary-there%e2%80%99s-nothing-like-being-at-the-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2011\/05\/24\/fenway-park%e2%80%99s-100th-anniversary-there%e2%80%99s-nothing-like-being-at-the-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Fenway Park’s 100th Anniversary: There’s Nothing Like Being at the Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve never considered myself religious by any means. Yet, I’m a believer that everyone has some place where they just feel at home, or safe. A sanctuary, of sorts. To some of the more religious types, a church. Baseball stadiums are my church. There is just something about passing through the gates and walking into the depths of a ballpark. Past the food, drink, and souvenir concessions. Past countless other people who are there with friends, family, or co-workers for any number of reasons. There’s just something special about being in a ballpark on game day.<\/p>\n

The very first game that I ever attended live was at Shea Stadium, sometime in the mid to late 1980s. I’m fairly sure that they played against the San Francisco Giants. Unfortunately there is little that I remember beyond that aside from dropping my giant foam finger over the railing of the second deck onto some other fan, along with my soda, and the fact that after the trip to the stadium my sister and I both came down with the chicken pox, forcing my father to remain away on business for an extra two weeks. I couldn’t tell you who won without knowing the exact date and finding a box score. \"\"<\/p>\n

I’d make a return visit to Shea in July 1998. The Mets would lose 9-8 in 11 innings<\/a> against the Montreal Expos. A young right fielder in just his second full year in the Majors by the name of Vladimir Guerrero<\/strong> would hit his 15th home run of the season that night, en route to a 38 HR, 109 RBI season.<\/p>\n

In April 2001 I caught a Red Sox vs. Yankees game at Yankee Stadium. I went with a few friends from college–one Yankee fan and one Red Sox fan. We sat with the “Bleacher Creatures” in right field and relentlessly taunted center fielder Carl Everett<\/strong> for much of the game. The Yankee fan was from Connecticut originally and had been going down to the Bronx for years with his family. The Red Sox fan had never been. Neither had I. I had always wanted to go when we lived in New York when I was young but the opportunity never presented itself. My parents* were never keen on the idea of taking kids into the Bronx for a ballgame. It seemed appropriate that my first (and only) game in attendance at the old Yankee Stadium was against the Red Sox.<\/p>\n

\"\"That Friday evening Andy Pettitte<\/strong> pitched a complete game, only allowing one run on six hits. The Yankees would win 6-1<\/a>. Derek Jeter<\/strong> would go 2 for 4 in the game, with a pair of RBI and stolen bases. Chuck Knoblauch<\/strong> was beginning a failed experiment in which he was being moved to left field to make room for a young second baseman named Alfonso Soriano<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

* Both my parents originate from Massachusetts, so they’re both lifelong Red Sox fans. My sister and I, however, grew up in New York. She ultimately became a Mets fan, in part because she wanted to be different from the rest of us. For a while she had a fascination with the Mariners (for their team colors in the early 1990s and because Ken Griffey Jr.<\/strong> was left-handed like her) and the Twins (mostly for their logo) but stuck with the Mets in the end. I was the one who grew up a Yankee fan. I had a few years where I rooted for the A’s as well, mostly due to a misguided admiration for Jose Canseco<\/strong> and Mark McGwire<\/strong>. I remember reading the sports section of the newspaper while my mother tried to get me to eat breakfast before school and learning about Canseco’s trade to Texas. Now, I’m a loyal Yankee fan but consider myself a fan of the game first and foremost. <\/em><\/p>\n

The summer of 2009 my fiancee (then girlfriend–the proposal came along later) and I spent a few days in New York City. The trip was designed around visiting a friend, showing her a city she’d never been to, and allowing me to catch a game at each of New York’s new ballparks. She and I caught an afternoon game at Citi Field against the St. Louis Cardinals on a Wednesday in early August. The next night we saw the Red Sox play the Yankees at the new Yankee Stadium.<\/p>\n

The Mets would end up winning\"\" that game by a 9-0 score<\/a>. David Wright<\/strong> smashed a two-run home run in the first inning and the Mets would have six other extra-base hits in the game. Albert Pujols<\/strong> went 2 for 3 with a pair of doubles himself but the Cardinals received little from the rest of the lineup. Most Mets fans may remember this as being the game in which Jonathan Niese<\/strong> was forced to leave in the second inning after tearing his hamstring covering first base. It was painful to watch in person.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Yankees would taken the Thursday night game by a score of 13-6<\/a>. John Smoltz<\/strong> was hit hard for 8 runs in 3.1 innings in what would turn out to be his final start for Boston. The Yankees hit four home runs, including two in the 4th inning, which gave Joba Chamberlain<\/strong> enough support to take the win as New York’s starter.<\/p>\n

There have also been numerous minor leagues games in Hudson Valley (NY Penn League, Low-A affiliate of Texas at the time–now with Tampa Bay), New Britain (AA affiliate of Minnesota), and Pawtucket (AAA affiliate of Boston). Once I even was at a Japanese League game in Tokyo. Once again, there’s a game I’d love to find the boxscore for but I don’t recall the exact date. \"\"<\/p>\n

Throughout the years, however, I’ve attended more games at Fenway Park than possibly all of these other stadiums combined. Much of this is proximity as the bulk of the last decade I have spent living in the Boston area. Attending a game at Fenway Park is convenient but more importantly, it’s a wonderful ballpark. It’s one of the most historic ballparks in baseball history for good reason and has witnessed baseball’s greatest for nearly a full century. A detailed look at said history was recently published in a a book entitled Remembering Fenway Park<\/em> that I recently reviewed at BFTB<\/a>. There’s also this partial list:<\/p>\n