Results tagged ‘ Red Sox ’
Classic Ballparks turn 100
Yesterday two classic ballparks turned the century mark: Fenway Park and Tiger Stadium. The obvious different between the two, is that the Red Sox organization had the foresight to maintain and upgrade their classic stadium and make it a monument of the most historic sport in the country. Meanwhile, the Detroit Tigers opted to abandon their abode on the corner of Michigan and Trumble for a new, state of the art, corporate named stadium, in Comerica Park in 2000. I was only at Tiger Stadium a few times, but those memories will stay with me forever. I can even remember being 5 years old an at my first game ever. I get recall all of the sights, sounds, and smells. It was a glorious place. I’m sure when I take my kids to Comerica, they’ll love the carousel and merry-go-round, but they’ll miss out on ambiance that Tiger Stadium held. I’m not saying that Tiger Stadium was a palace, and that it didn’t have its problems in the later years, but renovation was possible, as it was with Fenway. Ahhh…Fenway.You don’t have to be a BoSox fan to appreciate what Fenway is. The experience of watching a baseball game there simply can take your breath away. This was something that was on my bucket list that I was lucky enough to cross off thanks to last years baseball trip. The ghosts don’t haunt you there, but they welcome you, and show you around. The best way to describe it, is that you never really leave Fenway Park. It’s like you leave a part of your soul there, and it’s constantly beckoning you back….
The ponchos were cheesy, but they kept us dry
Photos property of M.I.B.
2011 BBT Day 5: Fenway and the Freedom Trail
Fenway Ballpark and Freedom Trail Tours: Boston, MA
Boston is to beautiful and historic not to poke around a bit before we headed southwest for our next ballgame. We started our day by taking the earliest tour of Fenway which was nine in the morning. Nine o’clock is pretty early when your on vacation, but I didn’t have much trouble getting motivated to see this ballpark again. We were given a history of the park and taken on top of the Green Monster. The Monsta’ seats would be a great place to watch a game, but very expensive. We were taken through the Red Sox Hall of Fame and shown some of the baseball artifacts they have inside the park. The tour concluded on the Budweiser balcony with a history of Ted Williams’ longest home run at the park. I would have liked to have gotten on the field, in the dugout and locker room, or even in the press box. They explained that they gave so many tours a day it would disrupt too much to have that traffic all day. It’s still worth it, though, just to be inside the park for a little while longer. When you leave Fenway, you feel incomplete…like part of your soul was left inside, and it’s constantly beckoning you back….
On toppa da Monsta
Red Sox Hall of Fame
Retired numbers and the Ted Williams seat
Statue of Ted Williams
After the Fenway tour was over, we jetted down to the Boston Common to catch the next Freedom Trail tour. We were given a history of the Common, the State House, and were able to see some of the oldest cemetaries in the country. It was fun to hear the real stories behind legendary heroes Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock. I guess I should have paid more attention in history class in school, because some of this stuff sounded new to me. For lunch we ate at Cheers, which still stands as one of my favorite shows of all time. The building didn’t look much like the show, but the bar itself and a lot of paraphernalia were from the set. Our time in Boston ended by seeing the U.S.S. Constitution, or Ol’ Ironsides, which was simply amazing. I really wish we had more time there, as there is so much to see and do.
A cold Sam Adams....sorry....
I'm taking over for Norm
Jersey of Sam 'Mayday' Malone
Statue of Samuel Adams
The U.S.S. Constitution
Photos property of M.I.B.
2011 BBT Day 4: Invading A Nation
Boston Red Sox vs. Detroit Tigers: Fenway Park-Boston, MA
All I can say about Fenway Park and the experience of watching a game there is that you can believe the hype. In fact, I would say it’s not hyped enough. I like that fact that every game is treated like a special event. We were lucky to get to Boston a little early, and explore around the park for a little while and get some shopping in. Our hotel was right across the street, so we didn’t have to worry about parking and things like that. The gates opened about a ninety minutes before game time, so it gave us a chance to explore the inside of the park and get our free gift for being first timers. At the fan service counter we receive a little package with stickers, a Red Sox Nation bracelet, and a container with some dirt from the infield. We also ran into one of the fans we were chatting with at the PawSox game a few days before, so he showed us around a little bit, too. We were also able to get over the visitors dugout to watch some of the Detroit Tigers warm up, but not many were signing autographs for anything. As it was getting closer to game time, we grabbed a Fenway Frank and an $8.50 beer and found our seats in the outfield. To be honest, I never moved from my seat after the game started. I didn’t want to miss anything at all from this game waiting in line for food, beer, or restroom. The atmosphere was amazing, and the Fenway rendition of Sweet Caroline has to been witnessed in person. The Tigers lost a game they should have won, but I really didn’t care about the score. Despite rooting for the Tigers, we didn’t have any trouble from the Red Sox fans either. I definitely want to bring the kids here when they’re a little older and can appreciate the magic that is Fenway Park. Final Score: Red Sox 4, Tigers 3.
Austin Jackson
Max Scherzer
The ponchos were cheesy, but they kept us dry
Brad Penny-sorry..no pic of his girlfriend
Justin Verlander
Fenway Park
Photos property of M.I.B.
2011 BBT Day 4: Pouring in Portland…NOT
Portland Sea Dogs vs. Reading Phillies: Hadlock Field-Portland, ME
Here I am again…facing disappointment right in the face. The noon game here has been postponed due to ‘wet grounds’, and I miss an opportunity to see a game in my now favorite Double A ball park. Just like out rain-out in Pawtucket, this was the last game in the series and the teams got an early start to their next road game. The fact that it wasn’t even raining at game time makes it even more frustrating. The weather was better today, so I was able to get some better pics of Hadlock. I also had a friend meet me for the game who trained with me down south. We went to just about every Jacksonville Suns game available, so it would have been nice to share a beer and a ballgame again. We were able to chat with some of the staff here, who let us explore the ball park a little bit more and just talk baseball. It’s nice to know it’s not just the ball players who have to work their way up from the Minors, but the broadcasters and other staff as well. We also learned that the Red Sox are the only MLB team that has a closed circut camera in all of there affiliates to keep track of their prospects. I love the Sea Dogs logo, so they let us spend some time (and money) in the gift shop, too. The only consolation is that we were able to get a jump-start on our voyage south to Boston. We would need that extra time, as Boston treats every Sox game as an event, and the celebration start pretty early in the day.
Current Red Sox who played here in Portland
Photos property of M.I.B.
2011 BBT Day 3: The Dog and Pony Show
Portland Sea Dogs vs. Reading Phillies: Hadlock Field-Portland, ME
For some reason I’ve dreamed of visiting Hadlock Field in Portland for some time, and this ballpark didn’t disappoint. It’s smaller than you might think for Double A, but it’s very cozy. You kind of feel boxed in, but in a good way…sort of like leaving the rest of the world behind when your watching a ball game. One really unique aspect of Hadlock is that the home bullpen is elevated inside the right field wall. The players have to take a set of stairs to a doorway in the wall to enter the game. The Sea Dogs also have their own version of the Green Monster, er, Monsta, with the Maine Monster in left field being a Boston Red Sox affiliate and all. This was another game with low attendance due to the horrible weather, but at least they played it. The Reading Phillies were in town and we were seated right behind their dugout. I have to give a shout out to Reading first baseman Matt Rizzotti for hitting two home runs in the game and throwing me a game ball. Things didn’t go the Sea Dogs way in the game, but they had one more game in the series to get revenge. I was really looking forward to the noon game the next day. Due to the weather I didn’t get some better pics of the stadium, but will have some in the next post because the weather was better the next day. Final Score: Sea Dogs 3, Phillies 14.
Hadlock Field-Portland, ME
The Phillies are in town
Will Middlebrooks #16
Photos property of M.I.B.
2011 BBT Day 2: A New Spin on Things
Lowell Spinners: LeLacuer Field-Lowell, MA
Seeing a ballpark without being able to watch a game is a little depressing, unless you never planned on watching a game there in the first place. On our way north for more baseball, we decided to check out LeLaceer Field, home of the Lowell Spinners of the New York-Penn League. The Spinners are a short season Single A team, so they don’t start playing games until June. We decided it would still be fun to check out the ballpark, and the staff was nice enough to let us in, show us the park, and let us shop a bit at the souvenir store. LeLacuer Field is very nice of Single A, and they share it with the UMass-Lowell college team, as the ballpark is right on campus. I’d love a chance to get back to here to see a game. Lucky for us we were able to get our baseball fix in later that day. Stay tuned…
Photos property of M.I.B.
2011 BBT Day 1: Pouting in Pawtucket
Pawtucket Red Sox vs. Scranton/WB Yankees: McCoy Stadium-Pawtucket, RI
Our 2011 adventure started out in Pawtucket, home of the International League’s Red Sox, or PawSox. I really liked McCoy Stadium, as it’s a throwback to the more classic ballparks. Walking through the gates at McCoy is like taking a step back into time. The fans and staff are extremely friendly, and are more than happy to talk about the history of the stadium and the team. Some of the older staff members had some great stories. With the rain delay, we had plenty of time to explore the ballpark and get our shopping in also. My favorite park was the mural of my favorite player as a kid, Mark ‘The Bird’ Fidrych. The ballpark has pictures from all sorts of historic events that have taken place there, especially the longest game in pro baseball history that lasted 33 innings. Despite the fact that it had not been raining for some time, the game was called and we missed our first game to rain in the seven-year history of our trip. Some of the fans thought that the teams just wanted to hit the road early, as they played in worse weather the two previous nights. Definitely disappointing, but you don’t have to see a game here to realize how special the ballpark is, but I’m sure since the PawSox were playing the Yankees, the atmosphere would have been great.
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Photos property of M.I.B.
Tickets in the Hand
The first tickets for my 2011 baseball trip have arrived. Unfortunately, these may be the only tickets I’ll have in my hand before departing. The way ticket sales are now, you usually have to have some sort of printout, or your tickets sent to the Will Call window. The company I usually deal with for Minor League teams is called Ticket Return. It’s a good easy website that doesn’t have huge charges like Ticket Master. A lot of teams use this site, from teams in Iowa to Portland. At least you have the choice to pick tickets up or print them at home. Personally, I like real tickets, and ticket stubs as suveniors. The Boston Red Sox ticket I had to buy through Stub Hub, so I’ll be approaching Fenway this May with two computer printouts in my hand instead of real tickets. That is kind of disappointing to me…I just won’t feel right. Recieving my PawSox tickets in the mail is what you’d expect from this franchise. By the look of McCoy Stadium, it looks like an old time field, and the team seems to do things the old time way. I still have to get tickets for the Fisher Cats and Rock Cats, so we’ll see how their ticket offices work.
Minoring In Baseball
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