Shorty being a Liverpool fan and the Red Sox and Liverpool sharing owners these days he also supports the Red Sox, although he knows absolutely nothing about baseball… I try!
When we go anywhere we always try and look at where else we can get to and try to explore both the depth of the place but also the wider country too if we can. When we went to New York in February 2011 (my second visit and shorty’s first) we wanted to head a little further north for a couple of days and opted for Boston, which was only a 5 hour bus ride away!
As soon as we set upon visiting Boston I was excited most of all to have a chance to come and see the grand old stadium that is Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox since 1912 which makes it the oldest stadium in the MLB.
To get to the stadium we took the Trolley over to “Kenmore” which is a few minutes walk away from the stadium over a bridge, we had to ask for directions!! It is best to check for up to date information on the MBTA website here to find out which lines and transfers to get, but the ride is quite quick from the centre.
We chanced it a bit on the day but I had heard that tours run all year round and usually start at the top of the hour, I also found the price to be really quite reasonable too at $17. Tickets are available from the Gate D ticket booth and can be bought on the day of the tour. You also have a choice of some other tours which involve batting practice and birthday packages, but we just opted for the regular tour.
As you can probably tell, Boston in February is bloody freezing, but nothing was going to dampen our spirits and off we went to see inside this amazingly historic stadium. One of the first things that I noticed with our tour was the guy who was taking us around, he must have been in his late 70’s and his enthusiasm was infectious. It was great to be shown around by someone who was clearly a passionate fan and also has been a witness to many of the great Fenway park moments over the years and so could share his own personal perspective on those historic events.
The guy was such a nice chap too, he allowed us to wander around quite a lot too and he made sure to come up to each one of us and have a chat about where we are from and why we have come to see Fenway Park which was a nice touch. I really was quite taken in by his stories and anecdotes and could have stayed and listened to him for another few hours. In fact after the tour was over he stuck around to chat and answer some more questions too. It’s things like this that really make the experience much more fulfilling and I believe is also a refection on how the team is run too.
Sitting on the old wooden seats the history in this place is unreal, walking around the stands you can almost feel that atmosphere and sense of all those special moments in baseball history, all the players who have entertained crowds here from Babe Ruth to big Papi! I also noticed how small and intimate the stadium felt, and being my first time in a baseball stadium how much different that felt to a football (soccer) ground. Being sat down at the front near home plate on a warm summers day must just be something else, surrounded by the roaring crowd, you could almost hear the crack of the baseball of the bat and the chorus of “take me out to the ball game!”
