FENWAY PARK: SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER
03-09-2007
Continuing the adventures of Birmingham-based Boston Red Sox fan Damien Doran
Fenway Park, Boston is one one of the world's greatest and most unique stadiums. Built in 1912 it is one of the smallest sports grounds in the US holding just 36,000 in its cramped surroundings and as a result all 81 of the Boston Red Sox home games are always sold out. It has been for many consecutive seasons. With restrictions on the number of tickets you can buy per game and per season its no wonder many home fans travel to away games as it's often the best chance to see the team.
The first thing you notice travelling to the ground are the floodlights. There are seven old fashioned football type floodlights that sit just above the stands on pylons drawing in the fans. The stadium hasn't changed too much since it was first built but each winter they try and squeeze in a few more seats or corporate facilities.
There are three main areas to the ground. The main stands are two and three tiered with pylons supporting the upper tiers and take up the majority of the groundin a "U" shape reaching around the pitch. The 'bleachers', the traditionally rowdy cheap seats are at the far end and owing to the cramped nature of the ground are in two sections which don't quite seem to fit together. The final area is the famous left field high wall - 'the green monster' - which invades a good part of what should be the playing area.
This acts a scoreboard keeping up with play and scores in the other games by the old fashioned method of hanging out the individual numbers like football grounds did years ago.
The monster actually is part of the playing area and balls can fly off it back into play causing all kinds of problems for the fielders. To score a home run in this part of the ground you have to hit the ball over the red line on top of the wall. Seeing a ball hit over the monster between the two floodlights perched on top and into the road beyond is one of the games great sights.
Symmetry does not apply to Fenway. The stands zig-zag around the playing area creating nooks and crannies in which the ball can be lost. It can get quite dangerous out there as players risk falling into the crowd or running into walls or doors! The fans are so close to the action that in the front rows behind home plate they are closer to the batter than the pitcher is!
It feels as though the whole place belongs to a by-gone age, even the souvenir store, while big is a bit run down with hand written signs and friendly staff. The shiny megastore hasn't reached Fenway...yet. Of course they could just pull down the place and build a new super dome or something sell out 50,000 and stack it full of corporate boxes, but the Red Sox fans would not stand for it. Fenway Park stands for something here, it is the Red Sox home and is every bit a part of the club as the players and fans.
Both the ground and the club are massively important to this city. When in New York it reminded me of London during Euro 96. The game is important but hey ho theres lots of other things to do here. Not in Boston, when the Red Sox play everyone knows and cares. It has to be a major news story that keeps the Red Sox off the front page of both Boston Daily newspapers.
This can create problems for the players, its like living in a goldfish bowl, they are the local celebrities, they can't go anywhere. This could be one of the reasons so many great players have left over the years. Their every move is scrutinised, particularly their performance on the field. Last night it was the turn of starting pitcher Julian Tavarez.
Groans echoed round the ground when it was announced Tavarez would be replacing popular knuckleballer, Tim Wakefield. Despite being the man who gave up the winning Yankee home run in the 2003 champioship decider for which he feared he would never be forgiven and would have to leave the club) Wakefield is hugely popular with the fans. His knuclkleball is like a spinner in cricket, meaning batters either ca'nt get near him or the slam balls all over the park.
Tavarez is not so popular. He is taken out of the game early having given up four runs in one inning to loud boos from the stands pausing only to raise his cap in mock appreciation. Later the veteran picher Mike Timlin comes in to a standing ovation on his 1,000th appearance, apparently only the 13th pitcher in MLB history to do that. After giving up more runs he is soon lifted and you can almost hear his boots on the turf as he trudges off.
Even though they are an almost embarrassing 9-3 down to the Baltimore Orioles, the crowd cranks up the volume in an effort to rally their team. They chant and cheer every good play and it almost works. Coming back to 9-8 in the final inning with two men on base and only one out, captain Jason Varitek grounds into a double play and The Orioles win the game. There's no hard luck applause, the fans just go silent and drift off home or to one of the many bars around the ground. The organist plays 'will you still love me tomorrow'.
Some good news. Over in New York, the Yankees are losing 9-1 to Tampa Bay, the team whose players total combined salaries don't equal the wages paid to any one of a number of the main Yankee stars. |
Its Saturday night at Fenway Park, Boston and even though the Red Sox are leading 10-0 in the final inning no one has left the ground. The fans are at fever ptich screaming their heads off at the hope of seeing something unique and rookie Clay Buckhholz is striding to the mound to pitch the innings of his short life.
Over the past week the Red Sox have sent out their ace pitchers Matsusaka, Beckett and Schilling as well as the hapless Julian Tavarez. All have been hit around the park and lost the game. With Tim Wakefield out injured they turned to 23 year old Clay Buckhholz making only his second ever major league start.
It's very rare for a pitcher to complete a game. They are usually used up after they reach a hundred pitches or are taken out as soon as the opponents start hitting them or scoring runs. Even the very best hardly ever make it past 7 innings. The best a pitcher can do is a 'perfect game'. that is no runs, no hits and no walks. This is so rare they will interrupt TV programmes and it will be a main news item. The next best is a no hitter, they may walk a batsman by delivering four pitches that are not strikes but no batsman gets onto first base by hitting the ball into play. Even the best ace pitchers don't achieve it.
By the end of the 6th inning young Buckhholz had walked a few batsmen and had a few nervous moments with the ball being belted out only for his team mates to produce great catches or plays to run batsmen out. It then struck the crowd that a no-hitter was on and the focus of the evening shifted from would the Red Sox win to could this kid actually do it! Every out was now being cheered to the rafters and in keeping with baseball tradition none of his team mates would go near him in the dugout just in case they broke the spell.
As he stood on the mound the noise and pressure from the by now all standing crowd must have been immense. He got the first two batters out, one to a catch where the entire crowd held its breath as the ball flew through the air and then exploded as it was held. With one man left to face and having already got two strikes he pitched a third, everyone knew it was a strike but there was a split second of silence before the umpire gave it and the place went absolutely wild. All the Red Sox players ran to engulf him in a mass of bodies usually reserved for winning a championship.
This is only the thirteenth time in the history of Fenway park that a Red Sox player has pitched a no hitter and the fans went away ecstatic forgiving them for the horrors of the past week. |
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