Finally getting to Fenway
(Rob Burchianti would like to hear from you, baseball fans. If you have a great ballpark experience you鈥檇 like to share, email him at rburchianti@heraldstandard.com and he may reprint your account.)
Traveling to different baseball parks around the country has always been a happy hobby of mine.
Through the years, I鈥檝e been to some beautiful ballparks, including, obviously, PNC Park, which has been No. 1 on my list of favorites.
Also on my favorites list: Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Jacobs Field (which is now Progressive Field) in Cleveland, Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles and Angels Stadium in Anaheim.
I鈥檝e taken in games at some old-time stadiums with character that are now extinct 鈥� Tigers Stadium in Detroit, Memorial Stadium in Baltimore 鈥� and at places that I rated the bottom of the barrel 鈥� enclosed Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg and Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.
I鈥檝e also visited places that I would rate as so-so 鈥� Turner Field in Atlanta and Three Rivers Stadium (mainly for the memories and the fact that at least the Pirates tried to do the best they could with the old cookie-cutter place, unlike the similar but much more putrid Vet in Philly).
I was discussing all those ballparks with my sons, Colton and Westley, when my 16-year-old daughter Brooke, who was listening in, asked, 鈥淲hat蘑菇视频 the one ballpark you most want to see that you鈥檝e never been to?鈥�
Wrigley Field is definitely up there, but I didn鈥檛 hesitate at all: Fenway Park in Boston tops that list.
鈥淭he most beloved ballpark in America鈥� as Bostonians call it, the place was a sore spot with me only because of my failed attempt to get there.
I had always wanted to visit Fenway, a special place because it is so unique, a ballpark over a century old with its 37-foot high Green Monster that towers over a short left field and includes a manual scoreboard, its jagged center field wall, the short 302-foot foul (鈥淧esky鈥�) pole in right that quickly curves out to a much deeper depth and its all-around green theme. To me, it蘑菇视频 what蘑菇视频 baseball is all about.
It was 1994 when I finally mapped out a long road trip to Boston and bought one lone ticket for a Red Sox game in Fenway Park, a solo trip but that was OK with me.
I anticipated the trip all season 鈥� but then there was talk of a baseball strike and then there actually WAS a baseball strike. I was still hopeful. No way the owners and players would let this go on too, long.
Yet, they did. Not only was my game wiped out, but the rest of the baseball season as well. No playoffs, no World Series 鈥� and no game for me to see at Fenway Park.
Try as I might, another trip to Boston had never materialized. I pondered several times that perhaps in retirement I might be able to get up there someday.
Then when my birthday rolled around this summer, I opened up a small envelope from my wife Karin and Brooke: Three tickets to see the Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles play in Boston at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26 鈥� in Fenway Park. Plane tickets to boot. The girls would stay back as Brooke had a horse event scheduled, but my two sons and I would be making the trip. Brooke had given Karin the idea.
I was floored. I鈥檝e had some tremendous birthday presents in my life, but at that moment I couldn鈥檛 remember anything as special as this.
So off we went, flying up to Boston on a Friday night and staying in the Sheraton Boston Hotel, a perfect place because it was withing walking distance (0.7 miles) of Fenway Park.
Like a little kid, I was excited that I could see the ballpark from our hotel window the next morning.
After breakfast and a dip in the hotel pool, the boys and I ventured out on our walk to Fenway Park. Though we were given printed directions from the hotel, the ballpark was easy to find by just following the steady flow of fans. The Red Sox were in last place but you couldn鈥檛 tell by their fans.
What to wear was a point of discussion and my boys opted for Pirates gear. I thought this fine since the Pirates, in my eyes, are an inoffensive team outside of their division and didn鈥檛 anticipate any belligerent fans bothering them.
When we finally got to Fenway Park I was amazed to see how the outside of the park just blended in with the neighborhood, and at what character the surrounding area had. Restaurants, souvenir shops, hot dog stands, a man standing on a platform selling programs, a man juggling bowling pins 鈥� it was a tremendous atmosphere. Just that experience had already made the trip worthwhile.
As it turned out, the black-and-gold clad kids were pretty popular and drew some 鈥淕o Bucs!鈥� and other chants from people and one even offered, 鈥淭hey鈥檙e up 3-0 on the Cubs!鈥�
We got inside early enough to see the Orioles take batting practice and watch with awe as Manny Machado pounded balls over and into the Green Monster. All three of us were thrilled to walk down and get a great close-up view of the mammoth wall.
I came oh so close to an extra thrill when one Oriole batter laced a foul ball down the left field line and into the stands 鈥� and right at me. I shielded my boys and knocked it down with my right hand into some empty seats next to me. It must鈥檝e hit my hand just right because the pain I expected never came, although it was a bit painful to get my fingers on the ball only to have a heavyset lady fend me off and snatch it away.
That was OK, though, a famous Fenway Frank picked me back up.
Then it was time for the pregame festivities and it just felt very special to sing the National Anthem in Fenway Park, and then watch them play ball.
What was even more special was to see Colton watch the right-field scoreboard in the second inning when it flashed 鈥淭he Red Sox wish COLTON BURCHIANTI a happy birthday,鈥� which drew a huge, happy look of fascination from a boy who would be 11 the next day. I have to thank my wife for coming up with that idea.
After a few innings we checked out the rest of the ballpark, which was very interesting, a mix of old and new, as well as some new things made to look old-time.
There was entertainment for the boys, such as seeing how fast they could throw a baseball, and shops and excellent ballpark food.
Later in the game we ventured over to the right-field side of the ballpark and sort of checked out some pretty good seats there, surprisingly without anyone protesting.
To top it all off, the Red Sox rolled to an 8-0 win.
Later that night we met with my niece Audrey, who is a freshman at Suffolk University and got a quick tour of that area of Boston and what it蘑菇视频 like to ride the 鈥淟.鈥� If you love cannoli, I highly recommend stopping at Mike蘑菇视频 Pastry.
When it was all over, it was a tough debate between PNC Park and Fenway Park as to which was my all-time favorite. Colton went with Fenway, while Westley, like me, said it was too close to call.
It came 21 years later than I had wished, but it was worth the wait for such an amazing experience, one that every true baseball fan should enjoy at least once in their lifetime.
Rob Burchianti can be reached at rburchianti@heraldstandard.com