Ultimate Baseball Road Trip (5 page)
Read Ultimate Baseball Road Trip Online
Authors: Josh Pahigian,Kevin O’Connell
82A Lansdowne St.
Built right into Fenway’s left-center-field façade, Bleacher opened in 2008 in the space where the visiting team’s batting cages had resided. This is prime real estate. A massive interior window provides a view that allows patrons to watch batting practice
before
they pass through the turnstiles. Even on off-days, guests enjoy a view of the field that can only be had otherwise by buying a ticket.
82 Lansdowne St.
Near the intersection of Lansdowne and Brookline Avenue, Game On occupies the space where there was once—and not long ago—a fully functional bowling alley beneath Fenway Park. As much as we used to enjoy rolling grapefruit-sized balls at the candlepins at Ryan Family Amusement, we have to admit Game On is a better use of the space. Its menu features wood-fired pizzas and steaks, and its festive atmosphere offers a window through which patrons may watch visiting players hit in the batting cages. On off-days and during the off-season, fans may even take a few hacks in these cages (for a price).
9 Lansdowne St.
www.lansdownepubboston.com/flash/
This is one of Kevin’s favorite spots in the Fenway neighborhood. It melds a classic, more upscale Irish Pub experience with the local sports-crazed ethos.
1270 Boylston St.
The highlight of this three-story establishment is its roof deck, which looks a lot like the upper right-field concession deck at Fenway. If the game’s sold out, this is a solid place to enjoy the night air, the sparkle of the nearby ballpark lights, and the roar of the crowd.
911 Boylston St.
Since its opening as the brainchild of Dropkick Murphys lead vocalist Ken Casey, McGreevy’s has become a staple of the Red Sox fan experience. It’s the pregame haunt of choice for fans like Kevin who can’t get enough bangers and mash or Guinness, and also for fans like Josh who can’t get enough local sports history. And it’s
the
place for anyone who likes the Dropkicks, who got their start as a basement band in Quincy in the 1990s before rising to prominence within Red Sox Nation with their 2004 remake of “Tessie,” and then gaining further street cred when Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon adopted “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” as the blaring anthem to which he would burst from the Fenway bullpen.
To what does the name “McGreevy’s” refer, you ask? And what’s the significance of this “Tessie” song?
Well, we’re going to tell you.
Back in 1903, when the Pilgrims faced the Pittsburgh (spelled “Pittsburg” at the time) Pirates in the first World Series, the Red Sox “Royal Rooters” traveled by rail to the Steel City for the games at Exposition Park. The Rooters were led by Boston Mayor John “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald—the maternal grandfather of future US President John F. Kennedy—and legendary Boston barkeep Mike “Nuf Ced” McGreevy—who’d earned his nickname by ending turn-of-the-century baseball debates with an authoritative “enough said.”
After Boston fell behind three games to one, the tide turned in Pittsburgh when, according to Boston lore, the Rooters arrived at Exposition Park with a band they had commissioned just for the occasion. Throughout the fifth game, they played and sang “Tessie,” which was a number from a contemporary theatrical production called
The Silver Slipper
. The Rooters cleverly changed the lyrics to mock Honus Wagner and Pirates pitcher Brickyard Kennedy. Thus harangued, and in their home park no less, the Pirates folded. They lost 11-2 that day and lost the next three games as well.
More than a century later, the Dropkicks released their Irish-punk version of “Tessie” and the 2004 Red Sox promptly proceeded to win the franchise’s first World Series in eighty-six years. Coincidence? We think not.
Josh:
The ballpark gates open in fifteen minutes. We should get moving.
Kevin:
It’s still two hours till first pitch.
Josh:
Yeah, but you want to catch BP, don’t you? Well, don’t you???
Kevin:
Not as much as I want to have another Guinness.
Josh:
They sell Guinness on Fenway’s first base concourse now.
Kevin:
I am
not
drinking Guinness out of a plastic cup.
1265 Boylston St.
This family-friendly restaurant is a must-visit for anyone who remembers Jerry Remy as the home team’s speedy
second-sacker in the early 1980s, as well as for anyone who has enjoyed Remy’s commentating during the past two decades. Despite his busy NESN schedule and the obligations he bears as President of Red Sox Nation, the Rem-Dog makes time to hobnob with patrons. His signature “Remy Burger” is served on fried dough. We’re still awaiting word from the American Heart Association on whether the concoction gets its stamp of approval. We’ll let you know as soon as we hear anything.
Yawkey Way
Remy isn’t the only favorite son who’s parlayed his popularity into a cottage industry. The jovial Luis Tiant may be the best pitcher not in Cooperstown (no offense intended, Jack Morris). He also makes a mean Cuban sandwich and is happy to pose for pictures and recall his exploits on the Fenway mound. Of all the famous former Sox who return to Fenway to watch games, no one garners a larger ovation than “El Tiante” when he tips his hat to the crowd from the team’s legends’ box on the first base side of the plate.
Kevin:
I thought Bob Stanley gets a lot of cheers too.
Josh:
That’s because he’s remembered fondly for popping beach balls in the bullpen.
No trip to Fenway would be complete without paying a visit to the sausage stands on Lansdowne Street or at the corner of Van Ness and Yawkey Way. You won’t find a sandwich this fresh, juicy, and utterly mouth-watering inside the park. Get a sweet sausage “loaded” with sautéed peppers and onions or, if you prefer, order it “naked.” Just get one. Among the vendors that rate high on our pork-o-meters are
The Sausage Guy
—whose logo features a half-naked woman straddling a space ship—
The Sausage King
, and
Che-Chi’s
, which has the best secret sauce this side of Milwaukee.
Even if you’re visiting Boston on a non-game day, you can usually find
The Sausage Guy
stand behind the Monster on Thursday through Saturday, between 9:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m., catering to the local bar crowd.
Have you ever seen such wacky field dimensions? Three hundred and two feet down the right-field line. Three hundred and eighty to straightaway right. Four hundred and twenty to right-center. Three hundred and ninety to dead center. Three hundred and seventy-nine to deep left. And just 310 down the left-field line. For years the park was considered a haven for right-handed pull hitters and a graveyard for southpaw hurlers, but through the years lefty swingers have actually enjoyed considerably more success at Fenway than their right-handed counterparts. Think of David Ortiz, Mo Vaughn, Mike Greenwell, Wade Boggs, Fred Lynn, Carl Yastrzemski, Ted Williams, and Babe Ruth as lefties who make the case for this counter-intuitive ballpark effect. According to our theory, this is because the spacious right field leaves plenty of room for safeties to drop and the Wall rewards lefties who can go the other way with even mediocre power. As for those pull-hitting righties who are supposed to be the beneficiaries of the Wall’s munificence? There’s a saying in Boston: “The wall giveth and the wall taketh away.” What does this mean? For every routine fly that settles into the Monster Seats there’s at least one rising liner that would have been a homer in any other park but clangs off the Wall for a single. Just ask former Sox like Jack Clark or Mike Lowell, who will be happy to tell you all about it.
THE MONSTER
Fenway’s signature Wall is an ever-evolving edifice. In fact, when Fenway first opened in 1912 it wasn’t even part of the design. Rather, a steep hill rose at the back of the left-field lawn and atop the hill stood a twenty-five-foot-high fence separating the hillcrest from the street outside. With the advent of the lively ball, the Red Sox leveled the hill in 1934 and constructed a two-hundred-foot-long, thirty-seven-foot-high fence, using more than fifteen tons of materials. The manual scoreboard on the Wall debuted in 1934, although the trademark green paint did not appear until 1947. Originally, the Wall was plastered with advertisements for products like Lifebuoy Soap, Gem Razors, Arrow Collars, and other products. Then for decades it was pure and green. Today it is adorned with an ad for the Jimmy Fund and the insignias of several local companies. Because the Henry ownership group has taken care to blend these ads in with the design of the scoreboard, though, locals have not taken much offense at the affront to, or perhaps we should say,
return
to Fenway tradition.
In 1936, a twenty-three-foot-high screen was added atop the Wall to protect pedestrians and motorists on Lansdowne Street. The screen collected homers until 2003 when the Red Sox added the Monster Seats in its place. For old time’s sake, the Red Sox left in place the ladder that members of the grounds crew had used for decades to scale the
Wall and retrieve balls out of the screen after batting practice. Today, any batter who hits a ball off the ladder that then bounces out of the park is awarded a ground rule double.
Josh:
I’ve been watching the Sox all my life and I’ve never seen that.
Kevin:
Still, it’s nice to know the Sox are prepared.
Upon arriving at Fenway for the first time, we recommend you head out to Section 33 and lean out to rap your knuckles on the Wall. Go ahead. Don’t be shy. Touch it. Take a picture too. Then check out the dents and dings that eighty years of batted balls have left. Look closely and you’ll see the red marks left by baseball seams.
Fenway’s scoreboard features a hidden Morse code message that Sox owner Thomas A. Yawkey installed on its face as a love message to his wife, Jeanne R. Yawkey. Look carefully and you should be able to find the dashes and dots. Then brush up on your decoding skills and see if you can figure out what they mean.
More recently, the scoreboard and its narrow doorway entered into Red Sox lore for being the portal through which mascot Wally the Green Monster entered the world of humans and for being the portal through which former Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez would sneak when he needed to umm … relieve himself … during pitching changes. We should mention that there is
not
a bathroom inside the Wall. Manny was also known to occasionally play left field with a plastic water bottle protruding from his back pants pocket. We will let you figure that one out on your own, or, if you prefer, you may merely chalk it up to “Manny Being Manny,” as the saying went until New Englanders finally tired of Manny’s circus show.
Josh:
Prostate problems are something a lot of men our age wrestle with. We should cut Manny some slack.
Kevin:
Speak for yourself. In my book, peeing in the scoreboard is never acceptable.
Josh:
I don’t have prostate problems.
Kevin:
I didn’t say you did.
Josh:
Oh. Well, I don’t. But if I did, I’d appreciate a little understanding.
Although it’s not technically located inside Fenway, the glowing Citgo sign mounted upon a rooftop in Kenmore Square might as well be. Flashing its familiar red, white, and blue neon, it is the most prominent feature on the left-field skyline and seems to hover just above the Wall. It was originally installed in 1965 to capitalize on the crowds Fenway was attracting. In 1979, Massachusetts Governor Edward King pressured Citgo to turn off the sign as a symbol of energy conservation and it remained dark for four years before the gas company decided to remove it. But a contingent of Fenway residents claimed the sign was a fixture of the local landscape that shouldn’t be removed. While the Boston Landmarks Commission debated whether the sign should be declared a historic landmark, Citgo reversed course and decided to refurbish and re-illuminate the sign. It has been lit since 1983, excepting times in 2005 and 2010 when it was briefly dimmed to allow for the installation of more energy-efficient bulbs.
Monsters Aplenty
Aside from spawning backyard Wiffle Ball replicas throughout New England, Fenway’s Wall has been copied at several professional fields. The most notable of these from a Red Sox fan’s perspective are the facsimiles at
JetBlue Park
in Fort Myers, Florida, where the Red Sox have played their Spring Training games since 2012,
Hadlock Field
in Portland, Maine, where the Red Sox’ Double-A prospects play, and
Fluor Field
in Greenville, South Carolina, where the franchise’s Single-A prospects play. This is a savvy move. By the time aspiring Sox left-fielders, pitchers, and hitters reach the Show, they already know how a thirty-seven-foot-high fence in left field can change a game.
Although we do so with less enthusiasm, we must also mention that the
Bucky Dent Baseball School
in Delray Beach, Florida, also features a Monster replica. The highlight of Dent’s career came in 1978, of course, when he lifted the Yankees to victory in a one-game playoff at Fenway Park to determine the American League East crown. The winning blow came in the seventh inning when Dent lofted a Mike Torrez pitch into the screen for a three-run homer. To this day, Dent is referred to throughout New England as “Bucky F---ing Dent.” As for the biggest difference between the real Green Monster and Dent’s replica? Rather than featuring a slate scoreboard like the one in Boston, Dent’s scoreboard is painted onto the wall and frozen in time to appear exactly as it did after his home run. The line score shows that three runs have just crossed the plate for the Yankees, that number 21 (Torrez) is pitching for the Red Sox, and number 49 (Ron Guidry) is pitching for the Yankees.
