Fenway Park Fiesta

Last night I went to see my first baseball game, the Texas Rangers at the 2007 World champions, Boston Red Sox. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. U.S. sports are known for being a bit stop and start, tactical, long and boring and with Texas not being one of the better teams, I wasn’t expecting this to be anything special.

I was as much interested in the experience and atmosphere as in the game itself. Boston’s Fenway Park is probably the oldest (built in 1912) and most historic of baseball stadiums and still has most of its original features. It was the home of famous Babe Ruth, before he got traded to the New York Yankees in 1920, causing the Curse of the Bambino where it was 84 years until they won another World Series. Its a bit decrepit now, the seats have hardly any paint left and there are lots of pillars blocking the view but it is a fantastic arena. I felt really close to the action and there was a great carnival atmosphere.

As for the game itself, it was fantastic! It was as much a show as a game, rock music would blast out each time a new batter stepped up to the plate, dozens of people were selling Fenway Franks, drinks and pretzels and most of the spectators had a beer in each hand. People were very friendly and only too happy to explain  what was happening and why.  I had a fair idea of the rules of the game but it was hard to keep up!

I actually missed the first 5 minutes of the game and the first home run. I just made it to my seat for the next one. Boston raced to a 10 run lead in the first of 9 Innings with their star player, David Ortiz, getting 2 3-run homers (home runs to you and me). It looked like it was going to be a cricket score. It was much faster than I expected. The next few Innings flew by. Then Texas started their come back from 10 runs down to take a 15-14 lead in the 6th Innings. The atmosphere became a lot more hostile and people were booing the players and getting more and more drunk. It was fascinating. The Innings started to take a lot longer and the game was becoming more tense and tactical.

Then came the 7th Inning Stretch. 40,000 people stood up and started stretching all at once. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. This was followed by chorus’s of Sweet Caroline with thousands of people singing and dancing in the stands. It is something I’ll never forget and that would only happen in the U.S.

After drawing level, Boston’s Kevin Youkilis hit a 3-run homer in the 8th Inning to take a 3 run lead, much to the delight of the nervous fans. Texas got one back but the Red Sox held on to win 19-17.

All sorts of records were set:

• The total 36 runs equaled the highest ever total set back in 1950.
• Texas’ 10 run come back matched their biggest ever comeback against the Sox in 1989.
• Ortiz’s 2 home runs in an innings was only the 54th time in MLB history.
• It was also only the 30th time the Red Sox scored more than 10 runs in an Innings and the first time since 2003.

The game lasted more than 4 hours and was described by nearby Red Sox fans as one of the best games they have ever seen. Click here for more details. I absolutely loved it and will definitely be keeping an eye on the Red Sox results from now on.