My belated Mother's Day gift...
...was a trip to see the Red Sox
They lost but oh well.
You can’t tell it from the photo, but my cap is actually a St. Louis Cardinals cap (bought for me at the stadium by my son, who is smiling the same smile he has smiled his entire life). Everyone got a new hat last night, and though Cincinnati won, a great time was had by all.
There’s something magical about going up to Fenway. We have made the trek so often (I think the twins were 3 when we first took them, and we stayed a whole inning) that we have the visit down to a routine. On Wednesday, we didn’t get there in time to get the free bobbleheads (the kids have quite the collection) but it didn’t matter. My grandson was calling the pitches from way out in right center, where we sat, and my granddaughter was asking excellent questions.
But do you know what I most loved? We made friends with everyone around us. There was this sweet young man to my right (I’m guessing early 20s) who was the mayor of our section, happy and sharing information and predictions that were actually quite good. A little kid in front of us caught a ball tossed to him by a Red Sox outfielder, and you’d have thought the young man had snagged it, he was so excited. The woman in front of me thanked me for picking up her husband’s coat, which had dropped off his seat, and we chatted about how husbands sometimes lose things. The guy behind me explained the scoreboard, and talked to my grandson — who was wearing a Puerto Rico shirt — about all the great Puerto Rican ball players. His wife took the above photo. I mean, it’s not like we exchanged phone numbers or anything, but a baseball stadium is a great equalizer, and that has been my experience at every single one I’ve visited. We always come back tired and we spend the next day in a fog, but WORTH IT!
Happy weekend.
I haven't been to Fenway for years, but I plan to pay a visit this summer to my hometown team (the Orioles) in Baltimore. Camden Yards is a also a pretty sweet venue! And you're right: ballgames are great places to simply connect with strangers -- something this country needs badly right now.
I have soooooo many Fenway memories
Most are very good ones
The very first time I went to Fenway was September 1969
A doubleheader against the Orioles
I was a catcher in little league so I aware that the Red Sox were starting a rookie catcher making his major league debut
Some guy named Carlton Fisk
The next game was in August 1974 also against the Orioles
Juan Marichal in his only season with Boston pitched his first game since
May , coming in relief and pitching 6 innings getting the win
The coolest part of that game was going with a former player who had ties to both Boston and Baltimore
Jack Harshman actually started his major league career in New York with the Giants and gained some fame pitching in Chicago
He still holds the White Sox team record for most strikeouts in a game with 16
After his playing career he became a youth counselor and he was in charge of the state receiving home in East Windsor
He coached a team of kids from the receiving home and he would take them to Boston once a year for a game against one of the teams he played for , either Chicago, Baltimore or Cleveland
I have a friend who’s mother cleaned at the receiving home and she got two tickets so me and Larry went to the game
Jack was a teammate of Brooks Robinson in Baltimore
In 1958 he hit more home runs as a pitcher than Brooks Robinson
He was traded to Boston in 1959
That was the year Boston finally broke through the color barrier with Pumpsie Green and Earl Wilson
He finished his career in the majors in the same game that his teammate Don Newcombe did
Two guys that started their careers pitching in New York finished it in Cleveland