John Updike famously referred to Fenway Park as “a lyric little bandbox of a ballpark” and, more recently, it is been called “America’s Most Beloved Ballpark”. Â Of the 30 parks in Major League Baseball, Fenway Park, regardless of where you are sitting, sits you closer to the field than any other park. Sure, there is a price to pay for being close to the field, seats crammed together all across the park, little leg room for the tall, and the occasional obstructed view seat directly behind a post but, all in all, there are few (including Wrigley Park, really only two now) parks in MLB that give you that old-timey feel. Â So celebrating the 100th anniversary of the park has become a big deal in Boston.
Yesterday the team held an open house where fans, free of charge, could come into the park and move around at their leisure. Â They were waiting in line to walk on the warning track, to get a peek into the clubhouse, to sit in the dugout and to even peek into the Green Monster. More fans than would have been able to stay to see a game showed up for the day-long event. At last report, approximately 54,000 people walked through the Fenway turnstiles yesterday. For a night game, Fenway’s capacity is 37,493 (it’s 37,065 for day games). Â To say Fenway was packed on Thursday would not be overstating it.
Today there is baseball to be played. Â The New York Yankees are in Boston for a three-game series and will participate in the events of the day by wearing the throwback uniform of the 1912 New York Highlanders (the team who lost to the Red Sox 100 years ago at the first professional game played at Fenway). Â It’s only the second time in the history of the Yankees where the team wore a non-current uniform (the other time being in 1996 when they wore New York Black Yankees jerseys in Detroit for a Negro League tribute).
But along with baseball, the Red Sox have pre-game ceremonies planned. Â The team has invited “all living Red Sox uniformed personnel” to the park today to celebrate and even has a toast scheduled for 2pm with cans of grape juice waiting for fans under their seats in an attempt to create a world record for “Largest toast in a single venue”. Â Composer John Williams and Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart will be there to present two original Williams’ compositions (in honor of Fenway and New England) and there will be a flyover from the Air Force Heritage’s Flight Team.
Details on who will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch have not been released and the Red Sox are suggesting everyone get to their seats by 2pm for the toast. Â The official first pitch is scheduled for 3:15pm.
(Originally published on Examiner.com)