by Sebastian Gutierrez
Fenway Park is the home to the Boston Red Sox. The Boston stadium opened April 20, 1912 and now has become the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. Between the fantastic baseball team that owns the stadium and its interesting culture and history, Fenway Park America’s “most beloved ball park.”
Fenway Park is surrounded by Boston University and is near Kenmore Square. Over the years, many renovations have been made to the stadium which add to it’s unique, quirky look. Some features include “the Triangle”, “Pesky’s Pole”, and most notably the famous “Green Monster” in left field. Many phenomenal baseball players have called Fenway Park as their home, including Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, and Carl Yastrzemski; which adds to the tremendous historical value of the park.
ESPN named Fenway Park the 2nd best ballpark in America, losing it’s first place position to Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. Wrigley Field beat out Fenway Park because “It’s in the middle of a neighborhood where you can watch a game from the rooftop of a house across the street. There’s no other stadium in the world, in any sport, where you can do that.” When ESPN talked about Fenway Park, they said “I’ve never been to a stadium that is so intimate, so welcoming. Sure, it’s relatively uncomfortable, and the sightlines aren’t perfect, but such atmosphere comes with a price.” ESPN should re-evaluate their order for best baseball stadium because between those two arguments, Fenway Park seems to be the better choice. It must be the uncomfortable wooden seats in the grandstands and the bad food that made Fenway Park get 2nd place, but I believe that the intimacy and character of a baseball stadium is by far a better quality then being able to “watch a game from the rooftop of a house across the street.”
At every Red Sox home game, Neal Diamond’s classic Sweet Caroline is played on the ballpark’s speakers before the bottom of the 8th inning. The sing-along song has become such a Fenway staple that it was even included in the 2005 movie Fever Pitch about the Red Sox’s 2004 World Series win. The movie was filmed at Fenway Park and around the beloved city of Boston, creating a familiar and thrilling experience for Red Sox fans and Boston lovers. Fever Pitch starred some well known actors, such as Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon.
Traditions and rituals, like Sweet Caroline, are what make Fenway Park such an entertaining experience for baseball fans. Fenway Park is the best stadium in the country because of the enthusiastic and exciting atmosphere; the stadium’s interior is full of charm as well, with its small, intimate seating capacity, the retired numbers of greats, and the manual scoreboard in left field. No other stadium has a hit theme song and has been a star in a successful movie, all while keeping the cozy, down to earth, familiar feeling Red Sox fans know and love.