Toertel: Fenway Park

"Gate B" Entrance to Fenway Park

Stadium name: Fenway Park
Home of: Boston Red Sox
Location: Boston, MA
Years in existence: 1912 - present
* Currently the oldest active MLB ballpark
Fan Capacity: 37,493 (night) and 37,065 (day)
* A fairly low amount compared to most modern stadiums, which may contribute to the sellout streak. The Red Sox have sold out every game at Fenway since May 15, 2003

I had to the opportunity to visit Fenway Park on a visit to see a friend that is attending graduate school in Boston. I was fortunate enough for this to be the 100th year of Fenway's existence, which is an extraordinarily long time for a ballpark. As such, it is the oldest active MLB ballpark, spanning (now) over a decade in existence.

The oldest active MLB ballpark

Fenway, like Wrigley Field, is an iconic landmark that doubles as an active baseball stadium. Similarly, like Wrigley, Fenway probably will never be torn down. Unlike Wrigley, however, ownership has decided (for the better) to get out of the stone age with the ballpark and make marked improvements in the stadium and its structure. For example, they have a jumbotron, lighted scoreboards, new seats, fancy advertisements and billboards, etc. As a baseball fan, I feel this adds to the excitement of attending a baseball game. At Fenway I felt like I was there to enjoy a baseball game whereas at Wrigley I felt more like I was visiting a museum. There's nothing wrong with either of them, but perhaps the records of the home team may have had something to do with that as well.

Jumbotron,new technology, and scoreboards are a huge improvement over methods used a century ago. The Pesky Pole may also be seen on the right side of the picture.

Fenway Park is well-known for a few distinct features besides its storied past. There's the Green Monster, a 37-foot 2-inch high wall in left field that is named after its color, and the Pesky Pole, a right field foul pole which is an awfully short distance from home plate, to name a few.

The Green Monster

The Green Monster is approximately 310 feet away from home plate. The real challenge to hitters, however, is to get enough height on a batted ball to get it over the monster, otherwise they may be relegated to long single. The Green Monster is an iconic part of the stadium and is redefinnown throughout baseball. The Green Monster is the home of the Fenway manually operated scoreboard, which is updated throughout the game. In 2003, the Red Sox debuted barstool seats above the Green Monster which accommodated about 269 fans and left standing room for more. These seats are in high demand and are often high-priced.

Green Monster seats

Overall, Fenway Park is a really nice stadium, mixing history and an enjoyable baseball experience. This stadium isn't lost in the past; it has kept up with the times by updating technology and ensuring that fans are given an enjoyable game to watch.