Tagged: Fenway Park
2013 Baseball Trip-Game 1: Shifting gears into Greenville
Greenville Drive vs. Augusta GreenJackets (South Atlantic League)
Flour Field-Greenville, SC: After flying into Charlotte, we headed south for the first game of our trip. We were about five miles from the Greenville exit, though, when traffic came to a stop. Complete stop. It took us about forty minutes to go that five miles, but we finally made it to Flour Field downtown well before game time. As with most downtown stadiums parking is scarce, so if you visit here be sure to leave yourself some time. The gift shop is outside the stadium, so it’s was easy to get our shopping done and leave it in the car. The Greenville Drive is affiliated with the Red Sox, and they really embrace the Nation. The outfield at Flour Field is replicated after Fenway Park, they have their own ‘green monster’, and they even sing ‘Sweet Caroline‘ in the eighth inning. It was a good crowd with a fine baseball atmosphere, also. Lots of kids and families watching the game which is good to see. My only complaint about the stadium is that the netting extends beyond the dugouts, so it was difficult to see the game at times.
Me with Reedy Rip’it
The game itself was one of the best we’ve seen. Both the Drive and GreenJackets made some great defensive plays. In a high scoring game, Greenville hit three home runs while Augusta added one. I really recommend a Drive game for anyone in the area. We had a lot of fun, with great weather, and it was a perfect way to kick off our trip. The Drive have the best on field DJ I’ve seen, too. He really kept the crowd into the game without it being too much. Final Score: Greenville 10, Augusta 6.
Photos property of Minoring In Baseball
2011 BBT Day 5: Fenway and the Freedom Trail
Fenway Ballpark and Freedom Trail Tours: Boston, MA
Boston is to beautiful and historic not to poke around a bit before we headed southwest for our next ballgame. We started our day by taking the earliest tour of Fenway which was nine in the morning. Nine o’clock is pretty early when your on vacation, but I didn’t have much trouble getting motivated to see this ballpark again. We were given a history of the park and taken on top of the Green Monster. The Monsta’ seats would be a great place to watch a game, but very expensive. We were taken through the Red Sox Hall of Fame and shown some of the baseball artifacts they have inside the park. The tour concluded on the Budweiser balcony with a history of Ted Williams’ longest home run at the park. I would have liked to have gotten on the field, in the dugout and locker room, or even in the press box. They explained that they gave so many tours a day it would disrupt too much to have that traffic all day. It’s still worth it, though, just to be inside the park for a little while longer. When you leave Fenway, you feel incomplete…like part of your soul was left inside, and it’s constantly beckoning you back….
On toppa da Monsta
Red Sox Hall of Fame
Retired numbers and the Ted Williams seat
Statue of Ted Williams
After the Fenway tour was over, we jetted down to the Boston Common to catch the next Freedom Trail tour. We were given a history of the Common, the State House, and were able to see some of the oldest cemetaries in the country. It was fun to hear the real stories behind legendary heroes Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock. I guess I should have paid more attention in history class in school, because some of this stuff sounded new to me. For lunch we ate at Cheers, which still stands as one of my favorite shows of all time. The building didn’t look much like the show, but the bar itself and a lot of paraphernalia were from the set. Our time in Boston ended by seeing the U.S.S. Constitution, or Ol’ Ironsides, which was simply amazing. I really wish we had more time there, as there is so much to see and do.
A cold Sam Adams....sorry....
I'm taking over for Norm
Jersey of Sam 'Mayday' Malone
Statue of Samuel Adams
The U.S.S. Constitution
Photos property of M.I.B.
2011 BBT Day 4: Invading A Nation
Boston Red Sox vs. Detroit Tigers: Fenway Park-Boston, MA
All I can say about Fenway Park and the experience of watching a game there is that you can believe the hype. In fact, I would say it’s not hyped enough. I like that fact that every game is treated like a special event. We were lucky to get to Boston a little early, and explore around the park for a little while and get some shopping in. Our hotel was right across the street, so we didn’t have to worry about parking and things like that. The gates opened about a ninety minutes before game time, so it gave us a chance to explore the inside of the park and get our free gift for being first timers. At the fan service counter we receive a little package with stickers, a Red Sox Nation bracelet, and a container with some dirt from the infield. We also ran into one of the fans we were chatting with at the PawSox game a few days before, so he showed us around a little bit, too. We were also able to get over the visitors dugout to watch some of the Detroit Tigers warm up, but not many were signing autographs for anything. As it was getting closer to game time, we grabbed a Fenway Frank and an $8.50 beer and found our seats in the outfield. To be honest, I never moved from my seat after the game started. I didn’t want to miss anything at all from this game waiting in line for food, beer, or restroom. The atmosphere was amazing, and the Fenway rendition of Sweet Caroline has to been witnessed in person. The Tigers lost a game they should have won, but I really didn’t care about the score. Despite rooting for the Tigers, we didn’t have any trouble from the Red Sox fans either. I definitely want to bring the kids here when they’re a little older and can appreciate the magic that is Fenway Park. Final Score: Red Sox 4, Tigers 3.
Austin Jackson
Max Scherzer
The ponchos were cheesy, but they kept us dry
Brad Penny-sorry..no pic of his girlfriend
Justin Verlander
Fenway Park
Photos property of M.I.B.
Baseball Trip Finalized for 2011: New England Bound
There’s nothing like lookin to the future, and trying to come up with a trip that we can fit at least six to seven games into a five day span isn’t easy. Next May we’ll be heading east to the New England area, checking out the Minor League teams there, and even hitting a Red Sox game at historic Fenway Park. Our trip will start off on the Triple A level in Rhode Island, watching the Pawtucket Red Sox defend their home field against the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees. It will be a small taste of the Sox-Yanks rivalry, anyway. Day two of our trip we will head up north to Manchester, NH. There we will watch a Double A matchup between the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and the Binghampton Mets. The third day of our trip will take us up to the great state of Maine for a pair of games. First we’ll see a night game as the Portland Sea Dogs face the Reading Phillies, and we’ll watch the same two teams go at it the next day at noon. After the day game concludes, we’ll head south for some Major League action. I know I don’t care to see baseball live at this level that often, but Fenway is a must for any baseball fan, and Boston is facing the Detroit Tigers, so it’s a chance to see our home team on the road. We also plan to take the tour of Fenway Park the next morning. Our trip will end later that night in Conecticicut, where we’ll watch the New Britain Rock Cats play New Hampshire, who we’ll be seeing for the second time. There will be plenty of other sites for us to see in this part of the country, and I plan to have a beer or two at Cheers in Boston.
Minoring In Baseball 