1 Take a Tour: If terms like “Green Monster,” “Pesky Pole,” “Duffy’s Cliff” and so on mean nothing to you, then you can’t get a better primer on Red Sox and Fenway Park history than the Fenway Park Tours (refer to tours listing) offered daily until 4 p.m. or three hours before game time. Guides well-versed in Sox history will take you through the Sox press box, atop the famed left field wall into the “Monster seats,” and perhaps even onto the field to check out the dugouts and bullpens. Along the way, you’re treated to Red Sox trivia, and by the time you actually get to a game, you’ll know enough to pass for a diehard Sox fan.
2
Get to Know Your Players:
Not
acquainted with all 25 men on the Red Sox
roster? Fear not—here’s a primer on the main
guys to be aware of if you want to blend in.
#18
|
Daisuke Matsuzaka
|
Starting Pitcher:
The Red Sox brought him over from Japan this
off-season, igniting Far East interest in the
Sox and bringing a slew of Japanese news
media into Fenway. Sox fans call him
Dice-K—opposing hitters call him all kinds
of nastier names when he strikes them out.
#20
|
Kevin Youkilis
|
First Baseman: Don‘t
be misled by hearing what sounds like a
shower of boos when he comes to the plate.
The scrappy on-base machine is actually
being serenaded by thousands of fans yelling
“Yoooooouk!”
#24
|
Manny Ramirez
|
Left
fielder: One of baseball’s greatest
hitters—ever. A free spirit, with his
multi-colored dreadlocks, adventurous
fielding in left field, and the ability to
mash homer after homer. May occasionally
disappear into left field scoreboard during
the game or randomly decide not to run to
first base—behavior known around these parts
as “Manny being Manny.”
#34
|
David Ortiz
|
Designated Hitter: The most beloved player
on the team, the most clutch slugger, and
the Red Sox player most resembling a teddy
bear. Renowned for monster home runs and
excitingly original facial hair. Known to
all as “Big Papi” (pronounced “Poppy,” not
“Pappy”).
#58
|
Jonathan Papelbon
|
Closer:
Currently second only to Ortiz in the
“beloved Red Sox” pantheon, this young fireballer won the closer job last year from
veteran Keith Foulke thanks to equal parts
velocity and intensity.
3 Learn the Words to “Sweet Caroline”: Yes, the song was inspired by John F. Kennedy's daughter, Caroline—as finally confirmed in 2007. And no, Neil Diamond has never—publicly or privately—offered any endorsement of the Red Sox. Yet, without fail, every game during the eighth inning, 38,000 or so fans will start singing along as Diamond’s 1969 hit ballad “Sweet Caroline” fills the stadium—you can tell the Red Sox regulars by the way they punctuate the chorus of “Good times never seemed so good” with a chant of “SO GOOD! SO GOOD! SO GOOD!”
Apparently, the birth of the “Sweet Caroline” phenomenon at Fenway was totally random. A production assistant started playing it occasionally during the late 1990s. In 2002, when new ownership led by John Henry and Larry Lucchino purchased the team, they asked that it become a staple. And so it has, one that thousands of amateur vocalists greet with great excitement and phenomenally off-key singing each night.
4
Remember Your Etiquette:
5
Have Fun: There’s no experience that
compares to an evening of baseball played at Fenway Park. Forget about the cramped seats,
the odd sightlines and the other quirks of
the venerable old park—they’re part of the
charm. Just sit back, wave your foam finger,
cheer on the Sox and have a great time.
|
|
Not
Quite Fenway, but… Came up empty on tickets? Well, even David Ortiz and Jason Varitek strike out sometimes. If you get shut out of Fenway, here’s some nearby hotspots where you can get your Sox on. GAME ON!, 82 Lansdowne St., 617-351-7001 (pictured right). You can’t get much closer to seeing a game at Fenway then at Game On!, which is actually in Fenway. Opened in 2005, Game On features a light and airy upstairs dining room and a sleek, dark downstairs nightclub/sports bar. Game On! boasts yummy upscale ballpark food (hot dogs, sandwiches, brick oven pizzas) and pretty much unlimited views of the game on enormous TVs. THE BASEBALL TAVERN, 1270 Boylston St., 617-867-6526. Inside Fenway Park, the seats atop the famed Green Monster are the most coveted vantage points. Outside Fenway, the Baseball Tavern’s roofdeck (complete with Fenway scoreboard replica) has to take the prize. Atop the Baseball Tavern, you can’t quite see into Fenway Park, but it’s the best way we know to feel close to the game while you sip a cocktail and cheer on the team. CASK N’ FLAGON, 62 Brookline Ave., 617-536-4840. A popular Fenway hangout since 1969, the Cask got a big-time facelift last year—including raised ceilings, massive top-to-bottom bay windows overlooking Fenway Park, more tables and a lot more TVs (more than 50, including 12-foot projection TVs, 42 and 50-inch plasmas, and even TVs in the bathrooms). After the final pitch, Sox fans can do a victory dance or two at Oliver’s, the back room dance club. |