Fenway Park

• Year Built: 1912

• Primary Tenant: Boston Red Sox

• Capacity: 37,731

• Date visited: July 21st-22nd, 2021

I originally visited Fenway Park last July, but I'm gonna write about it now. The reason I'm doing that for Fenway and not any other stadium I've previously visited is because I took a tour of the stadium, which means I have plenty of photos to share. I will also be showing pictures in the order that I took them during the tour.

One of the things you can see outside the stadium are the these banners, which show each year the Red Sox have either won the World Series or were American League champions. You may also notice the brick exterior of the stadium. Due to the age of Fenway Park, most of the features that give this place a nostalgic feel are actually as old as they look.

Across the street from the ballpark is the Red Sox team store, which I definitely recommend visiting. Above the team store are large baseball cards of Red Sox players, which change in coordination with the starting lineup.

Like any stadium, when you first walk in, you're greeted by the concourse. The concourse at Fenway Park feels a little small, but I suppose that kind of thing is expected with a stadium as old as this one. Unlike modern stadiums, you can't see any part of the field from inside the concourse.

Beyond the right field corner of the park is this open area with many concession stands. Not shown here are life size illustrations of Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz you can measure yourself against.

We got to go on the field during our tour, and here's the view from the center field wall. You can get a great view of the main grandstand, as well as the press box, which we'll get a better view of later.

If you look towards the left field corner, the Red Sox retired numbers are on display, like most stadiums have. In this case, the number are displayed in order by the date they were retired.

On the Green Monster, you can find various marks and blemishes from baseballs that hit the wall, but this one hit in a certain way to where you can see the MLB logo on the wall.

One of the many quirks in this ballpark is the manually operated scoreboard. Originally installed in 1934, it only included the score for the Red Sox game. In the 1970s, scores for all American League games would be displayed on the manual scoreboard. In 2003, National League scores would be added, but would need to be changed from the outside of the scoreboard between innings, as there is not enough room to access them from the inside. The last addition was made in 2005, in which the AL East standings were added to the left of the scoreboard.

Here's a closer look at the main part of the scoreboard. It has everything you need to know about the game; the runs scored in each inning, the total amount of runs, hits, and errors from each team, as well as several bulbs, which light up in coordination with the batter's ball and strike count. Also, I don't know who Brad is, so don't even bother asking.

The bullpens, which are right next to each other, give fans great views of the pitcher as he warms up before or during the game. The bullpen walls are removable, which makes room for the occasional football game.

Before the 2011 season, the Red Sox installed this video board as an upgrade from a small video board which had been installed in 2000. The John Hancock signature on top of the scoreboard is also the logo of John Hancock Financial, a life insurance company based out of Boston.

Out of all the green seats in right field, this lone red seat stands out against the rest. This seat has significance, because, in 1946, Ted Williams hit a home run that struck this seat; 502 feet away from home plate. No player has hit a home run in Fenway Park this far before or since Ted William's shot.

Another odd seating area can also be found in the right field area. This row of wooden bleachers are similar to what could be found in the outfield seating area before modern day stadium seating was installed.

Arguably one of the most noteworthy foul poles in baseball is Fenway's right field pole, also known as Pesky's Pole. At just 302 feet from home plate, Pesky's Pole is the closest pole in the majors. This pole is named after Johnny Pesky, who, in his decade long career, only hit six home runs at Fenway Park, had many hits that landed near the infamous pole.

The press box is one of the best press boxes to look at, in my opinion. That may sound weird, but when you go to a modern stadium, do you even notice the press box? That may be because the club seating and suites near home plate in modern stadiums make the press box blend in more easily. Even with that aside, press boxes nowadays don't have many qualities that make them worth noticing. For example, Fenway has a pennant for each year the Red Sox have either won the American League championship or won the World Series.

Fenway Park seats just under 38,000, which means the upper deck is a small one, but still offers some great views. That's one of the advantages of having a small capacity stadium; it offers closer, more intimate views.

This technically isn't a part of Fenway Park, but the stadium wouldn't feel the same without the Citgo sign beyond left field. The sign was built in 1940, but wasn't displayed with the current signage until 1965. By 1983, the sign had taken a significant beating from the elements, which meant that Citgo would begin plans to disassemble the sign. This decision would face severe backlash, which led Citgo to refurbish the sign and scrap any plans to disassemble it.

This is something you can't find in any other ballpark. Fenway Farms began in 2015 as a way to supply fresh fruits and vegetables to people in need. At over 5,000 square feet, this formerly unused area of the ballpark is a great example of turning nothing into something.

I mentioned the upper deck earlier, but here's a closer look. The seats are pretty steep, which has its pros and cons. One of the advantages of this is that the people sitting in front of you won't block the view. A disadvantage, however, is that steep seats are a pretty big tripping hazard, so be careful if you're sitting in the upper deck at Fenway Park.

Arguably the most prestigious outfield seats in baseball, the seats on top of the Green Monster give a stunning view of the whole field. The Green Monster has been around as long as the stadium has, but the seats on top weren't installed until the 2003 season. The price of tickets on top of the Green Monster vary heavily based on which team the Red Sox are playing, as well as the time of year.

One thing to be wary of are the support beams located throughout the grandstand. While the beams only partially obstruct the view from most seats, be sure to either sit in front of or between them for optimal views.

In the top rows of the main grandstand, you'll find these blue, wooden seats. These seats are narrower than any modern day seats, but shouldn't be too uncomfortable for most people.

You won't find many first class amenities in the sections closest to home plate. The rows closest to home plate have very thin padding, and the closest row to home plate has several screens showing a TV broadcast of the game.

If you're sitting behind home plate, another thing to note is that it's nearly impossible to catch a foul ball due to the netting the extends above the seating area.

To summarize, Fenway Park is certainly a must see for any baseball fan out there. When you visit, you'll be able to take in over a hundred years of baseball history, all in one place. Needless to say, if you're into both baseball and history, you'll definitely want to visit, and maybe consider taking a tour of the ballpark. I know I've only mentioned the stadium itself, and not really touched on the gameday experience, so let me do that now. The atmosphere is electric, especially when the rival Yankees are in town. The food selection at Fenway is very nice. My personal recommendation would be the Italian sausage, which can be found throughout the stadium. That's all I can say, and I'll see you at the next ballpark, goodbye!