How old is fenway park in boston massachusetts
Original dimensions were ft. In May fire struck Fenway Park destroying the wooden bleachers along the left field line. In Thomas A. Yawkey purchased the club and extensively renovated Fenway Park. Located in left field, the 37 foot high wall was originally covered in advertisements with a hand operated scoreboard at the base.
A tragic fire in January destroyed most of the construction but the ballpark was complete and free of damage when it reopened on April 17, In , a 23 foot net was placed on the left field wall to prevent baseballs from breaking windows in nearby shops. Prior to the start of the season, the right field wall was moved in 20 feet shortening the outfield fence from to feet in right field and to feet in right-center field.
Bullpens for the Red Sox and the visiting team were placed in the area created between the stands and the outfield wall, replacing the original ones in foul territory. A small upper deck was added to the ballpark in slightly increasing the seating capacity.
For almost three decades there were few changes at Fenway Park. In the early s 44 luxury boxes were added at the ballpark, down the first and third base lines. Additional seating was also placed along the right-field roof, creating a small upper deck of several rows. In left-center, you will see markings that run from feet to feet from home plate depending on what part you are measuring.
The dead center runs feet, and right center runs feet from home plate. Minute Maid Park Dimensions are similar to Fenway Park by having a short porch in left field and a deeper right field. Both Major League ballparks play short to right hand hitters, so power hitters look to take advantage of the dimensions. With both Major League ballparks having a short left field wall, you will see opposing team players at times struggle to play defense to the how quick the ball can get to the wall in left.
One unique feature of Fenway Park baseball is taking in a tour of the historic venue. The tour of the Red Sox Stadium will give you an in-depth analysis of the history of the ballpark, views from the ground level, the field bleachers, and access to the press box. These tours are available all year round during rain, snow, and sunshine.
These guided tours last for about 60 minutes, and there are many different options to choose from depending on what you are looking to do. With Fenway Park in Boston, you have a few options to the north and south of your location. If you head north about 10 hours, you will get to the Rogers Centre where the Toronto Blue Jays play.
If you head south about three hours, you can get to Citi Field and Yankee Stadium. That is the home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Not too far from that, you can catch a game at Camden Yards which is home to the Baltimore Orioles.
The Boston Red Sox won the World Series in , so getting regular season tickets will be difficult in for casual fans. Fenway Park is a small park, so seating capacity is a bit limited especially on opening day. You will have an easier time getting tickets when the Tampa Bay Rays, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners, or other teams shows up that are not competitive.
Any seats in blue in the lower level run the risk of being behind a pole. If you want to sit up a bit higher, you should check out the Pavilion Club Seats. You will have great views of the park and the city of Boston.
If you are looking to save money, you should check out the bleachers and grandstand section in the outfield. The short right field line in particular is a source of curiosity for opposing players and fans. Some of the shortest home runs in the league can be hit down the line either hitting or curling around the Pesky Pole named after shortstop Johnny Pesky.
However, beyond the pole, right field shoots down deeply and forms a wide arc toward center field to make one of the deepest right fields in the league. Believe it or not, right field at Fenway Park used to be even deeper.
Prior to , the bullpens were not beyond the right field fence and there was an even larger expanse as these photographs from and the s show. Before , the right field power alley was feet deep, but in an effort to help left-handed slugger Ted Williams hit more home runs at home, the Red Sox brought the fences in about 20 feet and built the bullpens which had previously been in foul territory in right field. However, starting in , Ted and other left-handed hitters started to benefit. As for left field, the uniqueness of this area of the ballpark is what makes Fenway Park the most famous in the entire league.
The wall was originally made of wood and then covered with tin and concrete. It was also plastered in billboards and advertisements before it was cleaned up and painted the iconic Fenway green color in The Monster is home to the oldest hand-operated scoreboard in the league, installed in and still manned by someone during every game who updates not only the Red Sox game inning-by-inning, but also all of the out-of-town games in both leagues as well as the league standings.
Ads have taken over the wall again since but not quite to the extent that they had prior to In order to stabilize the high wall, a foot high sloping incline which stretched from the left field foul line to center field ran along the edge of the outfield. Red Sox left fielder Duffy Lewis became adept at running up and down this to field balls, hence its name. For most of its existence including the whole of my childhood , the Green Monster was topped with a sloping net that caught most of the home run balls hit up there.
In , the wall was renovated to include new tiered seating on top. Those seats offer some of the best views at the highest prices in the entire ballpark.