Hooked on Fenway

The first night I stayed in Boston, I went to Fenway. It was rush week, the week before orientation, when they had to find a place for about one third of the freshman class to live, and so I ended up with guys from the Sammy house, which was over by the Fens somewhere, and we went to see the Sox play. It was 1967, the year of the impossible dream. Not only that, but it was a Yankees game. First night in Boston, a night at Fenway Park, Red Sox - Yankees. How great was that?

As I recall, the Sox won 6-2. Yaz hit a home run. It was the year he won the Triple Crown. And I remember seeing Mantle play, and as I remember it, he got a base hit. I wasn’t yet a Sox fan, having been in Boston less than 24 hours, but I was already a Yankees hater. I had been a Willie Mays fan, a Giants fan, even though it was hard to keep track of them out on the west coast. Still, it was a thrill to see Mantle play, knowing that here was a piece of baseball history, even if his career was winding down.

In any event, there I was, in early September, sitting in the right field bleachers, Fenway pretty full for the Yankees, and the Sox moving toward their first pennant in twenty-one years. By the time September had ended, and the season had come down to the final day, I was hooked. It’s probably impossible to be there in Boston, especially a couple minutes away from Kenmore Square and Fenway Park, and not catch RedSox fever. They never won the pennant again while I lived in Boston. I remember going to Fenway with Jon Seigle to see them play the White Sox, in 1971 or 72, and the park being only two-thirds full. And it wasn’t until the summer of 1975, when I was living in Ithaca and then Auburn, that the Sox returned to the series. Still, that one year, perhaps that one game, had me hooked for life.

Now, forty years later, after a win, I can spend forty-five minutes on the phone with John, discussing the game, the season, our prospects, Schilling’s shoulder, Lester’s return to the lineup, Manny’s bat. When Mike calls from Israel, half a world away, we need to spend at least a few minutes discussing the last series. Three out of four in Cleveland, on the road, and what a performance by Dice-K. Is it this way for everyone? And what is it about baseball that engenders these loyalties?

Whatever it is, it’s part of the glue that binds me to my kids. Next week, I’m flying to Israel. Mike and Susan and I are going to visit sites that are thousands of years. We’ll be walking the land of the patriarchs, but we’ll be checking the scores every night. And if the Sox are winning, we’ll be finding a bar somewhere to celebrate.