The Times They Are A-Changin' by George Sisca
MLB and its Parks
Foul balls fly into the stands, while foul smells pumped from underneath the red bricked stadium better known as Fenway Park: The “Podgurski Corporation Sanitary Pumping Division” was providing their services on an early Thursday summer morning.
Fenway Park, built in 1912, and home of the Boston Red Sox, remains the oldest professional baseball stadium, located in the heart of the city, in walking distance from popular Boston scenes such as, Kenmore Square, Boylston Street, and the Boston Commons.
Major League Baseball, and its ballparks, adjust to the modern psyche. The addition of the pitch clock, and a limitation on pick-off attempts, make the game a faster paced event, delivering quick stimuli to the customer.
Rob Manfred, the MLB commissioner, recently told ESPN one the more significant changes to baseball would be displayed at the 2025 All-Star game, the automated ballstrike system – which employs cameras and computer analysis to allow plalyers to second guess the umpires.
"”It's been used in the minor leagues for several years and we tested it with big league guys in spring training last year.” Manfred said.
New Major League Baseball venues such as “Globe Life Field” in Texas, and “Chase Field” in Arizona,” build in amenities for the modern baseball fan.
The Texas Rangers have a retractable roof, for days too hot in the Lone Star state.
The Arizona Diamondbacks have the presidential pool suite, a rentable space with a pool to enjoy the ballgame and take a dip.
Fenway has old seats, charm, and for some lucky few, an obstructed view of a support pole.
The Park might not have state of the art technology, but tourists still visit from all over the country, joining a tour, to check out its history.
The Tour
Thursday summer morning, the air is as thick as a 70s baseball player’s moustache, barely breathable with high humidity and the sun sweltering down onto the dark grey pavement. Splash pads around the city are filled with parents and children trying to escape the searing heat.
A cheerful tour guide, referring to herself as Abby, greets everyone outside the stadium, wearing turtle-shell blue glasses, a red Fenway Park tours polo shirt, and carrying a megaphone to speak over the crowd.
Abigail Czwakeil, a 23-year-old is a speech language pathology assistant from the Beverly Public School system and teaches K-8 students as a full-time job.
“I like working with elementary school kids, it’s my passion.” Abby says with a smile.
Abby gives a brief history lesson about the trees outside the park.They are as old as the park itself, 113 years old. Abby then has a question for the crowd.
“What is the second oldest ballpark, since we know Fenway is the oldest?”.
Barbara, a lady with grey pixie hair, a hearing aid, short stature and a lot of spunk, , enthusiastically raises her arm and yells, “Wrigley!” Barbaa, a retired secretary from Chicago is a lifelong Cubs fan.
Fenway Park and Wrigley Field are often visited because of its history. The original Yankee Stadium built in 1923, was demolished in 2010 for a carbon copy across the street with increased prices.
Barbara prefers the older stadiums , but her tall grandson Brandon likes other, more modern places.
Brnadon is wearing a purple pickleball shirt and Oakley sunglasses. “Petco is my favorite,” he says, referring to the majestic stadium in downtown San Diego. “It’s right in the middle of the city, like this, but it’s got these apartments in left field that look really cool.”
Abby gives an hour-long tour all around the park, ranging from the underbelly of the stadium to the top of the “The Green Monster,” the nickname of the huge wall in left field.
That wall supports, “the most useless ladder in Major League Baseball,” according to Abby’s rich, comical tour history. The ladder can barely be seen, halfway up the left field wall, displayed in green paint to camouflage it.
There is a hidden spot inside the ballpark, as Abby tells the tour to look down to see Fenway Farms, a previously unused space, which now supports a range of products to be used in future. Kale, carrots, arugula and much more grow above the third base side stands, using critical city space for green growth.
The final portion of the tour, provides a special treat.
At the very top of the Green Monster, all four championship trophies are displayed under the hot Boston sun for everyone to take pictures with.“They’re usually not out for display,” Abby says.
Many of the fans waited under that hot sun to score memories that will last forever.
Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, Petco, The New Yankee Stadium, all seemingly amazing accomplishments in engineering, with millions of visitors over the years, but for the newer generations, the appeal is not always obvious.
“Why is it so tiny? " a girl under the age of 10 asks her father, as she sees the field for the first time, thoroughly unimpressed.
A view from the top of the fabled Green monster
Sisca News Network provides independent coverage of professional, collegiate, and local sports throughout Rhode Island and New England.
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The “Podgurski Corporation Sanitary Pumping Division” was providing their services on an early Thursday summer morning.
