Jerry Pallotta - F is for Fenway Park. Americas Oldest Major League Ballpark

Americas Oldest
Major League Ballpark

So good, so good, so good Faithful Red Sox fans, both far and near, whove ever been to Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts have likely heard those lyrics. Many, many others have joined in the singing during a ball game in Americas most beloved ballpark. Readers of all ages are sure to enjoy this book from the pitchers in the bullpen and the players in the dugout to the Green Monster and the manual scoreboard.

Celebrate Fenway Parks history and lore with award-winning author Jerry Pallotta and award-winning illustrator John S. Dykes.

Americas Oldest Major League Ballpark

Written by Jerry Pallotta and Illustrated by John S. Dykes

Sleeping Bear Press wishes to thank and acknowledge Helen L. Wilbur
for her valuable contribution to this book.

To Neil, who texted regularly from Afghanistan and Iraq
Did the Sox win? Did anyone hit a grand slam over the Green Monster?
Jerry

To Mom and Dad, thanks to your lifelong encouragement and enthusiasm.
I wake up every day loving what I do.
John

Bostons Fenway Park has been called Americas most beloved ballpark because so many people believe it is loved more than any other ballpark. The building of Fenway Park began in 1911, and the park was finished in 1912. It is the oldest major league ballpark still in use today. The first major league baseball game played in Fenway was on April 20th, 1912, between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Highlandersthe team that would later become the New York Yankees. As an estimated 27,000 fans watched from their seats, the Red Sox beat the Highlanders 76 in 11 innings of baseball. The Red Sox would go on to win the 1912 World Series against the New York Giants in Fenway Park.

Bostons mayor in 1912, John Fitzgerald, threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the start of the first game. His grandson, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who was born in 1917, would become the 35th president of the United States.

A is also for American League. Fenway is an American League ballpark. Major League Baseball has a National League and an American League.

A is for Americas Most Beloved Ballpark
For baseball lovers everywhere
the experience they want to share
is Fenways magic and mystique,
which make this classic park unique.

The bullpen is where the pitchers wait and warm up during the game before they start pitching. No one knows for certain where the name bullpen came from, but there are many theories. The most popular theory is that baseballs bullpens look like the pens where bulls are held at a rodeo or a bullfight.

At Fenway Park, the bullpens are in right field, next to the stands. In 1940, Red Sox officials decided to build bullpens for two reasons. The long, rectangular-shaped area gave pitchers a safe place to stay and enough room to practice their pitches. The bullpens shortened the length of a home run hit to right field by 20 feet from 400 feet to 380 feet. The shortened distance ultimately helped the Red Sox win games in Fenway Park. This is partly because Ted Williams, the teams new left-handed power hitter, sent most of his home runs to right field.

A teams relief pitching staff is sometimes called the bullpen.

B is for Bullpen
Fastball, change-up, slider, curve,
warm your arm, steel your nerve.
Fake em with your knuckleball,
ready when you get the call.

When the park first opened, most of the fans were men. At the games, the men wore suits, ties, and derbies. A derby is a stiff hat made of felt with a dome-shaped top and narrow brim. Now the crowds are more family-oriented with moms, dads, kids, aunts, and uncles attending the games.

Many people use the term Red Sox Nation to describe the official fan club of the Boston Red Sox. Interested fans can buy citizenship in the Red Sox Nation. Red Sox Nation members receive a commemorative citizenship card, can take advantage of official team store discounts, and head to the game early to watch batting practice. According to the Boston Globe, staff writer Nathan Cobb coined the term Red Sox Nation in 1986.

The crowd that comes to Fenway to watch baseball is sometimes referred to as the Fenway faithful. On September 22, 1937, the all-time sellout crowd for a baseball game at Fenway Park included 47,627 fans. They were there to watch a doubleheader between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. Todays fire laws now prevent that many fans from entering the park.

The 100th anniversary game in April 2012 is recorded as the 713th consecutive sellout crowd at Fenway Parka major league record!

C is for Crowd
From all over, the loyal fans
fill the bleachers, the boxes, the stands.
Fenway roars in celebration.
Thats the voice of the Red Sox Nation.

In professional baseball, the players dont sit out in the open next to the fans. The players are in the dugout along with the manager and his assistant coaches. After coming off the field, players exchange gloves for bats and helmets, and then wait in the dugout for their turn at bat. There are two dugouts, one for the home team and one for the visiting team. This design allows for an unobstructed view for the fans and protection for those in the dugout.

At Fenway Park, the home dugout is in foul territory between home plate and first base. The visiting teams dugout is on the third-base side. Each dugout is attached to a clubhouse where the players have their lockers and showers.

D is for Dugout
Review the signals, plan and scheme,
watch the moves of the other team.
Analyze strategy, make revisions,
a games won or lost on those dugout decisions.

Surprisingly, the largest crowd ever to attend Fenway Park was not there for a baseball game, a concert, or a political event. It was the day 50,000 kids showed up to watch three elephants parade into the park. On June 6, 1914, the elephants Mollie, Waddy, and Tony were bought from a circus for $6,000 with pennies donated by kids from all over the city. Massachusetts Governor David Walsh and Boston Mayor James Michael Curley were also at Fenway Park to celebrate the successful fundraiser, called Pennies for Elephants. After a walk around the field, the elephants went to their new home in Bostons Franklin Park Zoo.

E is for Elephants
The kids of Boston saved their cents
to buy three talented elephants,
who, after a Fenway celebration,
became a Franklin Park sensation.

Fenway Park was built next to a marshland. It got its name from the Norwegian word fen, which means swamp. It is the home of the Boston Red Sox. If someone were to ask you what Boston is most famous for, most believe it would be safe (and accurate) to reply, Fenway Park. The park is considered a sports cathedral and holds the record for the greatest number of consecutive sold-out games by a major league baseball team. All these fans dont seem to mind that Fenway also leads the league in the number of seats that have an obstructed view.