“Fenway is the essence of baseball.” — Tom Seaver
Made the trek back to Boston for more baseball, starting with the Red Sox hosting the White Sox. Game 4 of 5 for Eli’s spring break trip. It’s hard to not want to go to Fenway, and this game was at the top of Eli’s list, especially when I told him they were playing the White Sox – who we were supposed to see in Chicago.
We checked into our hotel – The Verb – and grabbed some quick lunch. Eli took a dip in the hotel pool, and we headed to Fenway to get in line at Gate C for early entrance with Red Sox Nation. It proved to be too much of a wait for Eli, but we managed and got in to catch the Red Sox batting practice from center field. A ball came dangerously close, hitting the rail in front of me and popping over my head, while I wasn’t paying attention. Eli was quick to grab the ball.
Before the game started he was able to talk to Red Sox bullpen coach Chris Holt and secured the lineup card after the game. He gave him a secret passcode to tell him after the game – “New England Clam Chowder”, and said he would ask “red or white?” and to say “red”. Eli had a hard time remembering the phrase all game, so he eventually wrote it down on a gum wrapper so he wouldn’t get it wrong.
We watched most of the game from our seats in Pavilion Club 7, row 5. This is one of my favorite views in the stadium, and one I frequently go back to when getting tickets. Row 5 has the added benefit of a table top, which comes in handy when getting food (or scoring the game).
Trevor Story came through big time, with two, three-run home runs. We decided to watched the last couple of innings from the center field bleachers. The “wave” lasted a long time – 9 or 10 rotations – and Eli greatly enjoyed participating in that. After Boston secured the victory, Eli was quick to remind Chris Holt of his promise and supplied the correct passcode.
