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Baseball
No other experience in sports matches watching the Boston Red Sox play at Fenway Park, which they do from early April to early October, and later if they make the playoffs. The quirkiness of the oldest park in the major leagues (1912) and the fact that (at press time) the team last won the World Series in 1918 only add to the Fenway mystique.
A hand-operated scoreboard fronts the 37-foot left-field wall, or "Green Monster." Watch carefully during a pitching change -- the left fielder from either team might suddenly disappear into a door in the wall to cool off. The seats are narrow, uncomfortable, and gratifyingly close to the field, and the concession items are more varied than they once were, though definitely not cheaper. The Red Sox franchise changed hands in 2002, and the new owners have invested so much in the existing structure that rumors of its impending demolition have quieted down. The most obvious change is the addition of seats and standing room in a new section above the Green Monster. You're in an intensely green place that's older than your grandparents, inhaling a Fenway Frank and wishing for a home run -- what could be better?
Practical concerns: Compared with its modern brethren, Fenway is tiny. Tickets (at least $18, the most expensive in the majors) go on sale in February; order early. Forced to choose between seats in a low-numbered grandstand section -- say, 10 or below -- and in the bleachers, go for the bleachers. They can get rowdy during night games, but the view is better from there than from the deep right-field corner. Throughout the season, a limited number of standing-room tickets go on sale the day of the game, and fans sometimes return presold tickets (especially if a rainout causes rescheduling). It can't hurt to check, particularly if the team isn't playing well.
The Fenway Park ticket office (tel. 877/REDSOX-9; www.redsox.com) is at 4 Yawkey Way, near the corner of Brookline Avenue. Tickets for people with disabilities and in no-alcohol sections are available. Smoking is not allowed in the park. Games usually begin at 6 or 7pm on weeknights and 1 or 3pm on weekends. Take the MBTA Green Line B, C, or D to Kenmore, or D to Fenway.
A final caveat: If the Red Sox have won the World Series by the time you read this, all bets are off.
Play Ball!--Fenway Park tours (tel. 617/226-6666) include a walk on the warning track, a stop in the press box, and a visit to the Red Sox Hall of Fame. Tours start on the hour from 9am to 4pm (or 3 hr. before game time, whichever is earlier) daily, year-round. There are no tours on holidays or before day games. Admission is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, and $8 for children under 15.
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