The Yin and Yang of a Fenway Park visit in 2024
The place is either a shrine, a dump, or possibly a combination of both.
Today's exercise in Chinese philosophy incorporates the terms Yin and Yang into a view of the Boston Red Sox. I have always considered the term inseparable, contradictory opposites, with the Yin being the positive and the Yang the negative. A far more refined description can be found here.
In 2023, things stayed the same in how Red Sox Nation viewed all things Red Sox. The house divided most notably on the topic of Chaim Bloom but extended well beyond Bloom into individual players. The ups and downs of Tristan Casas and Rafael Devers, the failures of Corey Kluber and Trevor Story, and the spending habits of the ownership.
Now, the 2024 season is gearing up, and will those gears function smoothly, or will they spindle and mutilate like computer-punched cards from a bygone era? This is my look from a Yin/Yang perspective of what awaits in 2024.
The Product
The Yang
The 2023 presentation was like a souffle that flopped and flopped it did with a division last-place finish. The team was dreadful on pitching and defense but occasionally could muster the offense that Red Sox fans wholeheartedly embrace.
If anything could go wrong, it did. The occasional bright light was darkened by watching the team slide into a Mariana Trench of misery, especially noted by the inactivity at the trading deadline that sealed playoff hopes to the dustbin of baseball history.
The Texas Rangers proved that getting to the show can result in success, with several 100+ win teams just getting participation trophies. I firmly believe that the final nail in Bloom's performance coffin was his inactivity at that deadline. I wonder if Craig Breslow will make the same mistake.
The Yin
Could it get worse than 2023? I doubt it. Spending may be on the way and at historic levels. The team has spent the last few years with the Devers contract, Story's contract, and the signing of Masataka Yoshida, but they may do a Steve Cohen-type splurge. That may be hyperbole on my part.
The Red Sox's desperation in the pitching department is excellent news for free agents and their representatives. Do you spend $200 M for one or split it up among three? Boston also must deal with a new tax structure in Massachusetts that can influence free agent signings, adding to the cost.
The Red Sox's thirst for a power hitter is also on the table, with daily rumors about Shohei Ohtani, but will it materialize? This team needs a star power identity, and nothing is more prominent in the baseball universe than Ohtani.
The team also has young players on the way, and I am always cautious about pinning short and long-term success on the unproven at the MLB level. In a leap of faith - probably misdirected - I can sense the Red Sox's past success at churning out position players will continue.
Fenway could be an exciting place to see the Red Sox again and not check the schedule for a more compelling product to come to town. Those empty seats were a precursor for management.
The lyric Little Bandbox
The Yin
John Updike said it best: "Fenway Park, in Boston, is a lyric little bandbox of a ballpark." The park is ancient by baseball standards, and it is a Field of Dream trip into the past - a baseball shrine that the baseball faithful must visit.
The park is on the historic registry and is, along with Wrigley Field, the must-see trip to the past. For Fenway, it is where Babe Ruth and Ted Williams played. Where famous games were won (Carlton Fisk) or lost (Bucky Dent).
Management is not locked into the past and has constantly upgraded and expanded Fenway Park. Each year, it sees upgrades and changes to the footprint, with the latest being an expanded bleacher project and a new TV operation. The Red Sox have had a long-range plan for the park with an architectural firm—modernization and expansion without architectural character assignation.
The Yang
The park is a dump. I don't care how much green paint they smear all over it. The seating is atrocious, and the sight lines are even worse. My profile picture has me in the Monster Seats, which is the most expensive bleacher seat in all of baseball, and it is a bleacher seat.
The park's expansion is money-motivated, and the idea is to cram, and I do mean cram, a seat into every conceivable slot in the park. A park that even the famous King Rat of Boston Garden fame would ignore and stick to the third rail chances.
The place smells, but if you take the noxious Green Line, you will be immune since those ancient trolleys will anesthetize you to the Fenway Park odors.
I have not been to Fenway Park for a few years, but I go on road trips yearly to see them embarrass themselves elsewhere. I have visited almost every new stadium, and they put the lyric ballpark to shame. Only Oakland and Tampa are below Fenway on the dumpster fire list.
In the late 1950s, Tom Yawkey contemplated demolishing Fenway Park and going all in on a multi-purpose stadium whose primary goal was to entice an NFL team. That certainly would be an all-time stupid stadium decision. Since then, the idea of a replacement has occasionally surfaced, only to eventually and unfortunately die.
My first visit to the old ballyard was in 1953, and I am a (thankfully) former season ticket holder. If I wish to spend my money on a decrepit, worn, down old relic, I will look in the mirror and buy myself a cup of coffee.
The Expense
The Yin
An MLB game is only cheap if you find an excellent promotion or choose the nosebleed seats that I prefer. When I was broke, I bought the best seats and now, financially solvent, the worst seats.
Part of the "experience" is the food; with each park, you have a local twist. At Fenway, it is the lobstah roll washed down with a Sam Adams beer. The remainder is what you would expect at any ballpark, with hot dogs, peanuts, and soda topping the list.
Management has also created an urban garden on their roof to contribute to the food list of available items. Before the game, Jersey Street becomes an entertainment venue for ticket holders with various food and souvenir options, and expect to pay an uptick in prices. No different than a concert, movie, theater production, or an amusement/theme park.
There should be no sticker shock for a Fenway adventure, and taking public transportation or going to the less expensive parking lots within a 20-minute walk is advisable.
The Yang
The expense is exorbitant, and Fenway is one of the most expensive places to attend a game on the MLB landscape. If you have a limited budget and have children in tow, I suggest a trip to Worcester and the WooSox. Last season, the Boston squad had an inordinate amount of Worcester products surface. Major league dollars for minor league talent, like paying top dollar for Aerosmith, only to see a tribute band show up.
The pricing of food and beverages continues to spiral north rather than south. Inflationary pressures drive the cost, but even without those pressures, the prices move upwards along with the inevitable ticket increases. The food itself is either delightful, passable, or awful. Ranking-wise, it is middle of the pack.
Taking the "T" to Fenway Park has a particular risk assessment. The MBTA is having a wee bit of management difficulties addressing safety concerns. If you enjoy the possibility of a trolley collision, a train fire, a possible door decapitation, and then when the hell is this car moving, go for it. All of that has happened. Good luck, and walk or use Uber or Lyft.
If you limp into Boston from elsewhere, the city is one of the most expensive in the nation. Be prepared to pay accordingly for a hotel and dining. Boston is a great city, and so will your bill for visiting.