BASEBALLPARKS.COM's Ten Must-See Parks

Fenway Park

With Tiger Stadium now out of the picture, "The Fens" stands alone as the oldest park in the Majors.  Built in 1912, this field has been the scene of many wonderful baseball moments (with the 2004 postseason being the most memorable for New Englanders) -- and of course countless disappointments for the Red Sox' faithful.  

WHERE THIS PARK IS LOCATED:  Fenway stands to the west of Boston's downtown area, at 4 Yawkey Way in the part of town known as "The Fens."  The Green Monster, by the way, backs to Lansdowne Street.  If you're traveling the Mass Turnpike, the Prudential exit is the closest to the park.

WHO PLAYS HERE:  The Red Sox have called this place home since 1912.

SPECIAL EVENTS WHICH HAVE OCCURRED HERE:  Gee, there have been lots, none bigger than the ALCS and World Series in 2004 when the Sox finally "reversed the curse" by coming back from a three-games-to-none hole against the Yankees, and then polishing off the Cardinals for the team's first World Series championship since 1918 ... Light-hitting Bucky Dent found the screen above the Green Monster in the Yankees-Red Sox one-game play-off in 1978 . . . Ted Williams, arguably the best player the Sox have ever had, homered here in the last at bat of his career.  The year was 1960, and it was the 521st of his career . . . Carl Yastrzemski, who won the Triple Crown playing here in 1967, collected his 3,000th hit at Fenway in 1979 . . . Probably the most memorable event, however, was Carlton Fisk's dramatic home run off the left-field foul pole in the 12th inning of Game Six of the 1975 World Series, only to see the Sox lose the Series to the Reds the following night.

WHY YOU MUST SEE THIS PARK:  It's tempting (and probably somewhat true) to say that I included this park in the "Ten Must-See" list because I wanted to avoid the rude e-mails from Red Sox fans that I've been receiving ever since I rated Fenway lower than Wrigley and Yankee Stadium in BASEBALLPARKS.COM's Best Pre-1990 Parks.  The more compelling reason, of course, is that this quirky bandbox has seen it all over the decades, and you should see it, too!

Most would tell you that Fenway's most unique feature is the Green Monster in left field.  I would counter that the park's intimacy is what is most noteworthy.  Regardless, this is definitely a must-see ballpark. 

Return to Must-See Parks page