Don't do it!
That's all I have to say about efforts to get the Boston Red Sox a new stadium. Walking into Fenway Park is like stepping back in time. Although it might be a few years down the road, any replacement for Fenway just won't be the same.
The appeal of new parks like Baltimore's Camden Yards and Cleveland's Jacobs Field is that they are just like old parks. Well, Fenway is an old park, and recent modifications have included the luxury boxes that team owners crave. Leave Fenway as it is. It and Chicago's Wrigley Field are all that's left of the old stadiums.
During the recent three-game stand in Boston, some Phillies players spoke of Fenway Park with reverence. Rico Brogna, who grew up in Massachusetts, hit a shot off the top of the Green Monster, above the 379-foot sign in left-center field, that would have cleared the fence in any other park.
"It was kind of a thrill because I was a Red Sox fan growing up, and I always wanted to hit a ball off the Green Monster," Brogna said, adding that he did it once before in 1997. "I used to pretend that there was a Green Monster in my back yard when I was playing Wiffle ball and all of that stuff, so it was kind of neat."
Left fielder Ron Gant, who has played his entire career in the National League, had to learn the nuances of playing defense with a wall that is only 310 feet from the plate but 37 feet high.
"There's no justice until you see it in person — to walk out on the field and see that monster," Gant said. "To me, that's what baseball is all about — tradition."
Offensively, Gant had no trouble with the wall. He blasted two homers over it during the series and was particularly thrilled with the first one — his first at Fenway. He knew the ball was gone as soon as he hit it.
"It was one of those shots where I knew that I didn't have to run real hard," Gant chuckled.
Even the youngest member of the team appreciates tradition. Left-hander Randy Wolf, 22, has already pitched in the two oldest parks in baseball. He was lit up in Wrigley Field, but he got the benefit of abundant offense and strong defense to collect a win in Boston.
When asked to compare the parks, the lefty replied, "I like Fenway a lot more," to a chorus of laughs from the press corps.
"To have the opportunity to pitch in two stadiums with so much history is unbelievable," Wolf continued. "I was telling somebody just the other day that I was going to pitch on the same mound that Babe Ruth pitched on. Something like that is pretty overwhelming."
The St. Louis Cardinals come in for a three-game series on Aug. 9, 10 and 11, and it's the only chance Phillies fans will have to see Mark McGwire.
The Big Mac hit 70 homers last year, including four in Philadelphia, but the one time that I saw him play happened to be the same day that Curt Schilling struck him out three times. After that outing (April 26), a reporter asked the pitcher if he saved his best stuff for McGwire.
"Not intentionally," said Schilling. "I just tried to reach back and make some real good pitches."
McGwire noticed. For those who don't appreciate matchups featuring one of the game's top pitchers against one of the best power hitters, let the slugger explain.
"You look up (at the scoreboard) and see that (Schilling) is throwing ninety and ninety-one (mile-per-hour fastballs)," said McGwire. "I get up there, and he's throwing ninety-six, ninety-seven. When you face one of the best, I get pumped up, and I'm sure he gets pumped up. It's exciting."
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