Arizona Diamondbacks – Fenway Park held in high esteem

The Arizona Diamondbacks displayed a strong appreciation for playing in Fenway Park

Not much has gone right for the Arizona Diamondbacks this season. Playing in some of the historic venues in America tends to ease the pain of a losing season.

Few venues in America can spark the passion, history and tradition of the game. Sites like Lambeau Field, Cameron Indoor Stadium, Madison Square Garden, and great college football stadiums tend to work on the imagination.

In the major leagues, two are clearly set apart.

Each year, the Arizona Diamondbacks have three games at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The structure on the corner of Clark and Addison dates to 1914. During this past weekend, they completed in three games against the Red Sox in venerable Fenway Park.

For Wrigley, the ivy-walled structure is nestled neatly in a neatly kept neighborhood and the ball park remains the center of that universe. Regarding Fenway, a walk along tree-lined Commonwealth Avenue from Faneuil Hall or a transit stop at Kenmore Square provides the logistics.

More with the Red Sox than the Cubs, great players have proceeded the current band, and the ghosts of Ted Williams, Jim Rice, Carl Yastrzemski, Johnny Pesky, Carlton Fisk, among others, have reached beyond iconic stature. The Green Monster, uneven corners, the short left field and only 302 feet to the right foul pole have all romanticized the venue.

“When you’re getting ready for a game, concerned with your pre-game routine and then the game itself, it’s just another game,” said Paul Goldschmidt before Monday’s game at home against the New York Mets. “You still know you’re playing in an historic place, but it probably won’t hit me until I think about it down the road.”

With venues like Fenway and Wrigley, players do have an appreciation of the history of the game. There is also an admiration of players who came before. The sense of history and ghosts all permeate the grounds.

Then, there’s the physical realities of playing in an aged, uneven structure. The stands are much closer, and players tend to hear every word blasted their way.