Royalty goes to Fenway Park on Patriot's Day in Boston on Jackie Robinson Day!

Sunday night after the Yankee game, the King drove Vincent Ascanio, Phil Butleman and I towards Boston. We stayed over in Vernon, Connecticut which is about 10 miles north of Hartford at Motel 6. By doing so, we were in position to get to Boston which was 90 miles away in time for their traditional Patriot's Day game which coincides with the running of the Boston Marathon.

We wound up parking the car on the street within walking distance of Fenway Park for free by a meter because it's a legal holiday in Massachusetts at 10AM which gave us plenty of time to make the first pitch which was threw at 11:05AM.

It's always a thrill to go to Fenway Park to see a game. For me, I've seen at least one every year since 1986. This was my 95th baseball game there.

As for our pal Vincent Ascanio this was his first time to the old ballyard. It was great to have the opportunity to show him the way there.

Upon arrival we stopped off outside the Green Monster by the left field gate where we saw our favorite street vendor, Sausage Connection which is run by Harry and his mother who were call affectionately call Mama. They were so happy to see us again. Mama told us she's 81 years young. She looked great. It's always a pleasure to see her. She doesn't work as often as she used to but she always tries to make Patriot's Day. We were grateful she did. Of course, we introduced Vincent to them. They treated us royally as they have for over the 25 + years we've known them. We all ordered steak tips which served as our breakfast on this day. They were delicious.

The King, Harry, Mama, Me & Vincent Ascanio

Once we got done, we headed inside. We wanted to make sure Vincent got to see the unique features of going to Fenway. He said he had a blast.

Green Monster 

Royal View from Section 24 at Fenway Park

As for the game we saw, in honor of Jackie Robinson Day all the players wore the number 42. With that being said, it was hard to differentiate who was who. The umpires also wore number 42.

The Red Sox were playing the Tampa Bay Rays. Both starters, Jeremy Hellickson of the Rays and Ryan Dempster of the Red Sox both threw seven strong innings. The Red Sox lead at that point, 2-1. The Rays tied the game at two in the top of the ninth inning. In the bottom of the ninth, the Red Sox got a game winning double off the Green Monster from Mike Napoli as Dustin Pedroia raced around the bases all the way from first with one out to give the Red Sox a dramatic 3-2 victory at 2:07PM. Since we positioned ourselves out near the left field gate we were able to get out of the ballpark before many of the 37,449 that we were on hand. We stopped by Harry & Mama to say one last goodbye.

We then headed back to the car. In the process, we got to take a peak at the Boston Marathon which runs nearby. We had to go underground to get to the other side of the street so we could get back to the car. Thankfully we did so with relative ease unlike back in the day when we ran into wall to wall people trying to do so.

Stay tuned for a special post that will recap the unexpected turn of events that occurred shortly thereafter. A sad but unforgettable day indeed.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty enjoys another Patriot's Day at Fenway Park!

Patriot's Day at Fenway Park in its 100th Anniversary season  

After we saw Sunday night baseball on ESPN live at Yankee Stadium, the King drove us towards Boston so we could be in position to see the traditional Patriot's Day baseball game at Fenway Park during its 100th Anniversary season Monday morning.

When the schedule came out back in September, we looked to see who the Red Sox were playing on the third Monday in April which is a legal holiday in the state of Massachusetts and Maine. Besides the Red Sox playing baseball in the morning, the Boston Marathon takes place every year on that day.

This time the Red Sox were hosting the Tampa Bay Rays. In addition, the Yankees were slated to play the Minnesota Twins in the Bronx that night.

We instantly decided that we'll be spending our seventh Patriot's Day together in Boston. We were joined by our pal Phil Butleman who decided to come with us.

For me, it was my 94th baseball game I've seen live at Fenway. That's at least one every year there since 1986. That tradition continues as well.

In addition, we were blessed with summer like weather that day. It was very warm with the temperature reaching the upper 80's. It was great weather for baseball but not for those who were planning to run in the marathon. As a result, some people were forced to pull out of the race.

On the way there, we spent the night at Super 8 in Sturbridge, Massachusetts which put us an hour or so away from Boston. We checked in around 2:30AM. We got some sleep then we continued on our way to Fenway. We arrived with plenty of time to spare.

Upon arrival, we stopped off at our favorite street vendor, Sausage Connection. We said hello to the special people we know, Harry and his mother who was also there. It was too early to have something to eat since we had some breakfast at the hotel. After the game, we saw them and we got some food and ate it on our way back to the car. Just like the Green Monster at Fenway Park, seeing them is always part of the royal experience.

In between we went inside to see some baseball, the Red Sox wound up falling to the Rays by a score of 1-0. The lone run came courtesy of a walk by Red Sox' starter Josh Bard who issued seven walks in all while striking out seven batters over six and two thirds innings of work. James Shields of the Rays worked into the ninth inning shutting down the Red Sox' offense to help preserve the victory for the Rays as Fernando Rodney picked up the save by getting the last two outs to seal the deal.

After the game, we caught a glimpse of the Boston Marathon which runs a few blocks away from Fenway Park as we made our way back to the car so we could head back to the Bronx to see the Yankees play the Twins.

Stay tuned for that and the rest of my week in review.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman