It’s a day everyone involved in the Cape Cod Baseball League anticipates: Fenway Day.
Whether you are a coach, a player, a parent or even an intern of a Cape League team, Fenway Park means more than just another ballpark.
In the heart of Boston, there’s a two-level stadium that has seen more faces, has more scars, and felt more triumph than we will ever experience in our entire life.
From “The Sultan of Swat” and “The Splendid Splinter” to “Big Papi” and “El Grande”, the game has changed, but Fenway hasn’t.
In right field, there’s Pesky Pole piled with autographs of fans who have added their names to Fenway’s history. On the other end, the left field foul pole standing over 310 feet off the ground guarded by a monster who would scare any hitter in its path.
Fenway isn’t just a stadium, it’s the holy grail of America’s pastime.
From the second I took on the role as Falmouth Commodores Web Reporter, I knew one day would stand out from the rest. That realization came nine months ago.
While reporting on the ‘Dores at Fenway Park is great. There’s one thing I enjoyed the most about the workout, the wide grins on the player’s faces.
“It’s insane,” Commodores pitcher Nick Nastrini said about his first impressions of Fenway Park. “Just knowing the people that have been here before me, all of the greats, it just a really cool experience.”
And for some ‘Dores, the Red Sox were there favorite team growing up.
“I’ve grown up a Red Sox fan literally my whole entire life,” Falmouth third baseman Steven Moretto said. “My dream for my whole entire life has been to play for the Red Sox. So basically I get to be playing for the Red Sox because I get to take BP and ground balls at Fenway. I hope there are a lot of pictures.”
“It’s not very often you get to come to such a historic place, like Fenway,” Commodores middle infielder Hayden Cantrelle said. “Being such a big fan of the game, it doesn’t get old.”
Even for Yankees fans, the history of Fenway is appreciated.
“No matter where you go, like here in Boston where the stadium is 100-years-old, you just get the opportunity to go around and play with some of the best players in the country,” Falmouth two-way player and life-long Yankee fan Tyler Ras said.
And while scouts are there to look at the players, they still looked to have as much fun as they can.
“The goal is to get it over the monster,” Ras said about his approach at batting practice.
The switch-hitter from Alabama stepped into the box and soared the ball into the exclusive seats on top of the green monster.
Before the batting practice, Commodores outfielder Baron Radcliff wasn’t sure whether he would hit a ball over the gigantic wall in left, since he bats from the right side of the box.
The left-handed hitter not only put one ball over, but two.
While Fenway Day is supposed to show off the future of Major League Baseball in front of the top scouts in the nation, it felt like a time machine back into the past when these college stars were playing little league for the fun of the game.
“It’s like seeing them be 12-years-old again,” Commodores manager Jeff Trundy said. “It’s a big day for them.”
It’s a simple as having fun. The origin of the GAME of baseball.
Our media team had fun covering the ‘Dores at Fenway. The MLB scouts had fun watching the future of the game. The players turned back the clock to their days back at the park with their elementary school classmates and the coaches and parents got a glimpse at their past.
All of this is now history. The 2019 Falmouth Commodores are a part of Fenway Park’s story.
While the 107-year-old stadium gets some new padding, a fresh paint-job covering the signatures on the Pesky Pole and maybe a digital screen to modernize the stadium a tad, there’s one thing that no one will ever be able to replace: the people who walked down the halls of Fenway Park.
Thank you to the Cape Cod Baseball League and Boston Red Sox for the amazing event.
Thank you to the Commodores Director of Broadcast and Media Interns Rob Kauffman for selecting me to cover the ‘Dores this season and giving me an opportunity to write my way into Fenway’s history.
Thank you to David, Danny, Haylee, Katie, Meghan, Sevrin and Toni for all your amazing work yesterday at Fenway.
Finally, thank you, the reader, for letting me report all of the Commodores news to you. Without you I wouldn’t get to do what I love.
Until we meet again Fenway.
Sincerely,
Maxwell Trink
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Maxwell Trink can be reached at mht42@miami.edu. Follow him on twitter @MaxwellTrink.
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