Fenway Park

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While it is not the largest baseball stadium in the United States (as a matter of fact, it is one of the smallest in all of Major League Baseball) it does hold the title as the oldest stadium still in use. Located in the Fenway neighborhood, this is where the stadium drew its name. The first Major League Baseball game was played in 1912 with Boston taking on New York. Unlike many of today's stadiums, the name doesn't draw from a corporate sponsor, and the name has not changed. It was built into the middle of the neighborhood, so there was not enough room to extend the outfield walls as far as some of the other stadiums in baseball. As a result, some of the dimensions of the ballparks walls are completely unique. Wrigley Field in Chicago is the only other stadium in the Major Leagues that has been in use for over 100 years. Fenway Park opened the same day as the Titanic's sinking.

Dimensions

The dimensions of Fenway Park are unlike any other stadium in the Major Leagues. From the home plate to the right field pole, it is only 92 meter. This is incredibly short for a Major League stadium, and is accentuated by the fact that the right field wall is only about three feet high. This is a major contrast to left field. In left field, it is only 94 meter down the line (which is still short), but the outfield is home to the “Green Monster” which is over 11 meter tall. As a result, it can be difficult to get the necessary height on the baseball to hit a home run to left field. Seats were added on top of this wall in 2003. The deepest part of the stadium is to the right of center field, which is 128 meter deep.

Fenway sunset #2 - Fenway
Park — Fenway sunset #2 - Fenway Park. Photo by slack12

Facts and Figures

Fenway Park, as stated, is among the smallest in Major League Baseball. The capacity differs slightly between day-games and night-games but usually seats between 37,000 to 38,000 depending on standing room. It has not been a problem to fill the seats of the stadium as there were a total of 794 regular season games that sold out between 1967 and 2013. It wasn't until the first month of the 2013 season that the streak was finally snapped. Improvements have been made to the stadium that include a video board in center field as well as other modern scoreboards around the stadium so fans can get a better view of the game. This is because older stadiums had many obstructed view seats, and Fenway is no exception. All of the seats are green at Fenway Park with the exception of one red one. This is because in 1946, legend Ted Williams (Wikipedia Article)

hit a home run to this seat at over 152 meter, so the seat was painted red to honor his legacy. Another notable aspect of Fenway Park is the right field pole known as Pesky Pole. Since it is only 91 meter away from the plate, it can be hard to keep the ball fair at this part of the park for a home run and was named after Johnny Pesky, who hit multiple home runs to this area.

2011 Fenway Park, Boston - Fenway
Park — 2011 Fenway Park, Boston - Fenway Park. Photo by Mike Burton

Similar Landmarks

Cask 'n Flagon, a landmark bar for game-day beers and bites.

Mothers Rest Park, located one mile east of Fenway Park.

Boston Hotel Buckminster, one of the most notable hotels in the area, less than a mile north of the stadium.

Prudential Center, a skyscraper two miles east of Fenway Park featuring a mall and a skywalk.

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Author: koreydbeckett. Last updated: Jan 05, 2015

Fenway Park

Stadium in Boston, United States

Fenway Park

Dimensions

Facts and Figures

Similar Landmarks

Pictures of Fenway Park

Fenway Park: Report errors or wrong information