It's Fenway vs. Wrigley in battle of ultimate ballparks

Lets start our journey with Fenway Park, situated on 4 Yawkey Way Boston, Mass. This park is the oldest standing ballpark in the Major Leagues, opening its doors to the Boston Red Sox since April 20, 1912. Over the years this stadium has become larger than life, and inside its hallowed walls many pieces of the stadium itself have become folklore.

There's the lone red seat, which signifies the longest homerun ever hit inside the park by Ted Williams on June 9, 1946. The blast measured a whopping 502 feet from home plate, and could have traveled a considerable distance more if a fan's head had not been in the way during the ball's flight. So from now on the fan's seat where the ball landed is red in honor of this historic feat.

Then there are Pesky's Pole in right field and Fisk's foul pole in left field, which was part of one of the most endearing postseason moments in history. In Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, Carlton Fisk strode to the plate in the bottom of the 12th inning with the score tied 6-6. Fisk hit a ball off Reds pitcher Pat Darcy that seemed headed foul down the left field line. Fisk, instead of running toward first base, danced down the first base line trying to direct the ball fair. The ball ricocheted off the foul pole, winning the game for the hometown Red Sox. Unfortunately there was no late-inning magic for the Red Sox in Game 7, which Cincinnati won.

Bad luck is definitely one of the mystiques of both stadiums -- and teams for that part. From 1918 to 2003, Fenway never housed a World Champion. Now the stadium can lay claim to two champions in recent years.

Fenway has seen many great ball players play within its hallowed walls, Carl Yastrzemski, Ted Williams just to name a few.

Yet players aside, the stadium itself has a certain air about it. The old school flavor of baseball is all around you in this park. The insanely weird dimensions of this park, from the Green Monster in left to "Williamsburg" in right field, this park has names for about anything. That is the charm that Fenway has, along with some of the most die-hard fans in the world. Red Sox fans are a different breed. The city itself bleeds Sox colors, and the baseball off-season is like a personal hell for each and every New Englander. Every April is looked at as almost a national holiday. Opening day becomes a day that schools and businesses close and bars stay open a few hours past last call just to celebrate the upcoming season.

Now what I witnessed at Fenway was nothing short of a near religious experience, to not only set foot inside the oldest park in all of professional sports but to watch a game in deep center field and see and touch the Green Monster. The fans in center field were tremendous. They were full of jokes; witty banter and beer -- yes, lots and lots of beer. In fact I still remember what one fan sitting behind my friend Kevin Borth said. When the topic got to beer after we had ordered what could have been our fifth or sixth tall frosty beverage, was the price for one of these sudsy treats. They were a whopping $6 apiece, and this one fan said, "Why do you think my son was in diapers till he was 18!" This being a direct reference to him using his son's diaper bag to smuggle beers from home in. I think that in its own right is hilarious and ingenious.

Wrigley Field: the friendly confines nestled in Northern Chicago just off Lake Michigan at 1060 W. Addison St. Chicago, Ill. Wrigley opened its doors almost two years to the day after Fenway on April 23, 1914. At the time it opened it was known as Weeghman Park. It was not named Wrigley until the gum magnate bought the team and then proceeded to name the ballpark after himself.

Construction of the park was a measly $250,000, while Fenway cost $650,000 -- a steal if you ask me. Now Fenway has its cute names for every weird pole or story, which is neat, but Wrigley Field has its own traditions. One is the white flag, which flies over Wrigley on the scoreboard after a glorious Cubbies victory, and a blue flag in defeat. Also the scoreboard in center field is completely devoid of any modern accoutrements; it is completely hand turned. The first thing one sees upon entering the friendly confines is how green it is -- this was one thing that struck me when I finally got to my seat. Not only is the grass superiorly green, but so is one of Wrigley's most famous inhabitants -- the ivy that lines the outfield wall. Yes, the outfield is walls not a fence as in most ballparks; under the ivy are bricks lining the entire wall.

Wrigley is also famous for many years for never hosting a night game. Lights were never added at Wrigley until Aug. 8, 1988, which was not a full game as it got rained out after 3 1ž2 innings. So officially the first night game was played Aug. 9, 1988.

The seventh-inning stretch is also a Wrigley staple; beloved sportscaster Harry Caray started the tradition of singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame during the middle of the seventh inning. Now that he has passed on, celebrities such as Ozzy Osbourne and Billy Corgan come to Wrigley to sing the song. At the end of the song Harry added a now-famous catch phrase, "Let's get some runs!" Also in the song the lyric goes, "Root, root for the home team." It is sung at Wrigley as "Root root for the Cubbies."

The neighborhood that surrounds Wrigley is aptly named Wrigleyville and is a certain mecca for any Cubs fan. Fans will mill around the stadium wandering into and out of various bars and restaurants in the neighborhood. You can even visit Fire Engine 78 just across from the left field wall on Waveland Avenue.

One of my own favorite traditions at Wrigley is when an opposing team member hits a home run. At Wrigley, the fans throw it back onto the field. If this is not done, you or the person catching this ball will be severely booed until you do so.

Now, my seats at Wrigley were awesome, much better than the ones we (me and the wife) had at Fenway. The fans were not as friendly as the ones at Fenway. They were nice, but I think we were sitting in the non-locals section of the park. The beer was just as good if not better, Old Style in the can at Wrigley is definitely like nectar from the gods of baseball. The atmosphere was electric at Wrigley as the Cubs had just moved into first place in the Central Division days before we arrived, and a huge roar and cheer went up over the crowd when the scorekeeper turned over the final score of the Milwaukee Brewers game. (The Brewers were in first place almost the entire season until the Cubs overtook them, eventually winning the Central Division.)

So having accomplished one huge goal in life, to see not only the Red Sox at Fenway Park and the Cubs at Wrigley, I would say it is really difficult to pick which stadium was better. They are both dipped in history and folklore. So to find the ultimate answer one would have to use a scientific method to determine which park is better. So the method I will be using is, "If my buddy got a free ticket to a game at Wrigley and my mother got one at Fenway which one game would I go to?" Well, sorry, Mom, I would go to Wrigley -- the best place on Earth to watch a baseball game.

So there you go, Red Sox fans. Fenway is a great park to have but it comes in second in a close race for best ballpark in America. Plus Ernie Banks, Billie Williams, Fergie Jenkins, Ryne Sandberg and the list goes on and on. So Go Cubs Go and let's get some runs!

MS
MS