There are few things that HotFatGuys love to do more than watch baseball and drink beer.
I remember as a kid going to Sox games with my dad in the 80’s and being able to watch Clemens pitch. It was amazing, every time I walked out of that tunnel and saw the field it gave me chills, it still does actually.
What the HELL IS THIS?
The best part was… we could afford it. We didn’t have much money but this was before 2004, before Red Sox Nation, before any of that. There we’re no “Pink Hats” , if you were at a Sox game in the 80’s it was because you loved the team and the game.
The night that Roger stuck out 20 Seatlle Mariners (04/26/86) the attendance was 13,414 according to baseballreference.com. If you watch the replay of the game on ESPN classic the park was empty. People just didn’t turn out for games against shitty teams. A box seat to that game ran you $9.00.
The Sox had a good team that year too, it’s not like this game was an anomoly. They won 95 games, the AL east pennant and well… we all know what happend in the 86′ World Series.
Boston Baseball has changed quite a bit though in 23 years…
It all started May 15th, 2003, Pedro was pitching against Texas and the Red Sox sold out Fenway Park.
We must remember that this was NOT an everyday thing, even in 2003. Pedro was Pedro, pitching 6 innings of shutout ball. Nomar went 2-3 and drove in 3 runs, the Sox won 12-3. The attendance that night, 33,801.
The Sox kept winning and kept selling out Fenway Park, last night’s 6-1 win over the Marlins marks the 500th straight sellout of Fenway park. The Sox are an MLB best 327-173 over that time. 2 World Series titles and a new ownership group will do that for you.
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By the numbers |
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| The Red Sox have sold out 500 consecutive regular-season games. A look at Boston’s numbers at Fenway during the milestone sellouts. | |
| Attendance | 17,997,305 |
| Record | 327-173 |
| Saves | 132 |
| Innings pitched | 4547 |
| Runs allowed | 2,314 |
| ERA | 4.20 |
| Strikeouts | 3,456 |
| Walks | 1,481 |
| Pitches thrown by Red Sox | 73,480 |
| Batting average | 0.295 |
| On-Base percentage | 0.374 |
| Slugging percentage | 0.48 |
| Runs scored | 2,973 |
| Hits | 5,047 |
| Doubles | 1,251 |
| Triples | 89 |
| Home runs | 578 |
| RBIs | 2,839 |
Courtesy of MLB.com
The 1 problem with all this is….
You can’t go to a game anymore.
Red Sox tickets are near impossible to get. A box seat to see the Red Sox play Seattle in 2 weeks, $237 on StubHub.com… each. Beers are hovering around the $8-$9 range… each.
You have to enter an online raffle and “win” the opportunity to purchase certain seats and games now.
The solution? I present to you, the Can-Am League…
Last night I went to Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, MA to see the Brockton Rox play the Quebec Capitales. My buddy Jack & I arrived to the stadium and about 6:15 paid $5 to park and walked right up to the ticket window.
Jack had a buy one, get one coupon he had received in the mail so I purchased our 2 tickets to the game for $9.50 total. Once we got into the park we bought (2) 22oz draft beers for $9.50 and walked around. There was a “Guest Service” desk where a Rox intern asked me to fill out a short survey and gave me 2 vouchers for free tickets.
About 15 minutes later another buddy “Ed the Fed” showed up and I ran him down one of the free ticket coupons. He traded it in for a ticket and met us for a beer. So at this point 3 of us have gotten into the game for $9.50 total.
We head over to a concession stand and have a decent Steak and Cheese and 2 more beers, the tab for 2 steak and cheese subs and (2) 22oz beers… $21.00.
Then it’s off to the Beer Garden.
View from the Beer Garden.
The Beer Garden is just beyond the right field wall, great view of the field and your own bartender and port-o-johns.
There are some barstools and tables to sit at and a large tent if it rains. The Rox jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and the bartender Pete was keeping us well lubricated.
It was a great night,allot of laughs. Brockton, MA has some interesting characters I tell you. I think I spent $40 total and left the game with a nice buzz .
Sadly the Rox bullpen couldn’t hold on and they lost 4-3 in 10.
I can’t recommend this enough though, they have some type of activity or promotion almost every night. Tons of stuff for kids and “Thirsty Thursdays”, Mayflower Golden ale for $2. Check out the website: http://www.brocktonrox.com/ .
It may not be Fenway, but if you want to watch some good baseball and are looking for an inexpensive night out with the boys this is a great time!
Punching Out (for now)…
-Biff
