Fun night at Fenway comes with the job
Rockies backup catcher Dustin Garneau was standing in the cramped and musty visitors’ clubhouse at Fenway Park late Thursday.
He had smashed a two-run homer off the light tower above the Green Monster, the baseball bouncing back onto the outfield grass. It was Garneau’s first homer of the season and it helped the Rockies beat the mighty Red Sox 8-2.
I asked Garneau if he had fulfilled a dream by hitting a homer at Fenway.
“Absolutely, every kid dreams about it,” he said, his smile wide and infectious. “You stack whatever you can in left field and pretend it’s the Monster out there when you play Wiffle Ball or whatever. So to do it out here tonight was pretty cool. I will never forget that.”
Thursday’s game was just one of 162 this season. Toss in spring training, including 31 Cactus League games, early morning flights and my sketchy hotel in south Boston and it all starts to become a blur.
But then along comes one of those magical nights that reminds you why baseball is such a wonderful, timeless game.
Thursday was one of those. Fenway Park, packed as always, was alive with passionate Red Sox fans, paying attention to each pitch. A brilliant sunset bathed nearby downtown in an orange glow and gave Fenway a timeless feel.
The Rockies, so overmatched by the Red Sox in the first two games of the series, got off the mat to win an important game. Jon Gray, who represents the club’s future, was brilliant, pitching a careerhigh 7L innings, allowing five hits and two runs. He thrived in the raucous environment, where even the new-age video boards are outlined in vintage Fenway green.
“It’s definitely a tough environment, it really is,” Gray said. “But for me personally, I think it makes me pitch better. There’s more aggressiveness in the game. You don’t want to have a rough one here, that’s for sure. It definitely made me sharper.”
The 24-year-old right-hander had given up a home run to David Ortiz in the first inning, a blast that seemed to foretell doom for the Rockies. But Gray grew up before our eyes and gained a new level of confidence.
“I’m extremely proud,” Gray said. “What makes me feel the best about it is being able to make an adjustment on the fly early. That’s something I used to not be able to do.”
The excitement and joy in Gray’s voice, the smile on Garneau’s face and the atmosphere at Fenway Park were all reminders of why I love baseball so much.
In my nearly 18 years at The Denver Post, I’ve covered two major beats — the Broncos and the Rockies. I’ve been to 10 Super Bowls and I’ve seen the Broncos win three times. Yet when people ask me which team I’ve enjoyed covering more, I always say the Rockies. The questioner usually is shocked.
“Rockies over Broncos, are you kidding me?”
It’s hard to explain. Football is frenetic and powerful and action-packed. It’s excitement and violence and pageantry. It’s perfect for TV. I get that. There are times when I love it too.
But baseball is a summerlong love affair, with ups and down and ebbs and flows. Games can be long and even tedious, but for real fans, following a team is a wonderful investment of heart.
I’m sure there are plenty of folks who don’t get it. That’s fine.
Those who do get it will surely understand why I’m gushing about one Thursday night at Fenway Park.
I really do have a wonderful job, even if I need a reminder
now and again.