View of Fenway Park from atop ‘‘the Green Monster.’’
“The Yankees may have always had the better players, but the Red Sox always had the better writers.”
— Dan Riley, in The Red Sox Reader
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“That moment, when you first lay eyes on that field — The Monster, the triangle, the scoreboard, the light tower Big Mac bashed, the left-field grass where Ted (Williams) once roamed — it all defines to me why baseball is such a magical game”
― Jayson Stark (born 1951), American sports writer
Center field bleachers at Fenway Park during a 2014 game.
— Photo by Vegasjon
“[Baseball] breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall all alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.”
— A. Bartlett Giamatti (1938-1989), a lifelong Red Sox fan who served as president of Yale and baseball commissioner
1917 map of Fenway Park.
1919 rally at Fenway for Irish independence from Britain. Boston had a huge concentration of Irish-Americans.
Central Artery is in red.
1920 plan for the Central Artery.
Adapted from Robert Whitcomb’s May 22 “Digital Diary,’’ in GoLocal24.com
I drove up through Boston to Medford, Mass., on May 22 to have dinner with a niece, her husband and their son (8) and daughter (11). I did so with some trepidation because Boston and its inner suburbs have such tangles of streets and bad/confusing/nonexistent signage that GPS often can’t handle it in any coherent way and maps on paper tend to be outdated. And indeed, it was tough to find the restaurant on the Fellsway.
“Boston, Boston, Boston/Oh what a town to get lost in” as an old song goes. I lived in the city in 1970-71, and had jobs there in the ‘60s, and it doesn’t seem to be less confusing than it was back then, whatever the grandeur and promises of the Big Dig projects.
Greater Bostonians, like Rhode Islanders, are infamous for bad driving – not signaling, accelerating without warning on the right, swerving and so on. But the former are worse because they commit these sins at higher speeds.
Having dinner with children, especially bright, engaging ones like the ones mentioned above is fun, but it’s always good to bring games and reading materials for them. Few things are as boring to children as being trapped at a table for a long meal with adults while impatiently awaiting dessert.
At Fenway: Robert Whitcomb (left), the Sox’ Wally mascot and Boston publisher David Jacobs before the May 20 Mariners game.
However confusing Boston is, I tip my hat to the efficiency of the Boston Red Sox. Boston’s biggest weekly paper, The Boston Guardian, on whose little board I sit, was being honored, with other community organizations, in a pre-game event on the field at Fenway Park, on May 20, just before a game with the Seattle Mariners. (Boston won.) I’ve rarely seen such smooth coordination in moving people (including me) onto and off the field for the photo ops, etc.
It was comforting – sort of -- to see the police snipers on the roof of the stadium, ready for a terrorist attack or just another deranged young man with an assault rifle he just bought at Walmart. “Aren’t you happy they’re up there?’’ one of the photographers said.
I had to head back to Providence before the game ended and so had to leave the fancy lounge in the nose-bleed section above Fenway’s stands before Sox and Boston Globe principal owner John Henry showed up and played the guitar for our little group. He’s become my hero for supporting bookstores.
Boston can be beautiful, if exasperating! I fondly remember from the ‘60s running around the still somewhat Dickensian “Hub’’ on job errands, many of which I’d volunteer for to get out of stuffy offices, first in a shipping company on the waterfront and then at the gritty tabloid newspaper the Record American. I’d go to the tiny local stock exchange to pick up the day’s trading records or to the glorious State House to get something from a politician or a bureaucrat and nip into an ice-cream shop (or, as they were often spelled then, shoppe) for myself and into tobacco stores to buy cigarettes and cigars for my older co-workers. Occasionally I’d pick up a bag of peanuts to feed the rapacious pigeons on the Boston Common.
I did most of this walking, which is far and away the best way to get around the city.
BOSTON
From our friends at The New England Council (newenglandcouncil.com)
As our region and our nation continue to grapple with the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, The New England Council is using our blog as a platform to highlight some of the incredible work our members have undertaken to respond to the outbreak. Each day, we’ll post a round-up of updates on some of the initiatives underway among Council members throughout the region. We are also sharing these updates via our social media, and encourage our members to share with us any information on their efforts so that we can be sure to include them in these daily round-ups.
You can find all the Council’s information and resources related to the crisis in the special COVID-19 section of our Web site. This includes our COVID-19 Virtual Events Calendar, which provides information on upcoming COVID-19 Congressional town halls and webinars presented by NEC members, as well as our newly-released Federal Agency COVID-19 Guidance for Businesses page.
Here is the latest (May 1) roundup:
Medical Response
Amgen Testing Potential COVID-19 Treatment – Amgen is testing its psoriasis drug, Otezla, as a potential treatment for COVID-19’s inflammatory symptoms. The biotechnology company is also partnering with other industry leaders to develop antibody treatments targeting the virus. CNBC reports.
New Balance Repairs 50,000 Face Masks for Boston Hospitals – After New Balance halted shoe production to supply hospitals with personal protective equipment, the manufacturer was able to salvage 50,000 masks that had been damaged for Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The company was able to deliver the repaired and fully-functional masks to hospital staff in under a week. WCVB5 has more.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Sees Increase in Telehealth Visits – Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) has seen a hundredfold increase in users opting for telehealth medical appointments, from 5,000 to over half a million visits over the last six weeks. Due to the rapid growth of virtual appointments and popularity of the option, BCBSMA has certified almost 400 new providers to keep pace with increasing demand. Read more from WBUR.
Economic/Business Continuity Response
NEC Members Selected for Massachusetts Reopening Advisory Board – Executives from several NEC members, including Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Fidelity Investments, General Dynamics, and Massachusetts General Hospital, have been chosen by governor Charlie Baker (R-MA) to join the state’s Reopening Advisory Board. Composed of business and municipal government leaders, the 17-member board will advise Governor Baker on strategies for reopening the state’s economy in phases based on public health and safety data. Read more in the Worcester Business Journal.
CIBC Launches Online Hub for Financial Advice – CIBC has launched a new online resource center to provide financial information for its clients. Advice for Today delivers insights on personal finance resources, advice for families and individuals on government and market changes, and more. Newswire has more.
Citizens Bank Issues Grants to Small Businesses – 32 small businesses received grants from Citizens Bank to offset operating costs and revenue losses from the pandemic. The businesses, across different industries and the state, all received $15,000 from the bank as part of its $5 million commitment to small business support. Read more in MassLive
Community Response
Boston University Opens Campus Housing to Pine Street Inn Employees – Boston University is offering its now-vacant student housing to employees from Pine Street Inn as they isolate from their families and work long hours serving the homeless population in the city. The buildings offered by the university can house 75 shelter staffers as they work, while accommodating their shifts and reducing commutes. BU Today has more.
Red Sox Establish Fund for Food-Insecure Families – The Boston Red Sox have launched a new initiative, the Red Sox Foundation Emergency Hardship Fund, to aid families experiencing food insecurity by providing grocery vendor gift cards. The fund was established by a $300,000 donation from the Red Sox community and adds to previous donation from the team to causes such as educational relief. More from The Boston Globe
Stay tuned for more updates each day, and follow us on Twitter for more frequent updates on how Council members are contributing to the response to this global health crisis.12/19/2019 | READ PRESS RELEASE
Rendering of Polar Park.
From The New England Council (newenglandcouncil.com):
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and the Pawtucket Red Sox have announced a partnership to advance ballpark technology once the team moves to Worcester, in 2021. This partnership will provide the new Polar Park in Worcester with the latest technology.
WPI students will work on projects to modernize the game experience, such as mobile apps for ordering food, technology to assist with finding parking, or special seating for those with sensory challenges. The partnership will also make the school the team’s official academic technology advisor through the 2023 baseball season.
The president of WPI, Laurie Leshin, commented, “As Worcester’s hometown technological university, WPI shares the club’s vision and opportunity for Polar Park: to create a versatile regional sports venue that combines a traditional ballpark environment with modern, smart, and connect amenities.”
Larry Lucchino, principal owner and chairman of the Pawtucket Red Sox, said, “One of the many appealing assets in Worcester is WPI, a world-class technology leader. . . We have long sought this collaboration to help this ballpark be innovative as well as friendly and beautiful. We look forward to WPI’s participation on the key technology fronts.’
The Huntington Avenue American League Baseball Grounds in Boston, home of the Red Sox in 1901-11. They moved to the newly built Fenway Park in 1912. The first perfect game in the modern era was thrown here by Cy Young, in 1904. Oh yes, the Red Sox were then owned by the son of the publisher of The Boston Globe.
— Thanks to our Boston Guardian colleague David Jacobs for forwarding this.
From The New England Council (newenglandcouncil.com)
The Boston Red Sox have announced a new casino partnership with MGM Resorts International. This new deal will make MGM Resorts the official and exclusive resort casino of the baseball club.
This deal follows a multi-year partnership announced late last year between MGM Resorts and Major League Baseball. Fans will notice the new collaboration around the ballpark, including MGM’s roaring lion’s head logo on the Green Monster at Fenway Park, as well as behind home plate. Additionally, the Red Sox’s annual Winter Weekend will be hosted in Springfield at the MGM Springfield casino.
Sam Kennedy, president and CEO of the Red Sox, said, “This is such a natural partnership for our two brands. MGM has set the standard in the hospitality and entertainment industry and their recent expansion into the Commonwealth makes them a clear partner. We are thrilled to welcome them to the Red Sox family and look forward to a long collaboration.”
It's remarkable how long it takes to get things done in Rhode Island, such as fixing a bridge or building a long-needed medical building on North Main Street near Miriam Hospital that would revitalize that part of Providence. Years and years. But when there are powerful interests involved, such as those who want to put up a baseball stadium in downtown Providence for the Boston Red Sox farm team now based in Pawtucket then things move with lightning speed (and mostly in darkness).
"Down the Drain (sublimated metal with float backing), copyright BOBBY BAKER PHOTOGRAPHY
The plan to put up a stadium for the Red Sox farm team now known as the Pawtucket Red Sox on redevelopment land in the middle of Providence makes n0 economic sense, except perhaps for a few insiders.
For a few mostly minimum-wage jobs from April to October, land that could be used for enterprises that could employ hundreds of well paid people in such fields as bio-tech and even light assembly would be taken out of use. This project is a plaything and ego trip for a few rich politically connected operators who want to wrap themselves tighter in the macho world of baseball and send much of the bill to taxpayers with much less money than them.
Readers can research just how macro-economically over-rated are stadium projects for rich professional sports teams, even for the Major League teams, let alone Minor League teams such as the soon-to-be-late-lamented PawSox.
Another thing to remember is the remarkable ability 0f businesses to abandon their followers without warning. The entity that would like to call itself the "Rhode Island Red Sox'' could decide to close up shop and move to greener pastures, or just close up shop, period. That would then leave an empty stadium taking up space that could have been taken up by offices, labs or even a small factory where at least some people could continue to work. What would we do with an empty stadium in such a place?
After the strategic use of tax credits, the local (or Floridians six months a year plus a day) could have this stadium built at no cost to themselves, and then rake in some moolah until they bail out.
-- Robert Whitcomb
A couple of times each summer, the family station wagon transported us an hour or so, from Newport across the Mount Hope Bridge, through Bristol and Warren to the capital city of Providence. By Rhode Island standards, we had traveled halfway around the world.
These odysseys were generated by a visit to my Aunt Teresa in the Fox Point section, a woman with numerous ailments, none of which affected her ability to talk. I was left in the company of a pudgy, desultory cousin with greasy hair who crammed himself into a couch and stared at the TV. Nobody minded if I wandered the neighborhood by myself.
There was a drugstore I would head off to, to buy comic books or a James Bond paperback. Maybe wax lips, if they had them. On the way, I passed a cracked cement driveway shaded by trellised grape leaves. This trellis was made of the same kind of pipe that formed the top rail of the chain-link fencing that ran alongside the driveway and in front of the green, asbestos-shingled house.
In the shade of the grape leaves sat an old man in a low aluminum lawn chair with nylon webbing. He wore a beat-up straw hat and suspect trousers. At his feet to one side of the chair was a hibachi grill with sausage and peppers roasting. On the other side of the chair a radio was broadcasting the Red Sox game.
Seeing me staring, he said, “You want some chourico?”
Because he pronounced this Portuguese word for sausage in the same earthy way as my Azorean mother, I accepted. He speared me a piece that I plucked off the prongs of the long fork.
“Good, eh?” he said, watching me chew.
It was delicious, better than my mother made.
“It’s the coals,” he said. “Here, have another.”
He smiled at me. His teeth were good for an old man.
A young woman with a dark tan walked by. She smiled and waved and the old man nodded and tugged the brim of his hat.
“You don’t want your wife to look like leather,” he said, following her with his eyes. “That’s what she will look like one day. Look and feel like leather. You don’t want that.”
Later, in my Aunt Teresa’s kitchen, I asked my parents: “Can people turn into leather?”
“Why would you say that?” asked my father, and I told him about the man in the driveway.
“Oh,” said my Aunt Teresa. “He’s been talking to the Old Portagee. Never mind him; he just sits there all day.”
I didn’t think that was so bad. I spent many hours in the summer on my bed reading. What was the difference, really?
On subsequent trips over the years, I always stopped by to visit the Old Portagee.
“I only wear Brooks Brothers shirts,” he told me. “They wear like iron!” and he pulled at the sleeve of his faded blue shirt, basket-woven with white, the button-down collar frayed. “This one I’ve had more than 40 years!”
In addition to the chourico on his hibachi, the Old Portagee always had homemade wine to offer. Sometimes young women in the neighborhood would stop by, and he would pour them a glass or two. Rarely, I noticed, did men of any age stop by to talk to the Old Portagee.
“Men,” he said, “are lions. When they meet another lion, they know to keep their distance. If a man has a woman, a beautiful woman, then the other lions only come around for the woman, no matter what they say.”
“Do you have a woman?” I asked him.
“Once,” he said, pulling on the sleeve of his shirt. “Once the Old Portagee had the woman of all women,” and he looked up at the grape leaves shading us, and the plump red grapes ripening.
His wine was the best I’d ever tasted and he told me that he would give me the recipe before he passed.
He reached down to yank a dandelion that flourished in a crack in the cement but stopped. He caressed the yellow flower with his thumb.
“Remember,” he said, “You don’t have to go far to learn what you need to know. Just far enough.”
“And what else?” I asked.
“What else? Nothing ever changes. All change is false change.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense!” I exclaimed.
“If you say so,” smiled the Old Portagee. “But you might want to think about it.”
One night, deep in summer, the Old Portagee and I were sitting in his driveway drinking wine, blending into the evening shadows and eating fava beans out of the pod.
“Remember to keep the women happy,” he said. “Either do not let them into your life, or keep them happy. There is no middle road.”
He pulled a black and white photograph with crinkle-cut edges out of his Brooks Brothers shirt. It was a woman sitting sidesaddle on a horse. She was attired in the garb of the 1930s.
“Who is she?” I asked.
“A woman of Providence,” grinned the Old Portagee. “We’ll be riding together again soon.”
Shortly after I graduated from college, I received a hand-addressed envelope in the mail, the penmanship elegant and cursive. Inside was a folded piece of paper with the Old Portagee’s wine recipe. Beneath it was written: “The Right Woman, The Right Wine, The Right Chourico. T.O.P.”
Charles Pinning, an essayist, is the author of the Rhode Island-based novel “Irreplaceable.”
