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Neil Diamond on the Diamond at Fenway

Posted on April 21, 2013 | Leave a comment

I’ve been to Fenway Park on two separate occasions and both times the music rang out as loud as you can possibly imagine and was absolutely fantastic. The first song belted out by 35,000 crazy fans was The Kingston Trio’s “MTA. This had a very personal meaning for all of us out-of-towners who triumphantly mastered the friendly transit system that very day. The second was the wonderful classic “Sweet Caroline” and it’s been one of my favorites ever since.

“So good….So good…So good…So good!

To tell you the truth I’ve never quite figured out what Sweet Caroline has to do with Boston or baseball, but it doesn’t matter. The fans have made it their song and if you’ve ever stood and waved your arms and shouted and yelled “So Good!” at the top of your voice (and you will ~ it’s contagious) in unison with 35,000 other fans it will be your song too.

I love this YouTube video. It brings back wonderful memories of Boston, Fenway and baseball. And it reminds me of how proud I am to be a patriotic flag waving American . Not that I need reminding. Some things are engraved so firmly on the spirit and the soul they can bring you to tears. They surface often and they surface when you least expect them. For me, baseball and patriotism are two of those things.

Thank you for this week Boston. You did good!

Rating the Best Baseball Ballparks.

Posted on September 29, 2012 | Leave a comment

Here’s a great read courtesy of Dan Lindsey’s “Diamond Baseball Tours” Facebook page and reprinted from the New York Times “Five Thirty Eight” Column by Nate Silver. My home park is AT&T in San Francisco and it’s without a doubt one of the very best.

“Classic Primanti Bros Sandwich” includes salad and french fries piled inside”

However, I can understand the PNC Pittsburgh #1 ranking. I was there in 2010 and the first clue was the accessible parking. We were on a tour bus and the bus parked less than a 5 minute walk away from the main entrance. Ordinary tour buses dropped us off and then we walked a marathon to get back to the bus, if we could even find it! Second great thing about the park was the food. “Primanti Bros.” may sound familiar. They’re on a “100 Things To Do Before you die” list. It’s a beautiful park with friendly staff.

“Fenway’s Wooden Scoreboard”

The #2 Ranking to Boston’s Fenway Park is also understandable. I’ve been there twice and both times it was an emotional experience. Probably the park’s history, and I don’t know why, but the “Sweet Caroline” and “MTA” songs that were played both times brought the house down with everyone singing at the top of their lungs. I can’t explain it ~ neither song has anything to do with baseball. It’s just one of those things. It’s an old and beautiful wooden park with a lot of class and truly devoted fans, where they still post the daily baseball scores on a wooden board by hand.

So it was easy to acquiesce those two parks to my beloved AT&T. Good read and a great job Nate Silver, bringing us right up to the 2012 playoffs.