The heavy rain that moved through the Boston area Friday afternoon may have postponed this year’s Red Sox home opener, but it failed to dampen the atmosphere at Fenway Park’s pre-game festivities.
The home opener was postponed for the first time since 1996, and eventually rescheduled until August following another bout of bad weather on Saturday. However, Sox fans still turned out in droves to take in the spectacle of Opening Day.
Steady rain and cool temperatures made it feel more like winter than early April, and fans could only laugh when Red Sox commentator Sean McDonough called Opening Day a ‘sure sign of spring’ during the pre-game festivities.
Before the rain arrived, however, Fenway was electric with excitement as fans poured into Kenmore Square. A band played as crowds passed by and Cracker Jacks were handed out to fans already laden with free goods.
Souvenir shops bustled and the smell of sweet sausages filled the air as vendors returned to Lansdowne Street after their winter-long hiatus. Over two hours before game time, the sausage vendors had lines so long it was difficult to determine where the line ended and the crowd began.
Around 1:30, the pre-game ceremony began. The ceremony included a performance of the national anthem by three-time Grammy winner Lou Rawls and a soulful rendition of ‘America the Beautiful’ by Ray Charles, who sported a Red Sox hat for the occasion and was welcomed by cheers of ‘Yeah, Ray!’
This year’s Opening Day festivities also sported a patriotic flair. Yellow ribbons adorned posts in each section of the park and fans waved American flags. Children with parents currently in the Persian Gulf threw out the ceremonial first pitch with Red Sox greats like Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Rice.
As a steady rain began to fall, however, the initial excitement of the day quickly dampened.
The game, scheduled to start at 2:05, never began and fans that had eagerly anticipated baseball at Fenway were told they would have to wait until Saturday at 1:00, after it was decided that Friday’s game would be the first of a day-night doubleheader.
However, the rain continued into Saturday morning, forcing the make-up game to be postponed until Aug. 8. After an unusually long 10-game road trip to begin the season, fans were anxious to see the Red Sox play at home and left Fenway disappointed that they did not get to see their team.
After waiting nearly 36 hours to throw the first pitch, Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez was left wishing that ‘Opening Day: Take Three’ had never happened. The Orioles’ Jerry Hairston ripped Pedro’s first pitch into left, and the Sox’ new $17 million man fell apart at the seams, allowing a career-high 10 earned runs in a 13-6 Baltimore win. While an early home run by Boston’s Johnny Damon momentarily livened the Fenway faithful, the Orioles never quit. After Martinez exited to a smattering of boos, the Sox bullpen, including former Yankee Ramiro Mendoza, was roughed up for three more runs.
While Damon and the hot-hitting Kevin Millar were the only bright spots for Boston, the night will most likely be remembered for the collapse of Red Sox third base coach Mike Cubbage, who left the field on a stretcher after suffering a diabetic seizure. Cubbage was taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons and is doing fine.
While some lucky fans with Saturday night tickets found themselves holding the holy grail, a ticket to what became Opening Day, many somber fans lined up outside the ticket office on Yawkey Way before the night game and tried to exchange tickets from the afternoon game that were now only good for the makeup date in August. Many were trying their luck for tickets to the rescheduled opening day game or to another Sox home game.
‘I was mad,’ said Elaine Gasper, of Watertown, who was hoping to see her first Opening Day game.
Northeastern University senior Sandra Hofer arrived at the Fenway ticket office at 6:30 a.m. Friday to get standing room tickets made available the day of the game.
‘I stood in line for three hours yesterday,’ Hofer said. ‘Now I have to wait another hour and half for tickets.’
Sox fans said they were also let down when they missed the opportunity to see Martinez pitch.
‘I was so excited because Pedro was going to pitch,’ Hofer said. ‘I was definitely really disappointed.’
Many fans, however, said they were simply happy to get the chance to see a game at Fenway Park.
‘Most tickets to home games at Fenway are already sold out,’ Munier said. ‘It is just great to be at Fenway.’
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