It’s been a February summer. And the Red Sox haven’t been particularly helpfully at bringing in any sunlight. They are in the midst of a February season. Every time something goes right, they get another injured slammed on them
On a day too hot to walk to Fenway, a day I knew I my skin would plaster to the plastic seats, I sat on the crowded bus hoping for greatness.
My father and I were taking my cousin and his eight-year-old son Sam to the game. I took them to a game last year too. An epically bad loss for the Sox against a team I won’t mention. This was Sam’s second game. And more importantly, a chance to prove he wasn’t bad luck.
The great thing about taking a kid to Fenway, is how quickly you become a kid. You want a hot dog. You want autographs. Sam got two baseball cards when he walked into the park because he knew who was hitting second. The kid in front of him didn’t know who was pitching, so Sam got both cards. I wanted baseball cards. I was starting to believe it was a mistake to not bring a glove, because surely, Hunter would foul off to us. And the questions…
Who’s is warming up? Is that Pap? Looks like Pap, he always taps his hat. Who is number 51? What happens if he catches it and falls into the crowd? Is it still an out if he isn’t in the field? Why don’t they ever throw the balls out here? Do you think she can throw that far? Can I get ice cream before the fourth inning? Does the wave ever stop? Why is there a seventh inning stretch? Can I please get an ice cream in the fourth?
And the answers. Sam and his father went to get ice cream in the fourth. Kalish hit a grand slam. The specific grand slam I had asked of him (my father thought this greedy and was waiting for a single.) Suddenly the seventh stretch question was answered. It’s the only time you can get up and move and not risk missing a potential grand slam. What if while getting ice cream you missed the most exciting play of the whole game? What if you couldn’t see the hit because of some idiots doing the wave in front of you? I guess grown-ups have questions too, but we think we know the answers.
And when we don’t we turn to our Red Sox Media Guide. Which, Sam now knows how to navigate.
