From my vantage point I couldn't see Reddick with the shaving cream face until he went back into the dugout. I had to take this shot through all the Sox fans who stuck around after the game.
It started to rain on Saturday just as we entered the ballpark (we got there around 6:30pm) and we watched them put the tarp on the field and wondered if we were going to be in rain delay. Thankfully, that didn’t happen. We were so lucky with the weather this weekend. For all the rain we expected we actually got very little of it.
Because I waited until the last minute to decide to go on this trip, I sat in a single field box seat while my friends sat somewhere else. The section I was in was about 11 rows behind the Red Sox on-deck circle and full of Red Sox fans. On one side of me sat an older couple who were Orioles fans enjoying the hospitality of their lawyer’s season tickets. On the other side was another couple, this time Red Sox fans who came down Friday for the weekend. And in front of me were two twenty-something guys in Sox gear sitting next to a rabid Orioles fan. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the weather and the game and I was happy with the company. That is, until Big Papi got on-deck. The Orioles fan in front of us started screaming “USER! USER!! USER!” over and over (and he did this for every Papi at-bat). Which was fine, right? Papi is going to have to expect this in every ballpark. But, me being me, I had to ask this man if he was going to yell that the next time Brian Roberts got up to bat. He didn’t seem to get the connection (the fellas next to him made sure he did and, no, he didn’t heckle Roberts at all that night). The Orioles fans next to me were lovely. She was lamenting that the game took so long but she really seemed to like the team and enjoyed the game. He was frustrated with the Orioles’ pitching but both were pleasant and happy and we had some good and friendly baseball discussion (and spoke about their ties to Boston and how much they both loved the city).
When Victor Martinez approached the plate for the first time the Red Sox fans made their presence known. I’m sure you all could hear and see it on NESN. If I was surprised at the ovation, I imagine Martinez was stunned. A few fans away, an Orioles fan wanted to know who Victor Martinez was. It was just…sad.
But it was the Joshes who really made the night special. Beckett by giving up no runs in 7 innings while striking out five and Reddick by going 2-4 with a walk and a strike out in his first major-league start. Before Reddick got his first hit there were Orioles fans in front of us who were in the front row (so I’m sure Josh could hear them) chanting “Who are you? Who are you?”.  When he hit his double in the 7th, a Red Sox fan close to me who had been quiet all night yelled out “Do you know who he is NOW?” and got many cheers.
I heard people singing “Sweet Caroline” in the stands in the middle of the 8th. I saw a Red Sox fan talking with security and eventually getting some Orioles fans thrown out of the park. There was one other heckler who was yelling to Papi “Steroid user!!!!” while slapping the middle of his arm (as if you inject steroids there). Another Sox fan yelled “If that’s where YOUR guys shoot steroids – no wonder they suck!”).  The Papi support was out in full bloom. I saw more Papi jerseys and t-shirts than I usually do on the road. They were everywhere (and they were even selling Papi jerseys on the streets) – on kids and adults, men and women…there was a ton of support for David. I wasn’t sure if it would be like that but I admit that I enjoyed seeing it.
One of my friends on the trip is having a birthday this month so we decided to give her a surprise party after Saturday’s game. We set it up with the bartender at the hotel lounge and were excited to be able to celebrate two wins in a row on top of Susan’s birthday.
More in part 3!
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