Following a memorable (although some memories are a little hazy) week in Pittsburgh, I saddled up again in the Nitro to make my way to Boston MA. En route to Boston, I decided I’d make my way to Cooperstown New York to experience the prolific Baseball Hall of Fame – probably a good idea given the narrative of the entire Thirty before 30 trip.
It was another great drive out of Pittsburgh, with the lush greenery and forest areas transitioning to plains and highway, more highways, and some additional highways as I made my way into Upstate New York.
After about 7 hours of this scenery playing on repeat, I finally arrived at the holy grail – Cooperstown New York – aka the home of the baseball Hall of Fame.
Before I get into details about the Hall of Fame (read: post pictures because I’m terrible at describing museums), it would be remiss of me not to mention how awesome the actual town which houses the place is.
Sitting on a lake, Cooperstown basically looks like it is out of a postcard for country USA, with red brick buildings providing a backdrop to narrow streets with “red, white n blue” banners hanging off each building and everyone decked out in their favourite baseball team gear amped to see the awesomeness that was the Baseball Hall of Fame – so basically you can assume I loved the joint!
Like I said in two paragraphs above and in the other blog posts I have written when attending museums or Hall of Fames (look I’ve been to a couple now ok, no big deal), I’ll do my best to describe it in one paragraph but ultimately let the pictures tell the story as I’ll never do it justice.
Basically, the Hall take you on a journey across three levels with one dedicated to individual players who have been inducted and their numerous accomplishments, another section dedicated to interesting baseball artwork, a section for the history of baseball including numerous milestones, World Series wins and how the league has evolved, and finally (and most relevant to my trip), a section dedicated to the different ballparks across the country, their evolution and how they define a city.
Following the museum and a relaxing night, I again jumped into the Nitro for the 6 hour drive to see my friend Chris in South Boston before hitting the Red Sox game at historical Fenway Park that night. Once again, it was a spectacular drive where I got to go through the green state of Vermont before eventually making my way into Massachusetts – I feel like I only dipped my toe into Vermont and would love to come back to check it out in more detail at a later date.
Much in the same vein as Wrigley Field in Chicago (of course home of the Cubs), Fenway Park is a classic baseball stadium that also happens to be the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball – opening way back in 1912.
Whilst the stadium has many defining characteristics that bring back the old world charm and nostalgia, perhaps the most famous element is the giant wall in left field know as “The Green Monster” (the highest wall in Major League Baseball).
It truly is an awesome stadium, and the people of Boston pack the place day after day for obvious reasons.
The game itself was another beauty with the visiting Blue Jays taking an early 2-0 lead in the first inning off some errant pitching from Red Sox starter David Price.
However, the tide would shift considerably with an incredible at-bat from local favourite Mookie Betts who would face 13 pitchers before BLASTING a grand-slam home run over the Green Monster to give the Sox a 4-2 lead in the fourth inning – this sent the crowd into absolute hysterics!
With another run tacked on in the inning and despite some resistance from the Blue Jays in the seventh and eighth inning (as well as an additional run from the home team), the Red Sox would run out 6-4 winners and extend their current unbeaten stretch to 10 games and give them the lead in what is shaping up to be an exciting race in the American League East Division.
Following the game, Chris and I walked around town and eventually retired back to his place as I had to get up early the next morning for my drive to Connecticut where I will be leaving my car (shoutout Steph for letting me store my car at your place) before spending a week in New York City with good friend Sidney and a few other characters while also taking in two baseball games at both the Mets and Yankees.
I’ve loved being in Boston, and although it was short and sweet, it still remains one of my favourite destinations in the United States.
Looking forward to a fun week in New York and sharing the experience with all of you via my average writings!
Thirty before 30 