A Green Monster

Green Monster?

a. A sci-fi horror movie about creeping green algae that overtakes the planet due to climate change? No. b. A Jurassic dinosaur that escapes a Cuban laboratory and plays havoc throughout Havana? No.

c. A grumpy, green muppet made of trash that devours Hollywood writers as they walk the picket line? No.

d. A popular nickname for the 37-foot-2 inch high left field wall at Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Socks? YES.

The Green Monster was part of the original ballpark construction of 1912 along Fenway's north side facing Lansdowne Street. It was made of wood and was covered in tin and concrete in 1934. It was later covered with hard plastic in 1976. It is famous for preventing home runs on many line drives that would clear the walls of other ballparks. A side effect of this is to increase the prevalence of doubles, since this is the most common result when the ball is hit off the wall (often referred to as a "wallball double"). Some left fielders, predominantly those with vast Fenway experience, have become adept at fielding caroms off the wall to throw runners out at second base or hold the batter to a single. Compared with other current major league parks, the wall's placement creates a comparatively shallow left field; the wall falls approximately 304–310 feet (93–94 m) from the plate along the left-field foul line.

View from atop the Green Monster of the yellow left field foul pole looking toward home plate

With this short distance, many deep fly balls that could be caught by the fielder in a deeper park rebound off the wall for base hits. And while the wall turns many would-be line-drive homers into doubles it also allows some high yet shallow fly balls to clear the field of play for a home run.

In 1936, the Red Sox installed a 23-foot (7.0 m) net above the Monster in order to protect the storefronts on adjoining Lansdowne Street from home run balls. The net remained until the 2002–03 offseason, when the team's new ownership constructed a new seating section atop the wall to accommodate 274 fans. Wildly popular, these "Monster seats" were part of a larger expansion plan for Fenway Park seating.

-Wikipedia

Recently, my son Simon and I traveled to Fenway Park to fulfill an item on my bucket list, and in so doing, watched the Atlanta Braves play the Boston Red Socks in two games. It was an “historic” trip.

CPW