Race to See a No-Hitter
I have always wanted to witness a no-hitter in person. Tonight, I finally did. Did I have a ticket to the game? No. Did I watch the whole game? No. In fact, I slept through a couple of innings. But I was at Fenway for the last two outs. Here's how I experienced Jon Lester's no-hitter.
From 7:30 to 8:00pm, I got my boys (9 and 6) ready for bed and read aloud to them. As they fell asleep, I also fell asleep in my chair with the book on my lap. At about 8:30pm, I sat on the couch next to my wife and we spent perhaps 15 minutes perusing digital photo albums of our kids with the Sox game on TV in the background. I noticed the Sox were winning 5-0, but it wasn't until the middle of the seventh inning that I noticed the zeros in the Royals' hit column. "He's throwing a no-hitter!" I said to my wife. "I have to drive down there!"
Wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, I bolted for the car and began my speedy 12-mile sprint down Route 9 to Fenway Park. Listening to the game on the radio, I was distressed when the Sox went down quickly in the bottom of the seventh. "Come on guys!!" I yelled, imploring our hitters to give me some time to get to the park. The top of the eighth flew by too as the Royals went 1-2-3, and it was at that point that I arrived at the section of Route 9 where there is ALWAYS a speed trap. Reluctantly, I slowed down to the speed limit (prudent -- the car behind me got pulled over).
As the Red Sox batted in the bottom of the eighth, I hit another sand trap: construction that narrowed the road to one lane of slow-moving traffic. "NOOO!" I screamed. But I hit mostly green lights, and as Lester took the mound for the top of the ninth, I turned onto Boylston Street and searched frantically for a parking spot. Lester threw ball four to the leadoff hitter, Esteban German, at the same moment that I found an empty parking space at the McDonald's opposite Yawkey Way.
A sprint across the street and down Yawkey Way to Gate B, a flash of my Red Sox Nation VP credential to the security dude, and I was in the bowels of the park. Continuing to run at full speed, I headed for the ramp on the first base side and emerged into Fenway at the same moment that David DeJesus grounded out to Kevin Youkilis for out number two. "Wooooo hooooo!!" I had just arrived, but I was immediately in synch with the rest of the crowd that had been there for three hours.
As I walked along the main aisle towards right field, fans jumped up and down, screamed, prayed, clapped, smiles on all their faces. Several people reached out to me with high-fives as I walked by. What a feeling. THIS IS FENWAY PARK, I was thinking. I found an empty box seat just beyond first base and planted myself there to watch the last few pitches. "This is it, I'm finally going to see a no-hitter!" Strike three to Alberto Callaspo! Then, bedlam. Absolute bedlam. The crowd noise completely drowned out "Dirty Water" as it blared through Fenway.
I was there. After all these years, I can say I was there.
Crawdaddy,
I love that story! I was in Rhode Island listening to the game as I drove to my best friend Mark's house to deliver a birthday present. He was doing some work and did not realize what was going on with Lester and the Sox, but we sat down to watch his 42inch HD Tv while the Sox were batting in the bottom of the seventh and watch with joy as Lester got those last six outs in the 8th and 9th innings!
Pleased to know that you were smart enough to not get caught in that speed trap and were able to arrive at Fenway in the nick of time!
It was a great night to be a Red Sox fan!
Murph
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Rob: I'm really disappointed that your Governors of RSNation program is excluding the states outside of New England. It seems to me that if you wanted to recruit new members, and identify fans, your market in NE is probably already maxxed out. Why not extend to say, the Southern states, where membership is low?
Okay, I had hopes of running for a position!
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Now THAT is putting the RSN VP credentials to good use! The closest I've been to a no-hitter at Fenway was the Davern Hansack 6 inning last day of the 2006 one. We all hoped the rain would let up so he could try to finish making it an official no-hitter.
Obviously, the Lester no-hitter touches everyone in a special way, and I hope he and his father get to talk about to the kids and grandkids for decades. I'd say another championship in 2008 is a good way to end this story, don't you think?
-Tim AKA Video34
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I was there to see it as well ... Jon pitched an excellent game, one for the ages two weeks before that, that had the Fenway Park crowd buzzing and that it had been one of the most memorable pitching duels in years. He pitched eight innings of scoreless ball, yielded to some guy from Mississippi who pitched the 9th and the Sox won in a walk-off. The no-no, however, trumps even that.
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