Behind the Scenes of Opening Day Preparations, From a Distance

Mar 29, 2023 - 2:15 PM

What does it take to get America’s most beloved ballpark ready for opening day? I don’t work for the Sox, but my day job does provide me with a view of the stadium, from where I can clearly see the video boards. Throughout the day, I check in on the screens to see what’s going on, as a way to remind myself that baseball is almost here. Here’s a look at what happened at Fenway on Tuesday as they put the finishing touches on the field for the 2023 season.

8:37 AM: I arrive at work, log on to my computer, and go to the kitchen to make a coffee. When I return to my desk, I glance at the video board. Mayor Michelle Wu appears to be visiting the stadium, probably for a photo-op and to see the new renovations. Maybe she threw a practice first pitch from the mound, in case she gets the call for an early season appearance.

9:17 AM: The video board now shows a message from the grounds crew asking that people stay off the grass. Incredibly reasonable request.

10:21 AM: Fenway welcomes the Boston University event planning and operations class. A great learning experience for those aspiring event planners and students who took the class as a low-effort way to fill a gen-ed requirement.

11:32 AM: The scoreboard operators appear to be testing the player pages for in-game use. They cycled through the lineup, showing just about every player on the roster. Jarren Duran is the last one to pop up. Perhaps a sign that he’s the odd man out and is being sent to Worcester.

12:04 PM: I break for lunch. The screen isn’t visible from the cafeteria. Anything that goes on while I enjoy my turkey sandwich is a mystery. Poor investigative journalism on my part. No wonder I’m an accountant by day.

12:33 PM: I return to my desk. The center field video board is now playing an episode of Young Sheldon. It must be lunchtime for the video crew as well.

1:00 PM: At the top of the hour, the Red Sox welcome the “Advertising Space Maximization Committee”, led by MassMutual CEO Roger W. Crandall. The buzz around the office is that the team is in talks to sell the naming rights of the organization and become the “MassMututal Whole Life Insurance Policy Boston Red Sox”, while also painting the company logo onto the Green Monster.

2:10 PM: The meeting of greedy businessmen adjourns and the screen changes to a message welcoming “A Player to be Named Later”. I wonder if they’ll name him later today.

2:34 PM: Guests are coming and going at an alarming rate. I hardly have time to do my real job. The next guest is professional resume writer Mike Podesta. Strange, because Kiké Hernandez is still in Fort Myers. Maybe his agent is taking the meeting on his behalf.

4:03 PM: I attended a meeting in a conference room on the opposite side of the building. I’m not sure what happened between 2:45 and 4:00 PM, but its clear chaos has ensued. The video board now reads “Go away, Tony”. It’s difficult to be sure from my vantage point, but a figure who appears to be Tony Massarotti is attempting to scale the outside wall and make his way into the press box.

5:14 PM: The video board now shows a live feed of the field. The Mazz situation appears to be handled.

5:16 PM: I pack my bags to leave for the day. I’ve successfully done my job while looking at Fenway no less than 150 times. I assume I’ll be fired when I spend most of my workday watching the replays on the scoreboard during day games. It was fun while it lasted.