National Reporter Puts Into Perspective How Loud Red Sox Fans At Fenway Park Are This Postseason
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Fenway Park is always a loud place in October. But this year, there's just been something that sounds a little extra loud.
Whether that's from genuine enthusiasm for a team that wasn't technically supposed to make it so far, or if it's pent-up energy from spending the COVID season away from the ballpark, or whether it's some other unexplained phenomenon, the end result has been a raucous little bandbox in Boston thus far in the playoffs.
To help frame the volume of Fenway in proper context, Jon Morosi of MLB Network and Fox Sports Radio sent a tweet early in Game 3 of the ALCS between the Red Sox and Astros.
Morosi said that Fenway Park "is as loud tonight as any sports venue I can recall in my career."
Morosi added: "The roar for the *first* out was akin to the *last* out of other playoff games I've covered."
From an outside perspective, that's some serious praise for the work of Red Sox fans.
And the team rewarded those fans early in Game 3.
After Alex Verdugo worked an 11-pitch walk with one out, play-by-play announcer Joe Buck noted that most of the crowd was standing -- not sitting -- in the scoreless game in the bottom of the second inning.
"For the most part this postseason," Buck said. "they've been standing the entire night."
J.D. Martinez then kept those fans on their feet with a double, which was followed by a walk by Hunter Renfroe. Christian Vazquez then singled in a run, before Christian Arroyo sent a chopper to second base, which Jose Altuve booted. It was the second error of the series for the normally sure-handed second baseman.
That error scored a run and kept the bases loaded. Kyle Schwarber then unloaded them.
The leadoff man swung away on a 3-0 count, and he did not miss. Schwarber sent a high and deep drive to right field, a no-doubter if there ever was one. When it came down, he had a grand slam -- Boston's third in two games -- and the Red Sox had a 6-0 lead.
The fans? Well, as you might imagine, they got pretty loud.
They were certainly loud for the Wild Card win over the Yankees, and they erupted for two walk-off wins over the Rays in the ALDS. Their first taste of the ALCS brought about an equal level of emotional eruption.
