Ballpark

To many people in New England, Fenway Park is -- and this is neither sacrilege nor misuse of the language -- a shrine. And no one knows that better than the people who own it. "You can't believe how many requests we had from people to make use of the ballpark," reports John Harrington, now happily ensonced as executive director of the Yawkey Foundation. In part because of the potential wrath of legendary groundskeeper Joe Mooney, and in part because he had a strong desire to maintain the special aura of the park Clark Booth used to refer to as the "baseball basilica," Harrington...

Maybe it's just the ballpark. Brandon Beachy gave up a career-high three homers — two by Brandon Phillips — as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Atlanta Braves 4-3 on Tuesday night in another game of all-or-nothing. The Braves couldn't keep up in one of the majors' most homer-friendly ballparks. The teams have combined for 10 in the first two games of their series, seven by Cincinnati. Nine of the 10 have been solo shots. "It is pretty wild," said Braves leadoff hitter Michael Bourn, who had his first career multihomer game with two solo shots.

The developer of a proposed minor league baseball stadium told the Malden Redevelopment Authority last Tuesday that his group is planning to make offers by the end of April to buy three plots of land required to move forward on the $50 million project. The properties are home to three businesses: L&L Services, a trucking and landscaping company at 11 Canal St.; Spadafora's Auto Parts, 129 Charles St.; and Collex auto body repair, 124 Centre St. Together, they make up roughly a quarter of the 7-acre site primarily owned by National Grid, which is expected to lease its site on Commercial Street across...

Too many walks did in the Toronto Blue Jays. Darin Mastroianni got his first major league hit and drove in three runs to help the Minnesota Twins overcome Jose Bautista's two homers in a 7-6 victory over Toronto on Friday night. Of the nine Minnesota hitters who walked, five eventually scored. "A high number of walks overall and anytime you combine those base on balls with some hits, you're causing some issues for us to work out of," Blue Jays manager John Farrell said.

Brockton Rox executive chef Ben Glanz (left) and promotions director Troy Goodwin show off a sample of the Rox' $80 hot dog that will be available Saturday. By Matt Pepin, Boston.com Staff You think the prices at major-league ballparks are bad? A team from the tony Boston suburb of Brockton, of the fancy-schmancy Can-Am League, is really gouging its fans, jacking up the price of a hot dogs on Saturday to $80. Actually, it's a promotion in which the Brockton Rox will attempt to set a world record for most expensive hot dog. According to a team press release, the Rox hot dog...

President Barack Obama takes part Wednesday in a Democratic Party event at Nationals Park. The Democratic Senate Caucus Retreat at the home of the Washington Nationals baseball team is closed to reporters. Earlier in the day, the president meets in the White House with senior advisers. In the afternoon he sits down in the Oval Office with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Minor-league ballparks across the country have planned creative promotions to make it worth your while to experience life beyond Red Sox Nation. RICHMOND July 27 The Triple-A Richmond Braves, whose shortstop Yunel Escobar got called up to the majors in early June and recently played for Atlanta against the Red Sox , have planned a summer of promotions, from $2 hamburger nights to water-bottle giveaways. On July 27 in the Virginia capital, you can check out "Beach Night," when the ballpark will be decorated with fake palm trees, Jimmy Buffett tunes will play...

GUILFORD, Conn. -- If you love baseball and travel, you'll want to check out "The Ultimate Baseball Road-Trip: A Fan's Guide to Major League Stadiums. " "If you find yourself trying to explain to your spouse, parents, employer, or psychologist that spending two months on the road in pursuit of baseball nirvana is a perfectly rational thing for a person to do, the pages that follow will help you refine your winning argument," the authors, Josh Pahigian and Kevin O'Connell, write in their introduction.

FORT MYERS, Fla. — It's beginning to look a lot like Fenway. Today, on a sun-drenched morning, the Red Sox gave a sneak peek of JetBlue Park, the new $78 million Fenway South complex. ‘‘I can't believe this was just a pile of dirt a couple of months ago," said Katie Haas, Red Sox director of Florida business operations. Less than five minutes from Southwest Florida International Airport, the ballpark gleams in the sun. Although it's still hardhat instead of hardball, one thing is certain: The new ballpark is a big hit. From the outside it looks...

Among those bidding a ceremonial farewell to the Florida Marlins' current ballpark will be Mike Piazza, the best catcher in franchise history. Piazza played five games for the Marlins in 1998, when he was acquired and quickly traded as part of a payroll purge. The ceremony is scheduled for Sept. 28 immediately following the Marlins' final game in the stadium that has been their home since the franchise began in 1993. Among others expected to attend are Charlie Hough, who threw the team's first pitch; Gary Sheffield, Livan Hernandez, Kevin Brown and Bobby Bonilla, who played on the...

The developer of a proposed minor league baseball stadium told the Malden Redevelopment Authority last Tuesday that his group is planning to make offers by the end of April to buy three plots of land required to move forward on the $50 million project. The properties are home to three businesses: L&L Services, a trucking and landscaping company at 11 Canal St.; Spadafora's Auto Parts, 129 Charles St.; and Collex auto body repair, 124 Centre St. Together, they make up roughly a quarter of the 7-acre site primarily owned by National Grid, which is expected to lease its site on Commercial Street across...

Cory Luebke outpitched Roy Halladay and San Diego beat Philadelphia 5-1 Saturday night, snapping the Phillies' 13-game winning streak at Petco Park. Luebke (2-1) held the Phillies to two hits in eight innings, struck out five and walked two. The Padres hadn't beaten the Phillies in their downtown ballpark since Aug. 16, 2008. The Phillies' 13-game winning streak at Petco had been the longest active for any visiting club at any particular ballpark, and their longest winning streak at any ballpark in club history.

For one more afternoon, Yaz had the Fenway fans cheering, Pedro had them celebrating and Johnny Pesky brought tears to their eyes. Scenes from Fenway Park's first 100 years played out on the major leagues' oldest ballfield again on Friday, when the Boston Red Sox celebrated its centennial by welcoming more than 200 former players and coaches back onto its landmark lawn. In a ceremony before their game against the New York Yankees, 100 years to the day before they opened the building against that very rival, the Red Sox held a birthday party for...

Vance Worley struck out a career-high 11 in seven innings and combined with two relievers on a four-hitter as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Diego Padres 2-0 on Thursday night. The Phillies have beaten the Padres 12 straight times at Petco Park dating to 2008. Overall, the Phillies are 23-4 at the ballpark since it opened in 2004. Dating back to Qualcomm Stadium, the Phillies have won 25 of 29 in San Diego. Worley (1-1) held San Diego to four hits while walking three.

By Chad Finn and Matt Pepin, Globe Staff Fenway Park celebrates its big anniversary on Friday , and just as things have changed over its first 100 years, you can expect more changes in the 40 to 45 years team officials have said its infrastructure has remaining before a new ballpark needs to be built. While the structure itself likely won't change much, the experience of visiting Fenway Park will continue to evolve, perhaps more rapidly than ever before. The anniversary is about history, but it's also a good time to look ahead, as well.

In a new radio ad released Thursday, Senator Scott Brown wraps himself around legendary Fenway Park and the celebration of its 100th anniversary, heaping praise on the current Red Sox ownership for "improving what we have instead of starting over somewhere else. " What Brown does not mention in the 30-second spot is that it represents 180-degree turn from the public position he took a decade ago. Back in January 2001, when the Red Sox ownership was looking to relocate the franchise, Brown, then a Republican state representative from...

The bitter Ohio State-Michigan rivalry is about to get really icy. The two schools will play an outdoor hockey game at Progressive Field — home of the Cleveland Indians — on Sunday, Jan. 15. The matchup, dubbed "The Frozen Diamond Faceoff" is part of the Indians' Snow Days promotion at the ballpark, a two-month winter-themed event that drew over 50,000 fans in its first year. The Buckeyes and Wolverines will play on a regulation-sized rink situated on the Indians' infield. The teams will meet in Columbus on Jan. 13 before playing the first outdoor college hockey game in...

Commissioner Bud Selig offered a one-word review of the Miami Marlins' new ballpark. "All you can say is, 'Wow,"' Selig said. Muhammad Ali had the same reaction. Selig's critique came 90 minutes before the first pitch of the first game Wednesday in the Marlins' season opener against the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals, who won 4-1. The ballpark's retractable roof, which is expected to be closed for all but about 10 games, was opened 30 minutes before the start.

REGARDING LAWRENCE Harmon's column about the activists who rallied to save Fenway Park in 2000, I feel he has been brainwashed by people who view the park as a museum ("Saving Fenway; One small group fought for the park when the rest of the city wanted it gone," Op-ed, April 7). Having watched games in San Diego, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, and even in the dome in Toronto, the fan comfort of all these parks far outweighs anything Fenway has to offer. Seats and leg room were made for late-20th-century people, not shorter, skinnier fans who attended Fenway's opening in 1912.

EVERYONE IS gushing over the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park. But it wasn't long ago that anyone with clout in this town wanted to pulverize the "lyric little bandbox of a ballpark" and dance a jig on the rubble. It was mainly a small group of preservationists and neighborhood activists under the banner Save Fenway Park who challenged the official line that the nation's oldest major league ballpark was beyond redemption. By the late 1990s, Red Sox CEO John Harrington had sold the city on the bogus idea that Red Sox Nation would collapse unless the team built a new 44,000 seat ballpark adjacent to Fenway Park.