Fenway Fest was a success, even with a few bumps

Dare I say that Saturday’s event—while not perfect—was fun.

When the Red Sox announced that their official winter event — the annual meet-up of fans, coaches, and players of yesterday, today, and tomorrow — would take place right at Fenway Park on January 11, the response was tepid. I’m speaking anecdotally here, but it makes sense given that folks had just about a month to prep for the event (Fenway Fest was officially unveiled on December 9), and the announcement’s details were a bit sparse.

As the big day grew closer, notable figures like Rafael Devers, Pedro Martinez, Walker Buehler, and Marcelo Mayer had pulled out of Fenway Fest due to a variety of reasons. As unforeseen as some of those circumstances may have been, it didn’t exactly inspire a ton of confidence for the event. Take that along with an $85 price tag for an adult ticket, and I’d say it would’ve been fair to be pessimistic leading up to this past weekend.

However, I’m pleased to report that the inaugural Fenway Fest — while not perfect — was a pretty fun time. Brave of me to come out and say that, I know.

The setting of Fenway Park acted both as an enhancement to the experience due to its history, as well as a bit of a hindrance due to its…well, age. Fenway Fest certainly felt like the first convention of its kind, for better and for worse. Ultimately, many of these things seem to fall into the camp of “it’s what you make it;” luckily, the people I surrounded myself with, along with most other attendees, seemed to be excited to be a part of it all. Maybe this is the only time the official Sox event in the winter is held at their home yard; if it isn’t, though, then I think the organization has a platform to work on in the future.

Let’s dive into the highlights.

• One of the marquee offerings of the first ever Fenway Fest was an exclusive look at the upcoming Netflix series “The Clubhouse,” which chronicles the 2024 Red Sox season…or, at least a fair chunk of it. It remains unclear if all of the highs and lows from Spring Training through game 162 are covered, considering director Greg Whiteley noted on Saturday that Netflix spent a third of their budget just on footage down in Fort Myers. Regardless of how the rest of that money was used: based on the sneak preview we got at the MGM Music Hall (where we had to seal our phones away so that no footage could be leaked), this genuinely seems like it’ll be an enjoyable show. It looks like the eight-hour series will be pretty unfiltered—not just in terms of uncensored language, but in terms of the raw emotions that players like Brayan Bello and Triston Casas displayed throughout the season. I think we’re going to enjoy what Netflix has to offer; hopefully it doesn’t end up like some of the other slop that platform has to offer.

Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images

• Speaking of Casas: this series could act as his introduction to the larger stage. You could tell based on the clips of him talking Kutter Crawford’s ear off that this baseball shit means something to him, man. Your mileage on his media coverage may vary (I happen to very much enjoy it), but there’s no doubting his intensity and commitment to the craft. I think this show can prove exactly that while showing off his eccentric personality. He’s a star in the making, and it looks like he’s gonna play a big part in this show. If “The Clubhouse” can precede a healthy year where Casas plays about 150 games and hits the way we know he can hit, he can become one of MLB’s biggest names. Lord knows he has the personality for it.
• Another player who seems like he’ll be featured prominently: Wilyer Abreu. Given his impressive performance on the field along with the personal challenges he had off of it, Whiteley said that he (along with his wife) are given some prominent time.
• One of the clips of “The Clubhouse” shown at Fenway Fest essentially boiled down to a recap of the first few weeks of the year — from Opening Day through Trevor Story’s unfortunate injury in Anaheim. It looked like Story was poised to be another big figure in the series, especially when you consider that he had a hot start to 2024, but his rehab in California changed that.
• In non-Netflix news, Garrett Crochet adorned his number 35 Red Sox jersey for the first time in public on Saturday. Hey, the opportunity for him to be the best 35 in Boston history is right there in front of him!

• To the surprise of no one, we did not get our opportunity to boo the FSG brass while they stand in front of us on stage. I’m sorry to report our failure on that front.
• Logistics were an issue, particularly after the Netflix preview at MGM. Herding everyone who was in the auditorium along Ipswitch and Van Ness streets towards Gate B didn’t make a ton of sense to me. It didn’t make sense to send everyone along the cold-ass first base concourse towards Jersey Street, either. I mean, the crew at Fenway does this song and dance about 100 times a year, right? With way more people involved? Maybe staffing was tighter on Saturday, which might explain some of the logistics we saw, but having just one gate open after the Netflix panel was head-scratching (if you were there and entered through Gate C after that event, I guess this point can be canned — everyone seemed to be going towards Van Ness, though). I get that 35,000 people were present at Fenway throughout the weekend, but the day probably would’ve been better served with more gates open.
• One thing that could’ve helped on that front: providing more offerings on Jersey Street. The quintessential stretch of Fenway — which is full of life during game day — had nothing but a pair of (admittedly cool-as-hell) ice sculptures. That’s it. No concessions, no other offerings, nothing. Of course: it’s January, not July. I’m sure that even the potential for snow or disgustingly cold conditions can put the kibosh on some of those amenities. But to reiterate: Gate A was closed off while the nearby concourse got pretty crowded. Key parts of the self-guided tours — access to behind the Green Monster as well as both clubhouses and dugouts — was backed up for much of the day. Someone smarter than me, let me know if providing some interesting stuff on Jersey Street would’ve helped spread the crowd out a bit.
• Standing on the field at Fenway in the middle of a snow flurry was cool as hell. Sorry if that offends. The line to get behind the monster may have been long, but you could do far worse than soaking in the scenes.
• Efforts to find my dad’s signature behind the Monster (he worked there for a few seasons as a wee lad in the 80’s before popping up to the control room) were futile. Maybe it was silly of me to assume that the ink would last that wrong; the kid working security in the Monster did tell me “good luck” with a chuckle after I told him my mission. I did see Gerrit Cole’s signature, though. Sorta cool to know that Rafael Devers’ child already knows how to legibly write. I couldn’t help but think of all the other legends of this game who have walked through that concrete corridor adorned with thousands and thousands (maybe even hundreds!) of John Hancocks. That was an undoubtedly cool part of the day.

• Another undoubtedly cool aspect of Fenway Fest: being able to explore the dugouts and the home clubhouse. We didn’t pop in line to take BP in the Red Sox’s cages, but I’m sure that was a blast for whoever took advantage of that. It’s probably for the best that I didn’t take some cuts; I wouldn’t want to embarrass myself. Regardless: those are the pros of having this type of event at a historic venue.
• I was lucky enough to get signatures from Mr. Casas himself, along with Nick Sogard and Vaughn Grissom at the team store along Jersey Street. Hell yeah. I was also lucky enough to thank Jonny Gomes and Jarrod Saltalamacchia for their contributions in 2013 during my photo op with them. I specifically thanked Ironsides for introducing the phrase “Boys Club, Men’s League” into my lexicon. I would’ve paid $85 to do that alone.

• Shout out to the folks at the WooSox for having their mascot Smiley ambush us following our autograph and photo session. After years of tracking Smiley’s musings on Pod On Lansdowne (listen, listen, listen!), we finally had the pleasure of meeting the big guy himself. What a bizarre simulation we live in. Our apologies to that guy who got caught in the crossfire. I’d be confused as hell if three grown men started screaming at the sight of a minor league mascot, too.

All in all, while not perfect, I do think Fenway Fest was worth the $85. It was a great excuse to meet up with some pals within this Red Sox community and celebrate the team that pisses us off to no end. Of course, you don’t need an $85 excuse to do so—you can just hang out with friends like normal members of society—but to explore America’s Most Beloved Ballpark™ while hanging out with those people was worth it. The free game voucher doesn’t hurt, either.

Maybe an event like this is better suited at a venue like Foxwoods or Encore down the line, maybe it’s better at the Fens. I never went to any of the prior Winter Weekend events at spots like MGM Springfield, so I’m not qualified to make that determination. Even if I did go to those events, I’m not paid enough to make those decisions. Take that up with Vox, I guess.

I think, though, that there are some clear ways to improve the experience at Fenway. Utilize Jersey Street and/or Lansdowne Street a bit more for something. Open up more of the concourses. More big names being involved wouldn’t hurt — having Marcelo Mayer join Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell at the music hall would’ve been great. More legends, more key players, more faces in general: that’s how you can help sell this event.

Additionally: could Fenway Fest benefit from more panels to help spread the crowd out even further? Roping the House of Blues in as a venue for big panels might be a stretch, but isn’t there space above the Truly Terrace that could house an intimate Q&A or something? Just a thought!

I am officially over winter now. Please get me to Opening Day.