It's Friday July 24, and Red Sox Opening Day has finally arrived! For months, Bostonians have wondered whether America's favorite baseball team would have a 2020 season at all.
While the show will go on tonight at 7:30 p.m. against the Baltimore Orioles, fans will not be allowed to enter Fenway Park.
But let's look on the bright side! There is a brand new “fan zone” on Lansdowne Street where fans can gather around newly-erected outdoor TV screens.
The area features a much-anticipated pop-up bar called “Under the Green Monster,” making its debut today. They will operate out of an airstream trailer located between Game On! and Bleacher Bar.
The pop-up is sponsored by Sam Adams and Truly, and will serve food from ES Provisions on game days and weekends from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
As for the Opening Day ceremonies, the Red Sox will present a “Black Lives Matter” tribute.
Per a Red Sox press release:
“Fans watching Friday’s home opener will see elements of the Black Lives Matter movement incorporated into the pregame ceremony and physically represented throughout the ballpark. As part of a league-wide effort for Opening Day, a stencil behind the mound will features MLB’s logo with the acronym ‘BLM.' The base jewels and line-up cards will also feature the ‘BLM’ acronym. Within the walls of Fenway Park, there will be a prominently featured “Black Lives Matter” sign stretching 120 feet wide and 20 feet high covering several sections of the Bleacher seats in center field. Outside of the ballpark, the Red Sox Foundation has affixed those same words on their 254-foot-long Lansdowne Street billboard that faces the Mass Pike.”
There will also be a surprise guest to throw out the first pitch. According to team president Sam Kennedy, it is "someone the city and all of New England will be proud of. Someone who represents Boston with incredible pride and someone who represents the resiliency and determination of Bostonians, especially through this pandemic and this health crisis. So I’ll leave it at that.”
Springfield native Michelle Brooks-Thompson will sing the national anthem.
Be sure to tune into tonight to usher in the 2020 season of Red Sox baseball!