When you make a pledge to VPR this morning, it doesn't matter what team you root for! That's because we're giving away a trip for two to see the Boston Red Sox vs. the Oakland Athletics on August 8th at Fenway, or the New York Yankees vs. the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on September 24th, courtesy of Vermont Baseball Tours.
The prize includes round-trip transportation, game tickets, a t-shirt, snacks, and on-board trivia with prizes and giveaways.
There will be two drawings - the first winner gets their choice of trips, with the remaining prizes going to the runner up!
And don't forget to listen to Morning Edition this morning for some baseball rivalry, VPR-style between Sox fan Mitch Wertlieb and Yankees fan Peter Biello (pictured above)
VPR is 3-0! We had a blast last Saturday as Mitch Wertlieb, Ric Cengeri, and I traveled to Boston for VPR's 3rd trip to Fenway park with a great group of VPR listeners. We took a tour of the storied ballpark, feasted on hot dogs, and watched the Sox take on the Detroit Tigers.
I'm usually a very optimistic Sox fan (unlike Mitch - see his recap of last year's game here), but when we were down 4-0 early in the game and kept leaving men on base, I got a little discouraged. Oddly enough, Mitch was the one who kept saying "Be patient, they can do it."
They managed to come back to make it 4-2 by the bottom of the 9th inning. Tigers pitcher Phil Coke loaded the bases by intentionally walking Kevin Youkilis with one out, bringing David "Big Papi" Ortiz to the plate. Papi hit a double that looked (and sounded) something like this (the hit is around 2:15):
Since everyone was jumping up and down and I'm not all that tall, I didn't even realize they'd won it until I heard the unmistakable opening riff of "Dirty Water" - "buhmp buhmp buhmp, buhmp bah-dump." It was the first walk-off win I've ever seen at Fenway! My favorite part by far was watching Mitch jump up and down screaming and clapping, as if he were 10 years old all over again.
What a day! Great company, great weather, and topped off by a great come-from-behind walk off win. It doesn't get much better than that! VPR is now 3-0 with our trips to Fenway. Hmm...maybe they should have VPR listeners at every game! Check out our photos from the day below.
Mitch Wertlieb shares his road journal detailing highlights of a fun-filled day at Fenway Park with VPR listeners. Check our photos from the trip, too! Thanks so much to Jim McGonagle for letting us use his camera after ours was accidentally left behind at the station!
9 a.m.: What a fun bus ride! It felt more like a road trip with old friends than meeting folks for the first time. VPR listeners proved adept at handling even my toughest Red Sox trivia questions (although there was some disappointment that the guy who knew the most was also the only Royals fan on board. Thanks for showing us up, Don!).
1:30 p.m.: A private tour of the oldest, greatest ballpark in America! Every time I take a tour of Fenway, I learn something new. It was also the first time I got to see State Street Pavillion where the Red Sox Hall of Fame is housed. We took a terrific picture of the whole gang atop the Green Monster (what a good-looking bunch!).
2:30 p.m.: We were graced with fine, sunny weather while Vermonters back home were dealing with yet another pounding of torrential rain. Folks fanned out to explore Beantown before the first pitch at 7. It was great timing as the Tall Ships were in town. I grabbed lunch and a house-made brew (Back Bay IPA) at Boston Beer Works with Michelle and Will and then caught up with some old friends in Jamaica Plain.
7:00 p.m.: Settled into our seats by Pesky's Pole in right field for the main event— Red Sox vs. Royals. What a slugfest! The home team hit four home runs (Varitek hit one that landed just 15 feet from our seats, and Youuuuuuuuuk wowed us with two blasts!). In the end, the Sox won 15-9, but not before the Boston bullpen gave up 6 runs over two innings to nearly squander a 9-1 lead! There was a bit of seat-squirming* before rookie phenom Daniel Bard came on and shut them down, thanks to his 99 mph fastball.
The rain started coming down - and hard! - in the 9th inning, but a quick 1-2-3 inning kept us under the wet stuff for just about ten minutes. We scampered back to our bus as fast as possible for the long ride home.
11:30 p.m.: Slightly soggy but in good spirits (sorry, Don), Meesh passed out cookies and we put on the Red Sox movie Fever Pitch for the ride home. We snoozed on and off until we returned to VPR at 3:30 a.m., tired but happy. What a great day! Go Sox, and looking forward to next year.
*Editor's Note: As one of the other VPR staffers on the trip, I cannot refrain from clarifying that when Mitch says "bit of seat-squirming" what he means is visible, inconsolable, nonsensical muttering about how he KNEW this was going to happen, and how the Sox were TOTALLY going to blow it, and WHY does this always happen to HIM.
A mere few hours after the Boston Red Sox made the biggest postseason comeback in 79 years, overcoming a 7-0 deficit to win 8-7, forcing a Game 6 in the American League Championship Series, Morning Edition host Mitch Wertlieb lamented on the air about how he had given up and gone to bed. It wasn't until I popped my head into the studio at 8 a.m. that Mitch found someone who had stayed up to see the incredible rally. He was so impressed that he reported this on the air.
An hour later, Mitch sends me this email:
"I just got a phone call from Stu Curry, a 57-year old listener from Chester. He heard me mention that I had "finally found a Red Sox fan who stayed up to watch the entire historic Red Sox comeback victory over the Rays last night...VPR's own Michelle Jeffery watched the whole game...and never gave up hope." Stu wanted me to know that he too kept believing and also stayed tuned to the entire game, and was witness to the 8-run, come-from-behind victory that occurred after the Sox were down 7-0 in the 7th inning, facing elimination from the playoffs.
Stu was delighted that VPR covered the story so enthusiastically and related many of his own Red Sox memories, including live attendance at notorious Sox losses like the Buck Dent home run in the 1-game playoff against the Yankees in 1978, and the Aaron Boone home run off Tim Wakefield in the 2003 ALCS that also had the Yankees breaking Red Sox' fans hearts.
But Stu wanted me to know he was also at Fenway Park for game 4 of the ALCS against the Yankees in 2004 when Dave Roberts stole second against Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the 9th and was brought home by Bill Mueller's single...all of which led to Big Papi's 12th-inning game winning HR and the eventual first-time-in-baseball history that a team overcame a 3-0 series deficit to win a playoff in 7 games.
What a great example of a VPR listener reacting to and fostering a moment of connection, wanting to relate his own story to one he heard on VPR, and appreciating the enthusiasm in reporting a story he also cares about passionately. It's really what public radio does best."
During membership drives we're always looking for ways to describe how public radio connects us to one another. Thanks, Stu and Mitch, for demonstrating this so beautifully.
So, here's the thing: if we're very lucky, Red Sox Nation's VPR Chapter gets to cheer on our beloved team in the playoffs while simultaneously working long hours to put on VPR's October membership drive. Over the years, we've found that writing baseball haikus to one another helps to clear our minds of worrying about the Sox so that we can focus on the drive. A few highlights from yesterday:
Mitch Wertlieb, Morning Edition Host: The Dice-K readies Red Sox fate in the balance May he pitch a gem
Joe Goetz, VPR Classical Host: We've done it before Gotta keep that faith, baby Ha, yeah, sure, okay....
Fred Child, Performance Today Host (at RSN's American Public Media HQ): The Rays had their fun Tonight their hubris will fall Fooled by gyroballs
Me: Please, no more meatballs I prefer champagne instead Down 3-1? No prob.
