The Red Sox have been enjoying full houses at paid games for nearly a decade now, so when Fenway Park opens its gates to the public for free, it's not terribly surprising that the fans packed the hallowed halls for the opportunity to walk the grounds the Red Sox play on.
↵While fans were of course limited to the warning track and dugouts--100,000 feet trampling the field would hardly be good for the condition of the grass--there were plenty of other attractions, with Dustin Pedroia, Daniel Bard, Darnell McDonald, Frank Malzone, John Tudor, Oil Can Boyd, and Bernie Carbo present to sign autographs for fans.
↵While Friday will host the official celebration, with all the ceremony and pageantry, Thursday was perhaps the purest celebration of Fenway Park and what it meant to all of us who watched Sox games from those seats as children.
↵On the other hand, Friday has Pedro Martinez, so maybe it wins after all.