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Peter McCarthy followed the children to the top of the Green Monster, where an empty Fenway Park was visible in all its glory. It was time to put the plan in action.
“Who has the ball?” McCarthy asked. “We’re gonna need that.”
The plan was to pretend. If you can’t grab a fly ball during a game, fake it.
McCarthy, executive director of Boys and Girls Club of Fall River, came prepared. The children, who are spending the summer at the club’s Camp Welch in Assonet, were briefed ahead of time. When they saw McCarthy with his camera in hand, they knew what to do.
“Hold the ball up high,” McCarthy told a boy whose friends surrounded him with outstretched arms and strained expressions. “You have to make believe you’re catching it.”
McCarthy stepped in to reposition his subjects’ arms.
“Make a goofy face, like you’re trying to grab it,” he said between camera clicks. “Ooh, that’s really good.”
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As he spotted another group ready to be photographed, McCarthy whispered to himself: “This is gonna be fun.”
Fenway Park has a way of bringing out the child in people of all ages. It also has a way of making children feel special. One recent Wednesday afternoon, more than 20 Greater Fall River children — not the Boston Red Sox — were the stars at this historic park. But with a game a few hours away, players were there, and the campers would get to meet a couple of them, too.
As they enjoyed complimentary boxed lunches on the Green Monster, children looked out over the quiet park with smiles.
“It’s pretty amazing,” Kyle Thibault of Fall River said before wondering what players he would meet later in the afternoon. “I’d like to see David Ortiz. I’d like to meet Johnny Gomes so I can pull his beard and see if it’s fake.”
Kyle Neves said he enjoyed the one-on-one time he got with the park.
“It’s pretty cool because no one’s here,” the Fall River boy said. “You can do whatever you want. Well, not whatever you want, but you can go wherever you want and not get crowded. This is stuff you normally couldn’t do.”
Joseph Rocha of Fall River had seen two games at Fenway Park prior to the tour.
“Ortiz hit it way out there,” he said, shooting his left hand toward the bleachers.
Rocha, who plays baseball for the Federal Division Tigers at Kennedy Park, knows where he wants to play if he chooses a career in the sport.
“I want to be on the Red Sox,” he said.
Bank of America emailed an invitation to the Boys and Girls Club of Fall River, with which it has worked in the past. McCarthy said the bank has been “very good” to the children the club serves.
Bank of America Massachusetts President Bob Gallery said the point of the program is to give young people joyful, lasting memories. He said the bank tries to “act small” by rewarding child-focused organizations for good work and Fenway always delivers. Children from the Boys and Girls Club of Metrowest and Breakthrough Greater Boston also took the tour.
“Our partnership is so strong and so deep with the Red Sox,” Gallery said. “They care about the same things we do. To be able to give kids a chance to see Fenway, go behind the scenes and meet the players — we just love seeing it.”
McCarthy said the children, ranging in age from 12-14, were picked for the trip because of good behavior and involvement at camp.
“Some have been to a game before, but a tour? No, this is crazy,” McCarthy said. “Some of these kids might never have gotten up there to those seats on the Green Monster. They’re normally not supposed to have their phones, but we let them bring their phones today to take pictures.”
Furry Red Sox mascot Wally the Green Monster greeted children at the gate. Team staff made sure the visitors got baseball caps — their choice of red or blue — with the classic “B” logo stitched on the front. Then, it was time for a tour.
The campers learned that Fenway, opened in 1912, is the oldest park in Major League Baseball. They learned the differences between the Fisk and Pesky poles. They heard all about the Curse of the Bambino, the 86-year losing streak that ended with the World Series win in 2004, when many of them were babies. They also got a brief lesson in Fenway Park concert history, from composer John Philip Sousa in the early 1900s to Paul McCartney in 2013.
After lunch, the guests gathered closer to the field for some quality time with catcher David Ross and infielder Brock Holt, who patiently answered offbeat questions (such as “What kind of soap do you use?” and “What’s your shoe size?”) and gave some serious advice to what could be the next generation of professional baseball players.
“Hard work is the key to overcoming adversity,” said Ross, 37, who has been playing baseball since childhood. “This game is built for failure. If you fail seven out of 10 times, you are really good. I get down on myself, but if you stay negative for too long, it affects the other things you do.”
Holt, in his second season with the Red Sox, told his audience that “a lot” of people told him he wouldn’t be able to achieve all of his goals, but he never stopped believing in his abilities.
“I don’t like my job, I love my job,” he said in response to a question.
The players spent about 30 minutes with the children, presenting them with signed photos and posing for group photos in the seats behind home base. One young girl, unnerved by her encounter with Wally earlier in the day and paralyzed again by the sight of him near the diamond, refused at first to get too close to the field.
“I’ll protect you,” Ross told her. “Don’t be scared of Wally. I’ll stand right behind you and block you.”
The bearded 6-foot-2-inch man then crab-walked in front of the girl from first base to home.
Photos in hand, Dominique Oliveira of Berkley said her favorite part of the day was sitting next to Holt, a 26-year-old Texas native who looked relaxed in American flag shorts before a game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
“I really like coming here,” Oliveira said.
McCarthy said he hoped the campers would return to Assonet with the “memory of a lifetime.” He has his own cherished Red Sox memories stretching back to childhood, which brought a smile to his face as he stood behind home plate. Fenway Park has a way of bringing out the child in people of all ages.
“I still remember the first time I came up here with my dad,” McCarthy said. “We got peanuts and I put the shells in the bag. My dad said, ‘No. True fans throw them on the floor.'”
Phil Devitt can be reached at editor@fallriverspirit.com. Follow @PhilDevittFRS on Twitter.
THEY SPENT THE DAY AT FENWAY:
Kyle Robinson, Mitchell Robinson, Ethan Souza, Adam Souza, Sean Murphy, RJ Robitaille, Dylan Carvalho, Sarah Hall, Nick Hall, Dominique Oliveira, Frank Cruz, Antonio Dutra-Africano, Alexandra Dutra-Africano, Ethan Nwto, Kyle Neves, Kyle Thibault, Kilee Thibault, Nolan Pacheco, Joey Rocha, Serah Quental, Steven St. Pierre, Kendra Sullivan, Adam Couitt, Jacob McNally
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