The 2004 World Series moved from the Boston Red Sox’s Fenway Park to
the St. Louis Cardinals’ Busch Stadium for the third game of the
series on Oct. 26, 2004, and the change was no small one. The
contrast between the two stadiums is apparent from space, as shown
in the above submeter images acquired by DigitalGlobe’s QuickBird
satellite. The Fenway Park image (left)was acquired June 27, 2004,
and the Busch Stadium image (right) was acquired Sept. 10, 2004.
Fenway Park is the oldest stadium in Major League Baseball, and is
full of eccentricities. The irregularly shaped field peaks in a
triangle in center field 420 feet from home plate. The playing field
runs 310 feet from home plate down the left field line and 302 feet
down the right field line. By contrast, Busch Stadium is spacious
and symmetrical with 330 feet down each foul line and 402 feet to
the center field wall.
Fenway Park is also well known for the “Green Monster,” the left
field wall (on the east side of the stadium) that rises 37 feet and
is topped by a 23-foot screen—a formidable foe to any home run
slugger. In Busch Stadium, the left and right field walls are 10.5
feet high.
In the end, the move to the familiar territory of their home stadium
was no boost to the Cardinals. Ridiculed and reviled through decades
of defeat, the Red Sox didn't just beat the Cardinals, owners of the
best record in baseball, they swept them for their first crown since
1918.
