BOSTON — If you’ve ever been to Fenway Park, it’s likely that you have an opinion on the famed “red seat” in the right-field bleachers.
If you have no idea what we’re talking about, you’re in for a treat.
Ted Williams, as the story goes, once hit a home run that landed at that seat — which sits roughly 500 feet from home plate. It’s painted red to differentiate itself among a sea of green, if that wasn’t obvious, and is one of the more contentious pieces of fodder in all of baseball.
Triston Casas isn’t buying it.
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Casas belted a home run in the first inning of the Red Sox’s win over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, driving the ball about as far as he physically can. It sounded like the kind of ball that could rival Teddy Ballgame’s supposed blast, but landed well short at just 429 feet.
“That’s my best pull, for sure,” Casas told reporters postgame. “I had one hit harder — exit velocity wise — last year, but that Ted Williams seat is starting to feel more and more like a myth to me.
He said the quiet part out loud.
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David Ortiz, another famed Red Sox slugger, has also questioned the legitimacy of the red seat, once trying to reach it by smashing baseballs in its direction with a metal bat. He failed. Rowdy Tellez hit a ball 505 feet in that general direction when he was with the Toronto Blue Jays back in 2019, but didn’t even come close.
It usually takes the feeling of missing the mark to fully believe that the red seat might just be a myth.
“It’s looking more and more out of reach as I hit balls in that direction,” Casas said. “… It felt good initially, but I was kind of demoralized when I saw where it landed.
“It’s crazy.”
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Featured image via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
