Fenway Park and Dirty Water

One of the highlights of attending Opening Day at Fenway Park was the return of the Fenway Frank. There’s nothing like a sunny day, beer at 2 p.m., and sinking my teeth into that first hot dog of the new season.

In hindsight, maybe I should have stuck with the pre-packaged Cracker Jacks. The Globe reports that Fenway Park’s food stands failed health inspections conducted on Opening Day.

And I thought the only threat to my life I’d survived that day was a hotshot pilot.

One food stand was cited for “sausages thawing in stagnant water” and employees eating in a back kitchen. Another was cited for having “a large amount of food crumbs and rodent droppings under the pizza oven,” and soiled sinks. Still another had “rodent droppings along floor and inside the hole in the wall” and “rodent droppings underneath the service counter.”

We understand that Fenway Park is nearly 100 years old, but you’ve got to at least try to keep the vermin out. And at the very least clean up any fecal matter you find laying around before serving up the sausage and peppers.

Young Dan Curran of Wenham raises another reason why Sox fans should expect basic food sanitation with their baseball experience.

“I brought $25 with me, which will probably only get me something like a hot dog and a Coke, and I would hope they would at least be clean[.]”

For real.

A quick check of Fenway’s listing on the Mayor’s Food Court shows that the most recent inspection was on June 5, and that there were only minor violations, none of which involved rat turds. Still, we think we’ll grab a bite to eat before entering the park next time.