The fans’ way at Fenway: loud, louder, loudest

“When everybody’s yelling, it feels like they have a microphone and they’re . . . right in your ears - it’s electrifying,” Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo said. “And for the opposing team, you’ve got to find a way to get that momentum to come back, and be loud and take the energy out of the stands. Here, it seems like it lasts all nine innings.”

Verdugo’s a novice at Fenway. The only comparable noise he’s heard in a ballpark is at Dodger Stadium, which holds nearly 20,000 more fans than Fenway.

If it takes 56,000 LA fans to match the volume of 37,000 Boston fans, that sounds about right. It also sounds like Fenway is out-shouting the Red Sox’ 2018 title drive, a campaign that felt almost preordained given the team’s 108 regular-season wins….

When it comes to fan behavior in this ALCS, it’s worth pointing to the differences in fan experience between Houston’s Minute Maid Park and Fenway.

The Astros fans did respond quite loudly, especially in their Game 1 victory, and there were some unchoreographed chants, but on the whole, Minute Maid relies on the cue-card approach to whipping up the fans. Whether it’s cheerleaders skipping back and forth atop each dugout holding “Get Loud” placards, or Astros mascot Orbit twerking and beseeching fans to “Yell” and “Make Some Noise” from “Loud” to “Louder” to “Loudest,” the coaxing never ends. That’s just not how it’s done at Fenway Park.

“None of it is prompting, not traditional ‘Everybody clap your hands’ that some ballparks have, it’s not the ‘Charge,’ there’s nothing visual on our boards that say ‘Make noise’ or ‘Get up now,’ we don’t do any of that,” Carter said. “We’re Fenway Park - our fans are smarter than that, they don’t need to be told when to cheer, they don’t need to be told when to stand, they don’t need to be told what the situation is, they see it unfolding.”