Full house, again
With five innings complete at Fenway Park, today’s game is official, which means the Red Sox have tied the major league record with their 455th consecutive home sellout. The streak began May 3, 2003.
The mark equals the standard set by the Cleveland Indians from June 12, 1995 to April 2, 2001. Judging by Indians owner Larry Dolan’s comments at the time, it’s fair to say he expected the franchise to hold the record longer than seven years.
“I believe it’s safe to say that this amazing feat of consecutive sellouts will never be matched,” said Dolan. “I hope our fans take great pride in setting the standard in major league baseball.”
A few other fun facts about the now-shared standard:
* Entering today’s game, the Red Sox had a .650 winning percentage at Fenway during the streak (295 wins, 159 losses).
* In the first 454 games, they clubbed 528 home runs, scored 2,719 runs, their pitchers threw 66,624 pitches, and the total attendance was 16,261,159.
* It’s the longest active sellout streak in the four major professional sports.
* The longest streak in any sport belongs to the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers, who sold out 744 straight games from 1977-95.
* Only two current Red Sox were in the lineup during the 9-1 victory over the Twins that began the streak: Jason Varitek and David Ortiz.
* The day before it began, the Red Sox lost to the Twins, 11-7, in front of a crowd of 31,317. Ramiro Mendoza took the loss for the Sox, while a young lefthander named Johan Santana was the winning pitcher for Minnesota in relief.
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