Just to let you all know we had a simply amazing time at the game :-) The weather all week long was unseasonably warm and we took our light layers to the game but ended up sitting on them!! The walk from the Prudential Centre took less than we thought and basically we just followed the throng!
As for the ball park - OH MY WORD!! What an amazing place. We felt like we were right on top of things and the atmosphere was unbelievable. The fans around us were passionate and knowledgeable (of course) but weren't beyond helping us UK rookies with some of the finer points of the game. I was so grateful for all the advice from you fodorites - especially you gail. We understood so much more what was happening and enjoyed all the more for it. My younger daughter is now the proud owner of a number 18 shirt - all in Japanese!! And best of all the Red Sox won!!

Glad you had a good time and thanks for the update - of course fans around you were willing to provide baseball education - one of the faults of many Bostonians is that we think we are experts on everything and love to find a willing ear.

Gee, gail, whatever can you mean? Faults...?? :) But seriously, the Red Sox and baseball are such a wonderful connector of all people in this area. I worked a brief stint in a major hospital in Boston during the playoffs and World Series and my job was such that I was all over the hospital, ER to obstetrics to regular floors, and from immigrant housekeeping staffers to big-shot MDs to clerical staff to parents bringing in tiny Red Sox clothing for their newborns the sense of unity and one-ness was so gratifying.