After pitching for the first time at historic Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox starter Josh Winckowski didn’t sound very impressed with the Friendly Confines.
Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Josh Winckowski didn’t hold back on his feelings about how Fenway Park ranks higher than Wrigley Field
Despite allowing just one earned run on six hits in 6.0 innings of work, Boston Red Sox starter Josh Winckowski took the loss on Saturday in a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Chicago Cubs. While the Red Sox traveling to Wrigley Field to meet the Cubs for the first time since 2012 might have been a nostalgic moment for many MLB fans, don’t count Winckowski among them. He walked away from his experience on the mound at Wrigley unimpressed.
Josh Winckowski on Wrigley Field:
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) July 3, 2022
“A little underwhelming. Fenway has a presence to it. I really didn’t get that here, to be honest. I said to my mom last night, this place is very stock standard.”
It’s no surprise that a Red Sox pitcher would have a soft spot in his heart for Fenway Park, but “stock standard” as a description for Wrigley Field? Those are fighting words in Wrigleyville and once again stirs the debate of which of baseball’s two oldest stadiums is best (Fenway Park opened in 1912 while Wrigley Field came into existence two years later).
This weekend’s series in Chicago between the two franchises marks just third-ever trip for the Red Sox to the corner of Clark and Addison. In fact, in 121 years of existence for the franchises, the Red Sox and Cubs have only played each other 21 times coming into this weekend.
That number of games will grow after Sunday’s series finale, but it may take another visit to Wrigley for any kind of love to grow about the ballpark for Winckowski.