Article: Red Sox Road Trip No. 3: From Lake Erie to Lake Ontario

[Steve Trefz]

Boston's third road trip of 2025 takes a swing around the Great Lakes. Cleveland and Toronto hope to ambush the visiting Red Sox, while Boston seeks to gain some ground on the road. What's in store for these two series?

Cleveland Guardians - April 25-27
Progressive Field – Capacity 34,830
2024 attendance was 2,056,264 (Averaged 26,028, ranked ninth out of 15 AL parks, 20th overall MLB)

Boston's 2024 trip to Cleveland involved a very fan-friendly 8-0 victory and two complete duds. Overall, the Red Sox are 60-59 at Progressive Field, but the results have been way more variable than that makes it sound. The Red Sox lost 15 of their first 19 games there, then went 11-4 over the next 15 games. The back and forth has continued, with the Red Sox dominating from 2019 to 2022, but the Guardians owning the momentum as we head into 2025.

Baseball in Cleveland began in 1894. This trip's destination, however, is to the most current iteration of Cleveland baseball: Progressive Field. I grew up memorizing Major League and even parts of Major League 2 (no shame). This stadium isn’t Municipal Stadium, but it’s been around a while nonetheless. Progressive Field opened for business in 1994, and 2019 brought an extensive concourse renovation at the 200 level with entertainment spaces and open walkways.

The Guardians rebrand brought them back to the top of the AL Central, and the future looks bright for the organization. A trip to the southern tip of Lake Erie brings plenty to see and do. Built downtown, with plenty of surrounding neighborhood options for food and drink and a consistently winning team, Progressive Field can be well attended. Sox fans should be aware of that if they plan to catch these games. Cleveland boasts the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and several neighborhood eating highlights. A short drive to Canton brings the Pro Football Hall of Fame into the mix, while lake and outdoor activities also are available.

One unique attribute and history that carries on is John Adams' Drum. This dedicated fan brought the thump to every game since 1973, but hadn’t been in attendance since COVID started. In fact, he passed away in 2023, but his tradition carries on. One of his original drums is now enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

After surviving three games in Cleveland, the Sox will grab their passports, take an off day, and hop across Lake Ontario to play in a venue they are more than familiar with.

Toronto Blue Jays - April 29-May 1
Rogers Centre – Capacity 39,150
2024 attendance was 2,681,236 (Averaged 33,101, ranked third out of 15 AL parks, ninth overall MLB)

Boston swept its way into Toronto in June 2024, and they would have swept their way out in September if not for a debacle of a finale in that second series. Winning five of six in enemy territory is a great way to live on the road, and the Red Sox will look to repeat this success in 2025. For the most part, the Red Sox have enjoyed their trips to Canada, going 154-122 at Rogers Centre since 1989. This twice-yearly divisional trip has been playing into Boston's favor for quite some time.

When Toronto got its MLB franchise in 1977, it started out in a retrofitted football field called Exhibition Stadium. Twelve years later, 1989 brought the SkyDome (renamed Rogers Centre in 2005), soon to gain classic replay status for Joe Carter’s World Series winner and back-to-back championships. In the 2010s, the Blue Jays even boasted the highest attendance in the American League!

The SkyDome/Rogers Centre boasts about being the first stadium in the world with a fully retractable motorized roof, hosts a hotel with rooms that look out onto the field, and rests within the Old Downtown neighborhood of the fourth-largest city in North America. The field itself? A bit cookie-cutter in form, with excellent food and tourist vibes throughout the concourses.

The sounds, tastes, and sights of Toronto are pretty epic. CN Tower observation deck, Lake Ontario beaches and waterfront, the Hockey Hall of Fame, and an actual “distillery district,” all exist within a few blocks of the ballpark. If you don't have your passport yet, now's the time to get your paperwork rolling if you want to catch the first of this year's annual trips.

From here, the Red Sox head home to take on the pesky Twins and Rangers in some more American League competition. Will they return to Fenway Park on a roll, or on the rocks after this two-country road trip?

 

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