Walking to Gate B at Fenway Park means walking next to statues of Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski and Johnny Pesky. It means seeing banners adorned with the names of the most talented and renowned Boston Red Sox players fluttering in the wind. Walking through Gate B means walking right into the epicenter of the stadium. Metal and concrete beams painted green — just like the Green Monster — serve as the landing point for signs advertising concessions and souvenirs, and directing fans to their seats. Various photos, paintings and other memorabilia and interactive experiences ensure there’s always something to look at.

“How do you measure up?”

Painted on a series of concrete beams leading to the concourse, it’s meant to be an engaging, fun activity for young fans to see if they’re the same height as players like Rafael Devers and Pedro Martinez. But when the players in the Cape Cod Baseball League walked through Gate B and saw that phrase in front of them, it may have meant something else.

The short distance to the field likely didn’t provide much time for thinking, however, for the Major League hopefuls entered the heart of the stadium in the best possible area. Emerging from the right field concourse, one of the first things they saw was Pesky's Pole. Looking to the right, they saw the Green Monster. To the left, the press box with “Fenway Park” written at the top and all of the championship flags just below.

The sun was shining down on the bright green grass and perfectly dragged infield dirt. Everything glistened and glittered with the promise of a dream starting to come true.

“I think there was a lot of shock,” Wareham Gatemen manager Ryan Smyth said. “I don’t know how many guys on our team have actually stepped foot on Major League grounds before. Probably only a handful have actually had an opportunity to work out or play on a field of this caliber, so I’m sure it’s a special moment for a lot of them.”

The opportunity to work out and show off in front of scouts on a Major League Baseball field — especially one as historic as Fenway Park — is an opportunity players don’t take for granted, but one they also try not to stress over. They would rather appreciate the grandeur of it all, take in the history and simply have fun playing their game.

“It’s a pretty awesome opportunity to get out here regardless of all of it,” Sam White said. “There’s so much history here that it’s a lot like Yankee Stadium; it’s one of those parks that you always hear about.”

Monday’s trip to Fenway was a first for White, as the Canadian native never had the opportunity to visit the historic park. The Toronto Blue Jays fan is no stranger to seeing the field on television, but never thought he would be able to step foot on it himself.

“Every time you hit in a big league stadium, it’s always a really good experience, but I swear these parks play bigger than their dimensions,” White said.

“I didn’t know the Green Monster was so big,” he added with a laugh.

One of White’s teammates had a little bit better of an idea of the size of the Green Monster, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t just as awestruck to be taking batting practice with that in his field of vision. Antonio Jimenez played in the Future Star Series in high school, earning the opportunity to play an actual game at Fenway Park.

“They only chose a couple guys to come out here so it was definitely like, I never thought I’d be here again,” the shortstop said. “Just to be able to be here again in the Cape (League) with the best college players, means that we’re in the right direction.”

Jimenez, like the rest of his teammates, didn’t feel any pressure or nerves stepping on the field. Smyth and Wareham coaching staff made sure to emphasize the importance of having fun and not feeling the pressure, and that carried over for Jimenez both during batting practice and while doing fielding exercises. It also didn’t hurt that he’d been in a similar position before.

“The first time I walked in here, into BP, I was shaking,” Jimenez said. “I’m just used to it a little bit more, a little bit more experience, a little bit older now. So I just had a blast out there today.”

Despite being a Yankees fan, with dreams of playing for New York one day, the Florida native didn’t take for granted the opportunity he had, recognizing the history within the dirt he stood on and the walls he saw around him.

“It was unreal,” Jimenez said.

Smyth told his players before they stepped on the field that to be able to do just that is what they have all been working toward. Whether they dream about hitting a home run over the Green Monster or to simply have a locker in any Major League stadium in the country, Fenway Day gave them all the chance to feel a little bit of that feeling they’ve thought about for so long.

It’s not necessarily a once-in-a-lifetime experience or feeling for these ballplayers, who are among the best of the best, but that didn’t make it any less special.

Top photo by Kyler Armstrong.