Those guys at Fenway
Dennis Drinkwater (Boston.com)
I’ve been watching a lot of the All-Red Sox Network (ESPN) lately, and I’ve always wondered who those two guys always sitting right behind home plate at Fenway are. One dude sits directly behind home plate, and the other dude sits a bit to the right, and looks quite a bit like my girlfriend’s father. So I did some digging.
Mr. Directly Behind Home is Dennis Drinkwater, the president of Giant Glass. Mr. Off To The Right is Jeremy Kapstein, a former baseball super-agent and now “Senior Advisor/Baseball Projects” for the Red Sox.
Jeremy Kapstein (AP)
I get a real kick out of these guys, especially Kapstein. I can remember about one time he ever applauded anything that happened in the game. I’ve never seen him eat a hot dog. I remember once he drank some water. He never flinches when balls are fouled back. A real pro. I remember after Manny Ramirez’s walk-off home run in last year’s ALDS, right when Manny made contact, Kapstein immediately got up and darted for the exit. Gotta beat the rush.
Speaking of Manny’s walk-off, you can see Drinkwater’s face in the background here, and you can see Kapstein heading for the exit here (in the suit, back turned).
These guys are a somewhat different breed of fan than Pink Hat Guy, the guy often behind home plate at Wrigley. I could only find this (not great) photo. No one argues more vehemently with the umpires than him, and you can often actually hear him on the television broadcasts. In fact, it might do him some good to calm down a bit. But hey, he loves the Cubs, I love the Cubs, there you go… His real name: Jim Anixter, president of wire and cable company A-Z Industries. Reportedly he has launched a couple of unsucessful bids to buy the Cubs.
Homers in the Gloaming 
Hey don’t forget John Hostetter. Dennis Drinkwater’s good friend. He’s the guy who looks like Barney Rubble, from the flintstones
Scott
Scott
15 October 2008 at 9:32 am
This was one of the biggest mysteries to me, too! I know now his name is Dennis, but I used to call him Joe Schmoe! It was so exciting to find other people who notice the people in the stands. I thought I was a freak for being so curious to find out who these people were!
Vikky Caulkins
21 October 2008 at 1:06 pm
I made a website for Dennis Drinkwater. My friends and I call him simply “the red sox guy” check it out. I got a picture with him and some other great info.
http://www.theredsoxguy.com
BIll
8 January 2009 at 6:11 pm
we always called Dennis ‘Pat Sajak’…
Jay Sawx
15 April 2009 at 8:58 am
My family and I have been wondering for years who Dennis Drinkwater is. Everygame we come to sit down and watch and we ask if Drinkwater and Kapstein are there. When I point these guys out to my friends, they think im some red sox freak. I noticed that Drinkwater is a good fan, and actually cheers, not Kapstein though. I also noticed that Drinkwater leaves early sometimes.
James
22 April 2009 at 9:09 pm
Are you sure we’re talking about the same person. The guy I’m trying to figure out looks like Ted Koppel (with Robert Redford hair).
freds
19 July 2009 at 6:26 pm
Yeah, that’s the guy I’M talking about. My friend Michelle says it’s Arthur de Angelo.
Dale Cosper
24 September 2013 at 3:15 pm
I THOUGHT THAT JEREMY WAS BILL JAMES
richard
10 June 2009 at 11:58 am
My family and I always call Dennis “.com” because his seat is right at the redsox.com sign. We refer to Jeremy as the other guy with the headphones.We always have to make sure they are in their seats when we watch. Before we knew their names , we referred to them as “the usual suspects”.
Joyce
12 July 2009 at 9:17 am
There is also a guy from the Tampa Bay Rays team that always sits behind home plate, hes either there with his “wife” or someone, anyone know who he is? Hes always there!
fan
23 July 2009 at 11:40 am
Dennis and his wife Jackie, sometimes Dean his son is with him,
kathererine dickson
10 April 2011 at 11:40 pm
My 3 kids and I call Jeremy Kapstein “Fenway Frank” when we see him on TV…..I was sitting in the State Street Pavillion seats the other day and who should we see 5 feet behind us….Fenway Frank! and Larry Luchino….but I was more interested in Fenway Frank.
If my daughter was with me, I think I would have had to introduced her to Frank and tell him our little story.
If he would care or not….no matter.
John O
26 April 2010 at 10:56 am
My sister and I always refer to Dennis as Robert because he reminds us of Robert Redford. We call Jeremy “Jacket” because no matter what the weather is, he’s always wearing one.
pat
12 June 2010 at 3:47 pm
We also wonder why he always wears a jacket. Glad to know we aren’t the only people who watch the fans!!!!
Deb Gilbert
15 September 2011 at 6:24 pm
My husband and I ask each other often,where is ?? and ??
We always called Jeremy – Walter because we think he looks like Walter Matthau and he acts a little like him.
We called Dennis- Donald after Trump because you have to have some major bucks to sit there.
redsoxgrl
7 July 2010 at 12:03 pm
I see these guys on tv all the time. We refer to capstein as “radio guy” because we think he listens to the broadcast of the game as he watches it. We call drinkwater “redford” because of the reseblance to robert redford at a distance. I recently went to fenway and snuck down to the section behind the plate and watched our favorite fenway crowd celeberties.
hal
17 July 2010 at 10:40 pm
http://rifuture.org/jeremy-kapstein-poised-to-run-against-roberts-for-lt-governor.html
I looked him up and it turns out jeremy kapstein is running for lt. Governor of rhode island
hal
17 July 2010 at 10:47 pm
Thank you. We have made it a “sport” of our own to see if the guys are there. Now we know.
Penny mitchell
18 July 2010 at 7:09 am
FINALLY…I’m not the only freak wondering who these two are! I used to call them Robert Redford and Tip O’neil….Drinkwater also breaks out the light blue gortex in the rain and “Tip” wears the black leather/yellow headphones…THE MYSTERY IS OVER!
Greg n Buffalo
8 September 2010 at 9:47 am
I observed your blog using google and I must say, this is most likely one of the greatest nicely ready articles I have come across in a long time. I’ve bookmarked your site for more posts.
Roosevelt Tensley
6 April 2011 at 5:08 am
My wife and I have followed these two since the 2003 -2004 season. We used to call them “Ted” (for Ted Koppel) and “Other guy”. We brought them to the attention of friends and relatives and now they also look for T & OG. In 2005 I introduced myself to Other Guy while at a Sox game and he introduced himself as Jeremy Kapstein. He was polite,friendly and thought I was very observant (or a little wacky)when I told him my story. He seems like a good guy,but will defer to Theo if you ask him a Red Sox question. I spoke with him again in 2008 at a college basketball game in Rhode Island. It wasn’t until today that curiosity got the best of me and I Googled Dennis Drinkwater. No more Ted and Other Guy – now it’s Dennis and Jeremy.
Jack Smith
17 April 2011 at 4:19 pm
I also thought he was Redford at first
walter
7 May 2011 at 12:16 am
I’m so glad I googled this. We have been watching those two for years! We call Dennis “Trump guy” because of his hair. And Jeremy is “Blue blazer guy” because of his jacket. We were watching him before he started wearing the headphones. We went to Fenway last year and had seats in the next section behind them. We thought about going up to say hello.
Art
16 May 2011 at 8:29 pm
Just want to say “Hi” to Dennis and Jeremy who I have watched for many years at games. Go Yankees!
Chuckie
21 May 2011 at 10:19 pm
I always called Dennis Drinkwater — “My Guy” for years. Then my son and husband met him last summer when they were on the field being honored for playing in the Little League World Series (2010) — I couldn’t believe it — they took a picture together. I think that was more exciting for me than Nate being on the field :)
Katie
5 June 2011 at 8:16 am
So glad I googled this!! We have been watching these same two for years! I always referred to Jeremy as “the suit” He use to wear a suit jacket at alot of games! One of the first time we noticed Dennis, he was wearing a scarf, it looked like clergy vestments, our nickname….”the priest”. Thanks for the info! Love it! Go Sox!!!
Karen
21 June 2011 at 7:14 pm
Thank you everyone for the info. My husand & I look for “blond guy” & “headphone guy” @ every home game. So glad the mystery is solved!
R & S
Ardent Sox fans
Chicopee, MA.
Rene Leclerc
23 July 2011 at 7:45 pm
I use to call Dennis Drinkwater “the baseball dude”. If he wasn’t there ,things just didn’t seem right. I just googled “who is the guy ………. Got my answer. Thank God for the internet. It was driving me crazy. Why the head phones on the other guy?
Sally
28 July 2011 at 4:36 am
What’s with the 2 yellow signs behind home plate after a strikout?
PMV
9 August 2011 at 9:28 am
How funny is this???? My husband & I have noticed him for YEARS!!!! We call him “.com guy”……and were always amazed how someone could actually go to EVERY single game. We never ever thought there’d be anyone else out there in RED SOX nation as crazy as us!!! Goes to show you how you can google anything!
sandi Kenny
3 September 2011 at 5:37 pm
My parents nicknamed him Waldo.. Like where is Waldo even there neighbors look for him!
Martha Haven
5 September 2011 at 4:03 pm
I introduced myself to Dennis Drinkwater at a game once. I got his autograph and he laughed when I told him I watch every game with him – he at Fenway and me in my living room. I like to keep score at home and I have a custom scorecard that includes a place to check off “D. D. in attendance.” My husband used to say, “Are you and Dennis watching the Sox tonight?” I’m glad to find I’m not the only one who notices these guys.
Andrea
16 September 2011 at 10:38 pm
I also am so glad to have finally found out who these guys were. I’d love to know what the headphones are all about. Before I found this site, I happened to see “headphone guy” emerge from the dugout before a game and realized he was part of the staff. I also am glad I’m not the only one who notices these things!
NYkerRedSoxFan
20 September 2011 at 7:49 pm
For a while I thought Drinkwater was Robert Redfords brother! Great to know who he is as well as “headphones guy”!!
PJ
21 September 2011 at 9:13 pm
So funny to read all this! I too always called him the Robert Redford lookalike. Finally my son told me to just google him. Couldn’t believe all the other ‘fans’ lol out there!!
Gwen
7 October 2013 at 1:43 pm
Thanks for this info–still helpful years later! Headphones guy and Blonde guy!!! We saw Jeremy at Fort Myers (spring training) last week and he was in the jacket although it was 80*!
Meg Manning
3 March 2012 at 8:08 pm
i am glad to know who these guys are finally …at my house wee called them ,the turtle neck guy ,and the fat guy , not anymore, thanks…….
Gil Nault
24 March 2012 at 11:11 am
My husband and I call Jeremy “jacket man” because he always wears a jacket.
Lynda
15 April 2012 at 1:48 pm
Oh.NO everybody. Now we know that “Superfan” has a real name…but Jeremy will always be our Superfan. I knew he had to have clout with owners, and we figured he didn’t have a regular job. So glad we’re not the only freaks who watch for these guys at every game! Thanks.
Babsie
27 April 2012 at 8:42 pm
We havent seen them for the last few games. Anybody know where they went??
kim
6 May 2012 at 4:32 pm
Where is Dennis , he’s been missing this past week
Pat
4 May 2012 at 7:20 pm
I’m bored in this 15+ inning game….so, I Googled this.
I have for years called Kapstein, the “Walter Matthau” guy!!
Jeff P
6 May 2012 at 6:08 pm
For years I have called Dennis Drinkwater the dot.com guy because he sits right behind the redsox.com logo.
diane crum
6 June 2012 at 9:37 am
Thank you – thank you – thank you!!! I’ve always wondered about who Dennis is!
JCSquared
7 June 2012 at 8:53 pm
My son, Tim, googled this for me and I’m so glad to find out who those two guys are!! I called Dennis, Blondie, because of his blond hair and Kapstein, Yellow Ears, because of his head phones. Doesn’t seem right if they are not at the game. Sometimes “Yellow Ears” shows up for the last innings so I suppose now he has been at his office. I also thought Blondie must have an understanding wife since he was at every game!!
Colleen, Red Sox fan
Colleen Quinn
25 June 2012 at 10:37 am
So what does Mr. Map stein listen to at every game? That is a question worthy of an answer. Is he listening Jerry & Don joke around in the booth? Or is he getting detailed stat reports on the opposing teams or from around the leagues? Maybe it’s some real serious music that helps him keep his cool. Just curious.
Sean
6 July 2012 at 9:01 pm
We know the true Red Sox fans, when they notice the fans that are always there behind Home Plate. I guess I am one of them. What would we do without the Internet. I knew about the Giant Glass guy (after hearing it on the radio once), but I just Googled the “guy with the headphones at Red Sox games” and here I am! Now I may be calling them, Barney Rubble and Fenway Frank! LOL!
Kathy
8 July 2012 at 8:41 pm
Thanks for this post. We have been calling Dennis “Blondie” and Kapstein “ears,” ever since he started using the headphones. I suspect he is listening to the radio feed, not tv audio…
Stan
14 July 2012 at 12:36 pm
I never knew Jeremy was part of the Sox, I thought he was just a loyal fan with great seats. My kids and I refer to him as “Blue coat guy”, since he almost always wears one.
Roy
3 August 2012 at 5:07 pm
Dennis owns Giant Glass but why is He sitting above the word ass when Giant Glass ad is on the backstop
Don
22 July 2013 at 7:46 am
Thank goodness for Ask.com!! We already knew about Giant Glass guy, but were going crazy trying to figure out who the guy behind home plate was who always wears the yellow headphones and a sport coat! We were so surprised to find these posts and even more surprised to see how many people were going as crazy as us trying to find out who these people are!
Lisa Runci
4 August 2013 at 4:46 pm
Scary how red sox fans all think the same way, down to coming up with the same nickname “redford”, “.com guy”, “blondie”. Everything in New England fits into a nice neat box it seems
demsawx sukapples
19 August 2013 at 4:33 pm
My boyfriend and I call them “headphone guy” and “Jerry Springer”!
Nicole DePaoli
21 September 2013 at 7:02 pm
Finally! I can now rest in peace. Thank you.
David
22 September 2013 at 1:35 pm
Thanks for clearing up the mystery…..as former MA residents and Red Sox season ticket holders….we noticed both Jeremy and Dennis on TV. (. Blue suit guy and robert Redford ) before the Internet we always called them our buddies. Read recently that there are a lot of tickets shared for charity…..good for them and the community.
ROBBI viviros
22 September 2013 at 6:47 pm
Omg so happy I finally goggled this. For years we have called them the dr and the air phone guy. Today I am watching what I hope is the final game between Detroit and Boston. I now called him a surgeon and my husband said oh now he is a surgeon, we don’t even know if he is a dr. so I googled it. You have answered our on going question. I don’t know after all these years if we can call them anything other than the dr and air phone guy
Cheryl brown
19 October 2013 at 7:39 pm
My husband and I have been wondering who these 2 men are for years!
We look for them at each game, I always say is My Man there aka Robert Redford in his blue jacket and my husband looks for Headphone Man aka yellow ears. We remember seeing headphone man in the
Kevin Burns baseball documentary so we thought he may be a sports writer hence the nice seat.
One night we were watching the game and decided to go online to see if we could identify “yellow ears”.
We searched several sites and came upon this. What a find we thought we were the only ones who did this.
Every comment was something we would ask. They must have very understanding wives, don’t they take a holiday, how did they get these tickets, wonder what they do for a living they must be loaded etc etc.
We got quite the giggle as we read each note. Red Sox fans are one of kind!
Mary & Scott
23 October 2013 at 8:56 pm
My wife (age 59, lifetime Sox fan we get MLB extra innings so she can watch all Sox games, we live in AZ) has obsessed over these two guys for years now. She calls them Mr. Big head and yellow headphones guy.
Wonders about what their lives are and who gets to go to nearly ever Sox game AND sit in the front row.
I don’t think I’ll tell her I found this blog.
Howard's Goodyear
23 October 2013 at 10:03 pm