The Giants haven't played the Red Sox at Fenway since Game 8 of the 1912 World Series. Since then, a new history has been written and an old game recreated, but in some ways, it will be as if nothing has changed when the Giants return to baseball's most revered chapel on Friday.

The names have changed -- Barry Zito for Christy Mathewson, Bengie Molina for Chief Meyers and Barry Bonds for Larry Doyle -- but Fenway melts away modern-day issues, allowing the game to simply be played. At Fenway, millionaire ballplayers are 10-year-old kids again, and memories from a century of baseball are almost tangible. The park is alive with baseball history.

If "Field of Dreams" has it right and the ghosts of the baseball greats are still around, then they're hanging out in Fenway, not some field in Iowa. Baseball history begins and ends there, even for those who aren't Red Sox fans.

"The dugouts are small, the clubhouses are small, but there's no complaining about it," manager Bruce Bochy said. "I think everyone appreciates the history of the ballpark itself."

Giants center fielder Dave Roberts is a part of that history.

Roberts has stolen 217 bases, but they all pale in comparison to the one he stole off the Yankees in Game 4 of the 2004 American League Championship Series.

Facing elimination, Boston was down by one run in the bottom of the ninth when Kevin Millar drew a walk from the best closer in the game, Mariano Rivera. Roberts was called in to pinch-run, and when he dashed 90 feet and dove headfirst into second, beating Jorge Posada's throw and Derek Jeter's tag, there was a shift in the game's momentum.

"There were a lot of emotions going through me at the time, but I didn't want to miss that opportunity to have success and maybe make a difference," Roberts said. "Fortunately, those thoughts won over."

It was a defining moment, and Roberts came home on a single to tie the game. The Red Sox rallied to defeat the Yankees in seven games and went on to win their first World Series in 86 years.

"To be a part of something that hasn't been done in 86 years, that's something I'm going to take with me forever," Roberts said. "The steal, the parade, the ring ceremony, those are all things I'm going to take with me to my grave."

Complete coverage >  

Roberts' steal is probably something most Red Sox fans will remember for the rest of their lives, too. After all, Red Sox fans are part of what makes Fenway so special.

"There's very few places in baseball today that are just about the game," Roberts said. "A lot of sponsorships and things like that are taking over, but when you go to Fenway Park, you're there to watch a baseball game and not talk on your cell phone."

At Fenway Park, baseball time turns back and history stretches all the way across the field to a 37-foot, two-inch Green Monster. The Monster resides in left field, eating towering balls for lunch and making the ones that escape look that much tastier.

The Green Monster is as much a part of Fenway history as names like Ted Williams and Babe Ruth.

The Giants' five rookies, along with about half of the team, have never set foot on Fenway's field, and you can guarantee that they'll be heading out to size up the Monster. Mark Sweeney, who grew up right outside Boston, has seen the wall but he's never played in its presence.

"I'm sure Barry's going to DH, but hopefully I can play left field," Sweeney said. "During batting practice, I know I'll be going out to left field."

Reliever Jack Taschner will probably be out there with him.

"I rolled around in the ivy at Wrigley, so I have to go roll on the wall at Fenway," Taschner said.

Taschner's also looking forward to taking the mound that served as a post where many great battles were fought.

"Just thinking about all the Hall of Famers that were on that mound is exciting," Taschner said. "It's probably not the same dirt out there, but it will still be exciting to stand on it."