Fenway faithful will be back for Opening Day
Roughly 4,500 fans can watch Red Sox play to start season
The seats inside Fenway Park will no longer be empty when the Red Sox return to open the 2021 season in April.
RED SOX NOTEBOOK
In response to Gov. Charlie Baker’s announcement on Thursday that large venues, including Fenway Park, will reopen at 12% capacity effective on March 22 as part of the state’s plan to enter Phase 4 of reopening, the Red Sox announced that initial preparations have begun to welcome the return of fans this season.
At 12% capacity, roughly 4,500 fans could be in attendance when the Red Sox open the season at Fenway on April 1 against the Orioles.
The ballpark’s capacity is 37,305 for day games and 37,755 for night games.
“Today’s announcement by Governor Baker and Lt. Governor (Karen) Polito outlining the Commonwealth’s timetable for entering Phase 4 in late March is a major step forward and a testament to the leadership of the state and our many health care partners working together,” Red Sox president
Sam Kennedy said in a statement. “We thank the Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary
(Marylou) Sudders, Secretary
(Mike) Kennealy, and all of the public officials whose hard work has helped get us to this important stage. We are eager to welcome our fans back to Fenway Park this season.”
Details of the Red Sox’ plan to welcome fans are mostly unknown right now, but season-ticket holders will be given the first chance to attend regular-season games. The team said that additional details about the plan, including ticket sales information, will be communicated in the coming weeks.
Down in Fort Myers, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was happy to hear the news that fans will be returning after they weren’t allowed in the stadiums last season due to the ongoing pandemic.
“I wasn’t part of last year, but talking to the players, it was weird,” Cora said. “Obviously where we’re at with the virus, to have fans is great. It’s great. From our end, that means that our families can actually be a part of it, too, and that means a lot for them to go to Fenway and watch us perform, which is cool. Things are trending in the right direction, right? That’s another step. Then hopefully whenever we can, we’re going to have a packed house, and that’s going to be really, really special.
“But I think whatever, 2,000 here, 4,000 in Fenway is going to feel great, it’s going to feel special. Talking to some of the guys that played in the World Series (where fans attended games) — we have Enrique (Hernandez), we have Hunter (Renfroe) — it was a different feeling towards the end. It will be cool to at least have X amount of fans and also our families.”
Gonzalez ‘a guy that I trust’
Marwin Gonzalez has played virtually every position throughout his career, and that figures to continue with the Red Sox.
The Red Sox finally announced the signing of the 31-year-old Gonzalez to a one-year deal on Wednesday, and he’ll be reunited with Cora, who was the Astros’ bench coach in 2017 when Gonzalez was there. The Red Sox manager is already envisioning all of the different roles the switchhitting Gonzalez can play for him, which will include platooning with Bobby Dalbec at first base.
“He can protect Bobby at first, he can protect people at second hitting lefty, he can play third against a tough lefty whenever Raffy (Devers) gets a day off, can play short and he’s a lefthanded hitter to help Xander (Bogaerts),” Cora said. “He can play left, he can play right, very versatile. Last year wasn’t a great year for him, but he’s a guy you look at ’19, he hit the ball hard with the Twins. We have a really good relationship. This is a guy that I trust. I know he can do a lot of stuff on the field, in the clubhouse and I’m happy that he’s with us.”
Finding versatility was obviously a focus for the Red Sox this winter, and with Gonzalez and Kiké Hernández, who Cora is also familiar with, in the mix, not only do they have options but also championship-winning experience in the clubhouse.
“To have Enrique and Marwin on the same team, just being creative, people talk about creative teams and how cool it is,” Cora said. “Well we have a cool team, too. That helps us a lot. They know how to play defense. Whenever they play, you’re not worried about making the right decisions, throwing to the right base, being in line for the cutoff man. Both of them are really solid and we’ll ask them to do a few things in the clubhouse, too. We ended up with both of them and it’s going to help us out a lot.”
Hernandez ‘ready to go’
Alex Verdugo also has familiarity with Hernandez, who was his teammate with the Dodgers from 2017-19. Verdugo had a glowing review of Hernandez’s defensive abilities, and he thinks the utility man’s offense will improve with the Red Sox.
“He’s one of the top, if not definitely one of the top in the game defensively, especially in the infield,” Verdugo said. “Some of the plays he made when I was with the Dodgers and watching him, how his hands work and how his arm works, it’s very fast-twitched and a lot of ground that gets covered in the infield. Even in the outfield as well, he’s good out there, too. …
“You’re getting a good bat. He’s got good pop. Obviously runs into some ups and downs, but everybody does. Having the dimensions of the park, with right-center so big and left field so close, I think that will play Kiké to his strengths. … I’m looking forward to seeing him and how he plays. He looks strong and ready to go.” …
Nathan Eovaldi will start the Red Sox’ Grapefruit League opener Sunday against the Twins.
Cora said Christian Vazquez will start at catcher, with Dalbec at first, Christian Arroyo at second, Hernandez at shortstop and Devers at third. …
Cora said new outfielder
Franchy Cordero, who’s on the COVID-19 injured list, will hopefully report to camp by Monday.