Red Sox get ready to party — duck boats not optional,
In what has become a championship tradition in the city, the Boston Red Sox will climb aboard duck boats for a parade to celebrate the team’s fourth World Series title in 15 years.
The parade Wednesday will begin at 11 a.m. at Fenway Park.
Mayor Marty Walsh said he expected large crowds for the parade and that traffic and parking restrictions would be in place, along with tight security. Police said alcohol would be prohibited along the parade route and no one would be allowed to carry weapons of any kind.
“We’ve been here before, let’s act like it,” said police commissioner William Gross.
The tradition of players clim- bing aboard the amphibious duck boats, one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions, to celebrate championships dates back to 2004, the year the Red Sox won the World Series for the first time since 1918.
In all, the city has had 11 sports championships since 2002, with the New England Patriots winning five and the Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins each winning once during that period.
“Boston has certainly set a new tone around celebrations,” Walsh said. “Maybe it’s because we have a lot of them or maybe it’s because of the way we conduct ourselves.”
Boston has experienced incidents in the past during spontaneous celebrations, some leading to deaths.
In 2004, a college student was struck in the eye with a pepperpellet gun fired by police trying to disperse a crowd celebrating Boston’s American League Championship Series win over the New York Yankees. The city later paid a $5.1-million (U.S.) settlement to Victoria Snelgrove’s family.
Meanwhile, the Baseball Hall of Fame has acquired a bat used by World Series MVP Steve Pearce in Game 4, a jersey worn by David Price in Game 5, game-worn glasses used by Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly, a cap and spikes worn by Red Sox pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, the ball-strike indicator used by home plate umpire Ted Barrett in Game 3 — the longest game in World Series history — and a hoodie worn by Red Sox manager Alex Cora.