HOPE AND MEMORIES
Fans filled with optimism for new team, nostalgia for old
The excitement surrounding the youth of this year’s Red Sox was mixed with nostalgia for older Boston heroes during the team’s home opener on Tuesday against the Baltimore Orioles.
A packed stadium was treated to a towering home run over the Green Monster by Tyler O’Neill in the first inning, but not much else transpired for the Boston bats as the Red Sox fell to the Orioles 7-1. The loss did not deter fans’ optimism surrounding the youthful core that this year’s team has to offer.
Weymouth resident Sean Dewitt noted some of the question marks surrounding the team, but said he hopes this year’s Red Sox have fun playing the game.
“Hopefully everybody has fun right now,” Dewitt said. “I guess we have to see how the pitching goes because that was a problem last year. Hopefully, we have some scrappy players that can pull through.”
New Jersey residents Doug Wyzga and Francisco Hernandez made the trip from the Garden State to the Bay State to see the return of Fenway baseball. Both echoed Dewitt’s comments and lauded some of the key pieces the Red Sox have to work with going forward.
“We’re feeling pumped,” Wyzga said. “They’re a young team and they’re traditionally April and May darlings and then tend to tail off. But they have good management, good, young pitching and a lot of young talent, so we’ll see what happens.”
Wyzga cited his love for the Red Sox beginning with Carl Yastrzemski being a role model for the Polish community in the 1970’s. Hernandez said he became a fan for different reasons.
“Because of all the arrogant Yankee fans!” he said.
Dewitt attended the home opener with his son, Mason, 12, who said the team, led by his favorite player Rafael Devers, can win the World Series this year.
Dewitt said it was the second year in a row he and his son shared a home opener, hopefully, the start of a yearly tradition that the elder is familiar with.
“I used to do it as a kid and now we’re starting the skip school tradition with him,” Dewitt said. “Thankfully, it’s a lot nicer out than last year.”
Fans were treated to a sunny day hovering around 60 degrees, a welcomed change from last year’s home opener- also against Baltimore- that featured bitter temperatures near 38 degrees. Former Boston outfielder Johnny Damon, who listed his $30M Orlando home for sale this past winter, was asked if his presence spurred the warm weather.
“I believe so,” he chuckled. “The rain is coming tomorrow and I am getting on a plane.”
Damon and other members of the 2004 Red Sox team that won the city’s first World Series in 86 years were scattered throughout the ballpark after being recognized for their efforts 20 years ago. For some fans, recalling moments of that legendary season came as easy as if they had just happened.
“The Schilling bloody sock, Dave Roberts’ stolen base in the ALCS and Keith Foulke stabbing the ball then throwing it over to seal the deal,” Wyzga said. “Those have to be the best ones.”
Those memories and others throughout the 2004 season were captured in a video presentation before the game to the entirety of Don McLean’s ‘American Pie’. Late pitcher Tim Wakefield and his Stacy, who both died from cancer within the past seven months, were honored on multiple occasions throughout the day, all of which were met with thunderous applause.
Wakefield’s two children, Brianna and Trevor, were honored along with the 2004 team, with Brianna throwing out the ceremonial first pitch to Varitek.
While the box score tells the story of a game, the first singing of ‘Sweet Caroline’ that shook the offseason cobwebs out of the 112-year-old stadium proves that baseball has returned to Boston.