BOSTON -- In what was a first in the illustrious history of the Red Sox, six Hall of Famers who all have their numbers retired on the right-field facade at Fenway Park joined forces in a ceremonial first pitch for the ages on Friday night.
The occasion? The 125th anniversary of the first Red Sox home game, which was played at Huntington Avenue Grounds (which is currently in the middle of Northeastern University’s campus).
It was as if Fenway became a field of dreams when David Ortiz, Pedro Martínez, Wade Boggs, Jim Rice, Carlton Fisk and Carl Yastrzemski came out in succession -- youngest to oldest.
“It’s emotional,” said Boggs. “It grabs you.”
Perhaps the best part of the night for Boggs was being reunited with Yastrzemski, his teammate and captain for his first two seasons.
“Just thinking back to my first Spring Training in ’82, walking in and the captain’s there, and just watching the way he goes about his business, and knowing that he's going to be a Hall of Famer naturally,” said Boggs. “But I just learned so much in two years playing with the captain, and it was wonderful. It was the end of his career, but he was still that presence, and even today, he is still the presence. He walks out and naturally he should have the biggest ovation.”
The 86-year-old Yaz won the Triple Crown in 1967 and played his entire 23-year career with Boston, amassing 3,419 hits and 452 homers in a team record of 3,308 games.
Ortiz is as popular as any player in team history due to his clutch heroics that played such a big role in the Red Sox going from no World Series titles in 86 years to three during his 14-year run in Boston. Only Ted Williams hit more homers (521) for the Red Sox than Big Papi.
In the eyes of most, Ortiz’s good friend Martínez was the most dominant pitcher in Sox history, going 117-37 with a 2.52 ERA while winning two of his three career Cy Young Awards in his seven years with the club.
“It is just humbling, humbling to know that you have become part of this legacy, part of the legends that built this all around us,” said Martínez. “It’s a goosebumps kind of moment. I did get goosebumps when I saw what Carl Yastrzemski was able to do, knowing what Jim Rice did, Wade Boggs, all of the players and Big Papi.
“Seeing the history and the legacy that they left for us to finally fulfill for the city of Boston, it's just a great honor to be part of it, part of the history, to be counted as one of the legends here in Boston, and the fans, the fans embracing us the way they did after so many years and so long being away from the game, they still feel like the gratitude for everything that we did for them, and it couldn't happen in a better place. It couldn't happen in a better place than Boston. So I'm extremely proud and honored to just have been in the same field with all those legends.”
Rice, the Boston Strong Man, was the American League’s MVP in 1978 and was one of the game’s most dominant sluggers for a solid decade. Rice was selected by the Sox in the 1971 Draft and has been with the organization ever since.
If you’re looking for the best pure hitter of Friday night’s group, that would be Boggs, who won all five of his batting titles for Boston. He hit .357 or higher in all of those batting crown seasons. In particular, Boggs was a batting magician at Fenway, where he had a .369 average.
Many of those hits -- many of them doubles off the Green Monster -- came flooding back to Boggs as he walked onto the field on Friday.
“Chills, chills,” said Boggs. “I mean, I look out and I look at the wall and I say, ‘Thank you’.”
Then there was Fisk, the New Hampshire native who achieved a childhood dream when he hit one of the most iconic homers in the history of the World Series -- ending the classic that was Game 6 in the bottom of the 12th. Fisk waved the ball fair, with camera shots that were revolutionary at the time there to capture it. He was also one of the best two-way catchers in the history of the game, splitting his career between the Sox of Boston and Chicago.
Amid the glorious occasion to recognize legends from the past, Boggs expressed one hope on behalf of Red Sox Nation.
“We just need to get the Red Sox back on track and win a few games and get back to the top of the standings, but there's no greater game [than baseball],” Boggs said.